How Much House Can I Afford on $100k?
Enter your debts, down payment, and interest rate to get a personalized max home price — not a rule-of-thumb guess.
About this tool
This calculator starts with your $100k gross income and works through the 28/36 and FHA 36/50 DTI guidelines to produce the actual maximum home price your lender will approve — with full PITI breakdown and a three-scenario comparison.
How to use it
Quick steps to get the most out of this utility.
- 1
Leave income at $100,000
Or adjust to your actual gross annual income.
- 2
Enter monthly debts
Car payments, student loans, minimum credit card payments — everything except housing.
- 3
Set down payment
Percentage or flat amount. 20% avoids PMI; 3.5% is the FHA minimum.
- 4
Fill rate and term
Current 30-year fixed is around 6.5–7.5% — use your quoted rate if you have one.
- 5
Read your number
Max price, monthly PITI, and DTI ratios update instantly across all three scenarios.
$100k salary home buying: what lenders actually approve
The most common question in home buying is how the lender's DTI math translates to a real number you can search for on Zillow. At $100k, your gross monthly income is $8,333. Standard 31/43 DTI means the lender allows up to $2,583/month for housing (front-end). Subtract property tax, insurance, and HOA, and the remaining principal + interest payment determines the loan size — which divided by (1 − down payment%) gives you the home price.
Frequently asked questions
How much house can I afford on $100k salary with no debt?+
With $100k income, $0 existing debts, 20% down, 7% rate, 1.2% property tax, and standard 31/43 DTI, you can afford roughly $380,000–$420,000. The conservative 28/36 DTI brings it to about $320,000–$360,000. FHA-stretch 36/50 DTI reaches ~$450,000–$490,000. These are starting ranges — your actual property tax rate and HOA have a significant effect.
What if I have $400/month in car payments — does that change the max price much?+
Yes, meaningfully. With standard 31/43 DTI, $400/month in debts reduces your max back-end housing allowance by $400, which at 7% for 30 years corresponds to roughly $55,000–$60,000 less home you can afford. Higher debt loads push you toward the back-end DTI ceiling first.
Is 3× my salary a reliable rule for home buying?+
The "3× salary" rule is a rough heuristic from lower-rate eras. At 7% interest rates, 3× income ($300k on $100k) is actually conservative — most 28/36 DTI calculations allow $320k–$380k at current rates. The rule matters more as a sanity check on your comfort level than as a lender limit.
Do lenders use gross or net income for DTI?+
Lenders use gross (pre-tax) income for DTI calculations. Your actual take-home is less, which is why a 28% front-end DTI on gross can feel tight month-to-month. When budgeting personally, also run the numbers against your net take-home pay to ensure the payment is comfortable, not just approvable.
Keep exploring
More utilities and reading from Toolisk.
More views of the same calculator
Open main calculator →Same underlying engine, written for different use cases. Pick the angle that matches your situation.