What is the 30% rent rule?

The 30% rule says housing costs should not exceed 30% of your gross income. At or below 30% a rental is considered affordable; between 30% and 50% you are cost-burdened; above 50% you are severely cost-burdened, a standard used by HUD.

What is the median rent in Dallas?

The median 1-bedroom rent in Dallas is roughly $1,450 per month, though it varies widely by neighborhood. Uptown and central districts run higher, while suburbs and outer areas are often cheaper.

Should I use gross or net income?

The 30% rule is conventionally applied to gross (pre-tax) income, which is what landlords and the calculator use. If you prefer a more conservative budget, you can enter your take-home pay instead to be stricter.

What income do I need for a $1,450 apartment?

To keep $1,450 at or under 30% of income, you need about $4,833 gross per month, or roughly $58,000 per year. Many Dallas landlords also require that your income be 2.5 to 3 times the rent.

Is the data sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs entirely in your browser. Your income and rent figures never leave your device.

Dallas Rent Affordability Calculator

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Can you afford that Dallas rental?

A quick way to gauge rent affordability is the 30%-of-income rule: spend no more than 30% of your gross income on housing. This calculator applies that rule to any Dallas rent and benchmarks it against the city’s median 1-bedroom rent of about $1,450, then tells you whether the apartment is affordable, cost-burdened, or severely cost-burdened.

How it works

The tool converts income to a monthly figure, divides rent by it, and compares the ratio to the standard HUD thresholds:

monthly income = annual / 12 (or the monthly figure directly)
ratio          = rent / monthly income
max rent       = monthly income * 0.30

A ratio at or below 0.30 is affordable, 0.30 to 0.50 is cost-burdened, and above 0.50 is severely cost-burdened. The maximum recommended rent is simply 30% of your monthly income.

Example and notes

On $5,000 monthly income, a $1,450 rent is a 29% ratio — affordable, just inside the guideline, with a maximum recommended rent of $1,500. Drop your income to $4,000 and the same apartment jumps to 36%, tipping you into cost-burdened territory. Remember many Dallas landlords also require income of 2.5 to 3 times the rent, which is a stricter bar than the 30% rule alone.