Tool · Salary vs rent

Rent Affordability by Salary

Select your job and a county to see how rent compares to your salary. Uses BLS wage data and HUD Fair Market Rents (FY 2026) with the 30% affordability rule.

809
Occupations (BLS OES)
3,145
Counties with FMR data
FY2026
HUD FMR data year

The landscape

To comfortably afford a 1-bedroom at the average District of Columbia rent of $2,015/mo, the 30% rule says you'd need to earn at least $80,600/yr, the highest income floor of any state.

$80,600
District of Columbia income floor (1BR)
$2,015
District of Columbia avg 1BR FMR

Income floor to afford a 1-bedroom, by state

Annual salary needed under the 30% rule, average statewide 1BR FMR

Value

What this shows These are the states where the 30% rule sets the highest income bar for a 1-bedroom -- use the calculator below to check your own job and county.

Source U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents As of FY2026

About This Calculator

Salary data is from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES). When available, state-level median salaries are used; otherwise, national median salaries are shown. Rent data is HUD Fair Market Rents (FY 2026).

The 30% affordability rule is a widely used guideline: spending more than 30% of gross income on rent indicates cost burden. Over 50% indicates severe cost burden.

Sources: BLS OES, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Every figure on PlainRent is rendered directly from HUD's published Fair Market Rent records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of FY 2026.