How Much House Can I Afford With a $50K Salary?

Enter your gross salary. Include your co-buyer's salary, too, if you have a co-buyer.

How much money you earn is central to determining how much house you can afford, but it's not all a lender needs to know. You'll also need to report any other regular income.

Enter any additional regular income for you and your co-buyer, if you have a co-buyer.

For instance, if you rent out a room in your house or have an eBay store as a side hustle, include the amount of money you make from those non-salary sources annually.

Enter the total amount of monthly non-housing debt you pay each month.

Non-housing debt typically includes minimum credit card payments, student loans, car payments, and financial assistance like alimony and child support.

Aim for combined non-housing and housing debts of no more than 36% of your gross income, per the 28/36 rule.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says loans will typically go to consumers who carry debts of 43% of gross income or less. If the numbers you input into the calculator add up to a debt-to-income ratio of more than 43%, the calculator will signal that banks may reject your loan application.[1]

Enter the amount of money or the percent of the house price you can pay upfront.

Home buyers who pay for their house with a loan usually put 3.5%–20% down. The typical first-time home buyer makes a median down payment of 10% of the sale price.[2]

If you're planning to make a down payment of less than 20% on a conventional mortgage, you'll likely also have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). If you enter less than 20% in the down payment field, we'll prefill the PMI cost to 1.1% of the home price, which is about the average.[3]

Generally, your monthly payments will be less the more you pay for your down payment.

We've prefilled this field with the recent annual interest rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage.[4]

Your actual rate depends on credit score, loan size, market conditions, and more. Try different rates to see how much even a slight change can impact how much house you can afford.

We've prefilled the loan term field with a 30-year term, the most common time span for a home loan. You also have the option for a 15-year mortgage.

Banks offer loans with other terms, but we're focusing on the most common options.

Select your state from the dropdown menu. Your location determines the rates you'll pay for homeowner's insurance and property taxes.

Enter your monthly HOA fees if the home you're buying is in an HOA.

• Put 20% down
• Finance with a conventional 30-year loan at the current interest rate of 6.48%[4]
• Pay the average state annual property tax rate of 0.90%[5]
• Pay the average state annual home insurance cost of $2,424[6]
• Spend 0% of your gross monthly income on non-housing debts

• Put 20% down
• Finance with a conventional 30-year loan at current interest rate of 6.48%[4]
• Pay the average state annual property tax rate of 0.90%[5]
• Pay the average state annual home insurance cost of $2,424[6]
• Spend 8% of your gross monthly income on non-housing debts

• Put 3.5% down
• Finance with a 30-year FHA loan at current interest rate of 6.48%[4]
• Pay the average PMI of $946[3]
• Pay the average state annual property tax rate of 0.90%[5]
• Pay the average state annual home insurance cost of $2,424[6]
• Spend 0% of your gross monthly income on non-housing debts

• Put 10% down
• Finance with a conventional 30-year loan at current interest rate of 6.48%[4]
• Pay the average PMI of $998[3]
• Pay the average state annual property tax rate of 0.90%[5]
• Pay the average state annual home insurance cost of $2,424[6]
• Spend 8% of your gross monthly income on non-housing debts

• • Put 10% down
  • Finance with a conventional 30-year loan at current interest rate of 6.48%[4]
  • Pay the average PMI of $998[3]
  • Pay the average state annual property tax rate of 0.90%[5]
  • Pay the average state annual home insurance cost of $2,424[6]

• Spend 0% of your gross monthly income on non-housing debt

The lower your mortgage interest rate, the lower your long-term cost of your house will be. That translates to lower monthly mortgage payments.

You can potentially get a rate lower than the 6.48% average on a 30-year mortgage by taking these steps:

Improve your credit score

Typically, the better your credit score, the lower your mortgage rate. Lenders usually offer their best rates to buyers with a credit score of 740 or above, though a lower score won't disqualify you. It just affects your terms and how much house you can afford.

If you have time before applying, a few concrete steps can move your score:

• Dispute errors on your credit reports from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• Pay down revolving balances to lower your credit utilization — the share of your available credit you're using.
• Avoid new credit inquiries or accounts in the months before you apply.
• Time your application for after those changes have posted to your reports.

Improve your debt-to-income ratio (DTI)

Generally, the less debt you owe, the better your loan terms.

Most lenders follow the 28/36 rule: no more than 28% of your gross income should go toward housing costs and 36% on total debts (including student loan or car payments). On a $50,000 salary, that's $1,500 a month on total debt, $1,167 of which would go toward housing.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says some home lenders will go up to 43% or higher on DTI. But don't count on getting a good rate with that level of debt.[1]

According to a National Association of Realtors survey, 45% of mortgage applicants who were denied a loan were rejected because their DTI was too high.[7]

Shorten the loan term (time span)

The longer the term length of a loan, the higher the rates but the lower the monthly payments. Loans are commonly available as 15-, 20-, or 30-year terms.

