How much rent can I afford in St. Louis?

The common rule is to keep rent at or below 30% of your gross income. On St. Louis's median one-bedroom rent of about $1,050, that means an income of roughly $3,500 per month or $42,000 per year clears the bar.

What is the difference between the 30% and 28% rules?

The 30% rule is the standard affordability cap. The 28% guideline is stricter and leaves more room for utilities, savings, and debt, so the calculator shows both lines for context.

What does cost-burdened mean?

A household is considered cost-burdened when housing eats more than 30% of gross income. The tool flags a proposed rent as cost-burdened when it crosses that 30% threshold.

Is the median rent the same in every St. Louis neighborhood?

No. The Central West End, Clayton, and the Central Corridor run well above the $1,050 median, while parts of South City and North County run below it. Use the median as a baseline and adjust for your target area.

Is my income data kept private?

Yes. The calculation happens entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is uploaded or saved anywhere.

St. Louis Rent Affordability Calculator

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Before you sign a St. Louis lease, it helps to know whether the rent fits your budget by the same yardstick landlords and lenders use. This calculator applies the classic 30%-of-income rule against St. Louis’s median one-bedroom rent of about $1,050, then tells you your ceiling and whether a specific rent would leave you cost-burdened.

How it works

The affordability test is simple math on your gross (pre-tax) income:

max affordable rent (30% rule) = monthly gross income × 0.30
stricter comfort line (28%)    = monthly gross income × 0.28

If you enter an annual figure, it is divided by 12 first. The tool then compares any proposed rent to those caps and to the St. Louis median, reporting what percentage of your income the rent represents. Rent within 28% is comfortably affordable, rent between 28% and 30% is affordable but tighter, and anything above 30% is flagged as cost-burdened.

Example and notes

On a $4,500 monthly income, the 30% cap is $1,350 and the 28% line is $1,260, so the median $1,050 St. Louis one-bedroom is comfortably affordable. Remember the cap covers rent only — utilities, renter’s insurance, and parking sit on top. Because St. Louis rents are low relative to national averages, many renters here can comfortably stay under both thresholds, which is part of what makes the metro attractive.