Research / Salary-to-Rent Fit
Income threshold + independent local context
What salary fits current asking rent?
A salary is only useful as a rent screen when the arithmetic and housing measure are visible. This report starts with direct current Zillow asking rent, derives one transparent income threshold, and keeps Census, BLS, BEA and HUD evidence in their own labelled universes.
- Direct ZORI metros
- 696
- Median asking rent
- $1,402
- Income screen
- 30.0%
- Independent sources
- 6
The useful answer
One clean threshold, then the local context that can challenge it.
The core calculation is deliberately simple: current monthly Zillow ZORI × 12 ÷ 30%. Across 696 direct metro observations, that produces a median required gross income of $56,060. The least demanding observed threshold is $26,600 in Fort Madison, IA; the highest is $204,080 in Kapaa, HI.
That answer is a screen, not a verdict. A household pays taxes, debt and non-housing costs out of income. A one-worker BLS wage is not a household income. HUD two-bedroom schedules and Census gross rent are not asking-rent indexes. The report therefore keeps those measures side by side without averaging them or pretending they share one denominator.
The interactive tool lets a reader replace the 30% screen with 25%, 35% or 40% and enter their own gross salary. It changes arithmetic only; it does not save the input, alter the underlying market data or create indexable salary pages.
Fixed 30% screen · 696 direct metros
How many markets fit each required-income band?
Each metro appears once. The bands translate current monthly Zillow asking rent into gross annual income at one printed rent-share threshold.
Three denominators
Asking rent, surveyed rent and payment standards answer different questions.
Optional evidence never determines whether a metro enters the report.
Zillow ZORI
A repeat-rent index intended to track the typical market asking-rent level across the metro. This is the only input to the salary threshold.
696 metrosCensus ACS gross rent
Contract rent plus estimated utilities for renter-occupied housing. It is context, not a fallback for ZORI.
696 metrosHUD two-bedroom FMR
The table preserves the minimum and maximum exact county schedule inside each metro instead of inventing a metro average.
696 metrosAcross the distribution
Direct rent with every secondary period attached.
These rows sample the low, middle and high ends. The complete reproducible table is available as CSV.
| Metro | Asking rent | Required income | ACS household income | OEWS wage | HUD 2BR range | BEA RPP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Madison, IA2026-06-30 | $665 | $27k | $62kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $962–$962FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Kirksville, MO2026-06-30 | $716 | $29k | $61kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $888–$888FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Dyersburg, TN2026-06-30 | $740 | $30k | $58kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $925–$925FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Charleston, IL2026-06-30 | $778 | $31k | $56kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $965–$965FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Enterprise, AL2026-06-30 | $1,400 | $56k | $68kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $933–$933FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Stillwater, OK2026-06-30 | $1,401 | $56k | $50kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $1,035–$1,035FY2026 | n/an/a |
| Hammond, LA2026-06-30 | $1,402 | $56k | $57kACS 2024 5-year | $38k2025-05 | $1,099–$1,099FY2026 | 84.52024 |
| Ruston, LA2026-06-30 | $1,402 | $56k | $39kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $881–$881FY2026 | n/an/a |
| New York, NY2026-06-30 | $3,573 | $143k | $99kACS 2024 5-year | $61k2025-05 | $2,205–$2,910FY2026 | 112.62024 |
| Santa Cruz, CA2026-06-30 | $3,609 | $144k | $111kACS 2024 5-year | $55k2025-05 | $4,214–$4,214FY2026 | 109.92024 |
| San Jose, CA2026-06-30 | $3,729 | $149k | $162kACS 2024 5-year | $84k2025-05 | $2,902–$3,483FY2026 | 110.42024 |
| Kapaa, HI2026-06-30 | $5,102 | $204k | $98kACS 2024 5-year | n/an/a | $2,332–$2,332FY2026 | n/an/a |
Method
- Annualized asking rent is current monthly Zillow ZORI multiplied by 12; required gross income divides that annual rent by the printed 30 percent screen.
- Each metro enters exactly one fixed required-income band: at or below $40,000; above $40,000 through $60,000; above $60,000 through $80,000; above $80,000 through $100,000; or above $100,000.
- ACS household income, OEWS all-occupations wage and BEA price parity remain independent context because they describe different populations and concepts.
- HUD context reports the minimum and maximum direct two-bedroom schedule across mapped member counties; it is never averaged into a synthetic metro rent.
Counter-signals
- A 30 percent gross-income screen does not account for taxes, debt, childcare, transportation, utilities, savings goals or household size.
- ZORI is a typical market asking-rent index across unit types, while HUD Fair Market Rent and ACS gross rent use different definitions and bedroom coverage.
- Median household income and an all-occupations worker wage are not interchangeable, and neither describes a particular applicant's earnings.
Limitations
- The report is a metro-level comparison, not a lease quote, eligibility decision, budget recommendation or neighborhood rent comp.
- Source releases cover different periods. Every period remains attached to its own value rather than being presented as one synchronized observation.
- Missing secondary evidence remains null and displays as unavailable; no nearby area, national average or model fills the gap.
Make it personal without making a new page
Change the salary, share and metro in one private browser scenario.
Census ACS 5-year — household income and gross rentACS 2024 5-yearRetrieved 2026-08-05BEA Regional Price Parities — metropolitan price levels2024 Regional Price Parities (released 2026-02-19); history 2008-2024Retrieved 2026-08-03BLS OEWS — occupation employment and wagesMay 2025 OEWS estimates (released 2026-05-15)Retrieved 2026-08-03OMB/BLS delineation — metro geographyOMB July 2023 delineationRetrieved 2026-07-30HUD Fair Market Rents — Section 8 standardFY2026 FMRRetrieved 2026-07-26Zillow ZORI — metro market rentsMetro_zori_uc_sfrcondomfr_sm_sa_month.csvRetrieved 2026-07-26