Lenders typically offer 30-year mortgages at higher rates than 15-year mortgages, but monthly payments for the 30-year mortgage will be lower.

Lenders typically offer lower rates for 15-year mortgages — currently 5.79% — but the monthly payments will be higher.[4]

Some lenders offer different term lengths with different rates.

The bigger your down payment for a loan, the lower your total loan and monthly payments. The lower your monthly payments, the more affordable your house will be.

Buyers who pay for their homes with a loan put between 3.5% and 20% down. First-time home buyers typically make a median down payment of 10% of the sale price.[2]

If you have a conventional loan and put 3.5–20% down, you'll typically have to pay an additional 0.2%–2% of your total loan in private mortgage insurance (PMI). Lenders require PMI for conventional loans until you reach 20% home equity.[3]

A few lenders do offer mortgages without PMI.

Make saving for a down payment a key part of your home-buying plan.

You may also qualify for a down payment assistance (DPA) program. DPA programs are generally designed for first-time and lower-income home buyers.

Learn about programs in your area and how to qualify.

The more you have to pay in property taxes, the less money you have to pay for your mortgage and other housing-related costs.

Property taxes will add between 0.29% and 1.88% of the assessed value of your house to your annual homeownership costs. That's $446–$2,894 each year, on average.[5]

Property taxes rise when your local government reassesses the value of your property, which happens once every few years, depending on the state. If your property value goes up, your taxes will likely increase.

You can move to another municipality that has lower property tax rates.

See below for the average tax rates and amounts you'll pay in each state.[5]

The more you have to pay in home insurance costs, the less money you have to pay for your mortgage and other housing-related costs.

Home insurance costs will add between $827 and $6,587 to annual homeownership costs.[6]

Home insurance rates can fluctuate based on environmental hazards, changes in property value, claims you make, and other factors.

You can move to another municipality where home insurance costs are lower or to a region that’s less prone to wildfires, hurricanes, and other natural disasters.

Check the chart below to factor in how much of your home's assessed value and see the annual and monthly average insurance costs in your state.[6]

Factor in 1.85% of the price of your house for one-time closing costs.[8]

Most buyers need to pay the following costs:

• Title and escrow charges
• Lender fees
• Mortgage recording fee
• Home inspection fees
• Moving expenses

If you have to join a homeowner's association, you'll likely have to pay a fee. In the U.S., the median monthly HOA fee is $135.[9]

Fees can range widely depending on your state and your location within your state, however.

Backed by the Federal Housing Administration, FHA loans allow a down payment as low as 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher (10% down for scores between 500 and 579).

They're popular with first-time and lower-credit buyers, though you'll pay a mortgage insurance premium (MIP), usually for the life of the loan when you put down less than 10%.[10]

Learn more about FHA loans.

If you're buying in an eligible rural area and your household income is within your area's limit (generally up to 115% of the area median income), a USDA loan offers 100% financing with no down payment required.[11]

Learn more about USDA loans.

If you're an eligible veteran, active-duty service member, or qualifying spouse, a VA loan offers no down payment and no private mortgage insurance, backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.[12]

Learn more about VA loans.

Many state and local programs offer grants or low-interest loans toward your down payment or closing costs, often aimed at first-time and lower-income buyers. These programs can sometimes be combined with the loans above.

Learn about these first-time homebuyer programs and how to qualify.

On a $50,000 salary, a typical buyer can afford a home of about $155,208, which works out to roughly $1,167 including property taxes and insurance.

The actual amount you can afford moves with your down payment, debt, and local tax and insurance costs.

Plug in your own figure in our calculator to get a more personal outlook on your buying possibilities.

In general, you don't need 20% down. With an FHA loan you can buy with as little as 3.5% down, and many conventional loans allow as little as 3%.

Putting less than 20% down on a conventional loan adds private mortgage insurance (PMI), which costs 0.2%–2% of your loan, or about 1.1% on average. You'll pay PMI until you reach 20% equity, and it raises your monthly payment until you can drop it.[3]

The five scenarios above show how different down payments change the home price you can afford. You can also use our calculator for a more detailed estimate of what you'll pay.

Lenders size your mortgage with the 28/36 rule. On a $50,000 salary, that's about $1,167 a month for housing and no more than $1,500 for total monthly debt.

Most lenders also want your debt-to-income ratio at or below 43%. Above that, approval gets harder no matter your salary.[1]

Lowering your monthly debt or increasing your down payment raises the mortgage amount you'll qualify for.