Short answer: on a $100,000 salary you can afford a home of about $376,000 with 20% down at 7.24%, a payment of $2,333 a month including property tax. Each extra $10k of salary adds about $38,000 of house. That is roughly 3.8 times your salary.
Home price you can afford by salary (20% down, 30 years, 7.24%)
Download the CSV. Property tax uses the U.S. median effective rate of 0.89% a year. The last column applies the 36% rule with $500 a month of other debt, such as a car loan or student loan.
| Salary | Monthly gross | Max housing (28%) | Home price | Down payment | With $500/mo debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $3,333 | $933 | $150,000 | $30,000 | $112,000 |
| $50,000 | $4,167 | $1,167 | $188,000 | $37,600 | $161,000 |
| $60,000 | $5,000 | $1,400 | $225,000 | $45,000 | $209,000 |
| $70,000 | $5,833 | $1,633 | $263,000 | $52,600 | $258,000 |
| $75,000 | $6,250 | $1,750 | $282,000 | $56,400 | $282,000 |
| $80,000 | $6,667 | $1,867 | $301,000 | $60,200 | $301,000 |
| $90,000 | $7,500 | $2,100 | $338,000 | $67,600 | $338,000 |
| $100,000 | $8,333 | $2,333 | $376,000 | $75,200 | $376,000 |
| $110,000 | $9,167 | $2,567 | $414,000 | $82,800 | $414,000 |
| $120,000 | $10,000 | $2,800 | $451,000 | $90,200 | $451,000 |
| $125,000 | $10,417 | $2,917 | $470,000 | $94,000 | $470,000 |
| $130,000 | $10,833 | $3,033 | $489,000 | $97,800 | $489,000 |
| $140,000 | $11,667 | $3,267 | $527,000 | $105,400 | $527,000 |
| $150,000 | $12,500 | $3,500 | $564,000 | $112,800 | $564,000 |
| $175,000 | $14,583 | $4,083 | $659,000 | $131,800 | $659,000 |
| $200,000 | $16,667 | $4,667 | $753,000 | $150,600 | $753,000 |
| $250,000 | $20,833 | $5,833 | $941,000 | $188,200 | $941,000 |
| $300,000 | $25,000 | $7,000 | $1,129,000 | $225,800 | $1,129,000 |
Home price by salary and mortgage rate
Same 28% rule and 20% down. A one-point drop in rate raises your budget by roughly 10%.
| Salary | 5.5% | 6% | 6.5% | 7% | 7.5% | 8% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $176,000 | $168,000 | $160,000 | $153,000 | $147,000 | $141,000 |
| $50,000 | $220,000 | $210,000 | $201,000 | $192,000 | $184,000 | $176,000 |
| $60,000 | $264,000 | $252,000 | $241,000 | $230,000 | $220,000 | $211,000 |
| $70,000 | $308,000 | $294,000 | $281,000 | $269,000 | $257,000 | $246,000 |
| $75,000 | $331,000 | $315,000 | $301,000 | $288,000 | $276,000 | $264,000 |
| $80,000 | $353,000 | $337,000 | $321,000 | $307,000 | $294,000 | $282,000 |
| $90,000 | $397,000 | $379,000 | $362,000 | $346,000 | $331,000 | $317,000 |
| $100,000 | $441,000 | $421,000 | $402,000 | $384,000 | $368,000 | $352,000 |
| $110,000 | $485,000 | $463,000 | $442,000 | $423,000 | $405,000 | $388,000 |
| $120,000 | $529,000 | $505,000 | $482,000 | $461,000 | $441,000 | $423,000 |
| $125,000 | $551,000 | $526,000 | $502,000 | $480,000 | $460,000 | $441,000 |
| $130,000 | $573,000 | $547,000 | $522,000 | $500,000 | $478,000 | $458,000 |
| $140,000 | $618,000 | $589,000 | $563,000 | $538,000 | $515,000 | $494,000 |
| $150,000 | $662,000 | $631,000 | $603,000 | $577,000 | $552,000 | $529,000 |
| $175,000 | $772,000 | $737,000 | $703,000 | $673,000 | $644,000 | $617,000 |
| $200,000 | $882,000 | $842,000 | $804,000 | $769,000 | $736,000 | $705,000 |
| $250,000 | $1,103,000 | $1,052,000 | $1,005,000 | $961,000 | $920,000 | $882,000 |
| $300,000 | $1,324,000 | $1,263,000 | $1,206,000 | $1,154,000 | $1,104,000 | $1,058,000 |
Common questions
How much house can I afford with a $100k salary?
About $376,000. On a $100,000 salary the 28% rule allows $2,333 a month for the mortgage and property tax. At 7.24% on a 30-year loan with 20% down ($75,200), that covers a home of about $376,000. At 6% it would be about $421,000.
How much house can I afford with a $80k salary?
About $301,000. On a $80,000 salary the 28% rule allows $1,867 a month for the mortgage and property tax. At 7.24% on a 30-year loan with 20% down ($60,200), that covers a home of about $301,000. At 6% it would be about $337,000.
How much house can I afford with a $60k salary?
About $225,000. On a $60,000 salary the 28% rule allows $1,400 a month for the mortgage and property tax. At 7.24% on a 30-year loan with 20% down ($45,000), that covers a home of about $225,000. At 6% it would be about $252,000.
How much house can I afford with a $150k salary?
About $564,000. On a $150,000 salary the 28% rule allows $3,500 a month for the mortgage and property tax. At 7.24% on a 30-year loan with 20% down ($112,800), that covers a home of about $564,000. At 6% it would be about $631,000.
How much house can I afford with a $50k salary?
About $188,000. On a $50,000 salary the 28% rule allows $1,167 a month for the mortgage and property tax. At 7.24% on a 30-year loan with 20% down ($37,600), that covers a home of about $188,000. At 6% it would be about $210,000.
What salary do I need for a $400k house?
About $106,200 a year at 7.24% with 20% down, or $95,000 at 6%. A $300k house needs about $79,700 and a $500k house about $132,800.
How we calculated it
- The 28% rule: lenders commonly cap the mortgage payment plus property tax at 28% of gross monthly income. We take 28% of salary ÷ 12 as the most you can spend on housing.
- Home price is the highest price, rounded down to the nearest $1,000, whose principal, interest and property tax fit in that amount. Principal and interest use the same fixed-rate formula as our home affordability calculator.
- Rate: 7.24%, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey 30-year average for the week of October 29, 2026.
- Property tax: 0.89% of the home price a year, the U.S. median real estate tax divided by the median home value (Census ACS). See mortgage payment by state for local costs.
- With other debt: lenders also cap all debt payments at 36% of income. With $500 a month of other debt, the lower of the two limits applies; on higher salaries the 28% limit is still the tighter one.
- Not included: homeowners insurance, HOA dues and mortgage insurance (PMI), which usually applies below 20% down. These lower the price you can afford.
For your own income, debts, down payment and rate, use the home affordability calculator, then check the monthly payment on a $100k to $1M house.
Use this data
Free to use in articles, reports and classes under CC BY 4.0. Please credit FlareLodge with a link to this page:
FlareLodge, "How Much House Can I Afford by Salary" (2026-11-05), https://flarelodge.com/data/house-affordability-by-salary/.
Sources
- Freddie Mac, Primary Mortgage Market Survey, via FRED
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (median home value and real estate taxes)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, debt-to-income ratio