How much house can I afford?

Home Affordability Calculator

Affordability comes down to a comfortable monthly payment, not a headline price. A common guide keeps housing near 28% of your gross monthly income and total debt under 36%. Try a price below, read the full PITI payment, and check it against a quarter or so of your take-home pay.

28/36 ruleFull PITI paymentNo sign-up

Your numbers

Down payment
= $35,000 down · under 20% adds PMI
Loan term
This week's US averages: 6.66% for 30-year, 5.98% for 15-year (updated Aug 2026). Your rate depends on credit and lender. Freddie Mac PMMS
Estimated monthly payment
$2,639/mo
Drops to $2,495/mo when PMI ends Aug 2034
Principal
$27610%
Interest
$1,74866%
Property tax
$32112%
Home insurance
$1506%
PMI
$1445%
Loan amount
$315,000
Total interest
$413,739
Total cost
$912,243
principal, interest & fees
Payoff
Jun 2056
30 yr
Over the life of the loan

Loan balance over time

$0$79K$158K$236K$315K5y10y15y20y25y30y
Crossover in year 20, the point where more of each payment builds equity than pays interest.

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Full breakdown

Amortization schedule

Every payment, split into principal and interest. Export it or print a copy.

YearPrincipalInterestPMIBalance
2026$1,679$10,466$866$313,321
2027$3,531$20,761$1,733$309,790
2028$3,773$20,518$1,733$306,017
2029$4,032$20,259$1,733$301,985
2030$4,309$19,982$1,733$297,676
2031$4,605$19,686$1,733$293,071
2032$4,921$19,370$1,733$288,150
2033$5,259$19,032$1,733$282,890
2034$5,620$18,671$1,011$277,270
2035$6,006$18,285$0$271,264
2036$6,419$17,873$0$264,845
2037$6,859$17,432$0$257,986
2038$7,331$16,961$0$250,655
2039$7,834$16,457$0$242,821
2040$8,372$15,919$0$234,449
2041$8,947$15,345$0$225,503
2042$9,561$14,730$0$215,941
2043$10,218$14,074$0$205,724
2044$10,919$13,372$0$194,804
2045$11,669$12,622$0$183,135
2046$12,471$11,821$0$170,664
2047$13,327$10,964$0$157,337
2048$14,242$10,049$0$143,095
2049$15,220$9,071$0$127,875
2050$16,265$8,026$0$111,610
2051$17,382$6,909$0$94,227
2052$18,576$5,715$0$75,651
2053$19,852$4,440$0$55,800
2054$21,215$3,076$0$34,585
2055$22,672$1,620$0$11,913
2056$11,913$232$0$0
The rule of thumb

The 28/36 rule, in plain terms

Lenders lean on two ratios. The front-end ratio says your housing payment should stay near 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio says all your debt payments together, including the mortgage, car loans, and credit cards, should stay under about 36%. These are guides, not laws, and strong credit or a big down payment can stretch them.

To use this page, work backward: multiply your gross monthly income by 0.28, then try home prices until the payment lands near that figure. The calculator shows the full PITI, which is the number the ratios are really about.

Beyond the payment

Leave room for the rest of life

Qualifying for a payment and being comfortable with it are different things. A house also brings maintenance, higher utilities, and the occasional surprise repair. Many buyers aim below the maximum a lender would allow so the mortgage does not crowd out savings, travel, and everything else.

Questions & answers

Frequently asked

How much income do I need for a mortgage?
A rough guide is that your housing payment should not exceed 28% of gross monthly income. Reverse it: your comfortable payment times about 3.6 suggests the monthly income that supports it. Use the calculator to match a price to that payment.
Does a bigger down payment help me afford more?
Yes. More down means a smaller loan, a lower payment, and no PMI past 20%, all of which raise the price you can comfortably carry.
Should I borrow the maximum I qualify for?
Usually not. Qualifying is the ceiling, not the target. Leaving margin below it protects your savings and handles the real costs of owning that a payment estimate does not show.
What counts toward the 36% debt limit?
Your mortgage payment plus other monthly debt: car loans, student loans, minimum credit-card payments, and similar. Utilities and groceries do not count.
MF
Marcus Fielding· Mortgage analyst & editor
Published June 2026 · Updated August 2026
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