How much house can I afford on $75k a year?

The 28/36 rule on $75k: your maximum monthly mortgage payment

The 28/36 rule is the classic lender test. The "28" is the front-end ratio: your total housing payment — principal, interest, property taxes and homeowners insurance (PITI), plus PMI and any HOA dues — should be no more than 28% of gross monthly income. The "36" is the back-end ratio: housing plus every other monthly debt payment (car loans, student loans, minimum card payments) should stay under 36%.

On $75,000 a year, gross pay is $6,250 a month, so the 28/36 rule gives:

What about 43%? It was the hard debt-to-income cap for a Qualified Mortgage until the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau replaced it with a price-based test in 2021 (mandatory since October 2022). Today 43% is still FHA's standard back-end ratio and a widely used benchmark, and Fannie Mae's automated underwriting can approve up to 50% with strong credit and reserves. If a lender approved you at the 43% line with no other debts, your housing payment could reach $2,688 — enough for about $400,000 with 20% down — but that leaves far less for everything else.

This salary sits in the range where the answer depends heavily on where you live. Your 28% budget of $1,750 a month buys about $260,000 with 20% down — 38% below the U.S. median — which works in much of the Midwest and South but not in the coastal metros.

How much house can I afford on $75k? Price by down payment at 7.24%

Here's how a $1,750 monthly payment turns into a home price. We use the Freddie Mac average 30-year fixed rate of 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026, property tax at the 0.9% national effective rate, homeowners insurance scaled from the national average, and estimated mortgage insurance whenever you put down less than 20%.

Estimates. FHA loan includes the 1.75% upfront MIP financed; annual MIP 0.55%. Conventional PMI assumed at 0.60% (5% down) and 0.45% (10% down) of the loan per year. Prices rounded to the nearest $1,000; no HOA dues.

In practice many first-time buyers put down less than 20%, so the 5%, 10% and FHA rows are the realistic ones for a lot of readers. Every extra $10,000 of down payment adds about $10,000 to the price you can buy without changing the monthly payment.

What a $1,750 housing payment covers (PITI breakdown)

The 28% rule caps the whole payment, not just the loan. With 20% down on a $260,000 home, here is how $1,750 a month splits up:

Only $1,420 goes to the lender. The remaining $330 is escrowed for property tax and insurance — and those bills tend to rise over time even though a fixed-rate principal-and-interest payment never changes. In the first year about $2,020 of your payments would pay down principal; the rest is interest.

How car payments and student loans change what you can afford

The 36% back-end limit only bites once your other debts exceed $500 a month (8% of gross pay). Below that, the 28% front-end limit is the binding constraint and a small car payment doesn't change your price. Above it, every dollar of debt payment is a dollar less for housing.

A $300 payment fits in the gap, but a $600 one — a typical new-car loan — cuts your home budget by about $15,000, because it pushes you past the 36% total-debt limit. Lenders count minimum required payments, so a credit card with a $2,000 balance typically adds only a small minimum payment, while a leased car counts in full.

Can you buy a median home on $75k? 8 major metros compared

The national median existing-home price was $417,500 in September 2026 (NAR). To buy that home with 20% down under our assumptions you'd need about $120,000 a year; with $75k you're $45,000 short. Metro medians differ far more than any rule of thumb:

Approximate: NAR Q2 2026 metro median single-family existing-home prices (via HSH.com). Income needed uses the same 7.24% rate, 0.9% tax and insurance assumptions as above.

None of these metros' median homes fit the 28% rule on one $75k income (Atlanta, Houston, Pittsburgh would at a 43% stretch). Below-median homes, condos, smaller cities, or a second income are the realistic routes — Pittsburgh's $267,700 median needs about $77,000. Remember that a metro median mixes downtown and far-out suburbs; your price range may exist in outer neighborhoods even where the median is too high.

How interest rates change your home budget

Rates matter almost as much as income. A year ago the 30-year average was 6.17%; in the week of October 29, 2026 it was 7.24%. On $75k, a one-point drop in the rate would raise the price you can afford by about $22,000 with the same $1,750 payment.

Same PITI budget, tax, insurance and mortgage-insurance assumptions. Your own rate depends on credit score, points, loan type and lender.

Down payment and closing costs: how long to save on $75k

The monthly rule tells you what you can carry; cash decides when you can buy. Assuming closing costs of about 3% of the price (2%–5% is typical), here's the cash each scenario needs — and how long it takes to save if you put away 15% of your estimated take-home pay of $5,133 a month (single filer, 2026 federal tax and FICA, no state tax).

Fun equivalent: years of saving 15% of take-home ($9,239 a year). Gifts from family, down payment assistance and seller credits shorten the timeline.

There's a reason many planners prefer a take-home version of the rule: $1,750 is 28% of gross but 34% of take-home pay here. Add utilities and maintenance (often 1%–2% of the home's value a year, or $325 a month at 1.5%) and housing can quietly crowd out savings.

Rent or buy on $75k?

The 30% rent rule would let you rent up to about $1,875 a month on $75,000 a year (see how much rent you can afford on $75k). Owning the $260,000 home costs $1,750 in PITI plus roughly $325 a month for maintenance — about $2,075 in all — and ties up $59,889 in down payment and closing costs.

Buying tends to win the longer you stay: in year one only about $2,020 of your payments builds equity, and selling costs (often 6%–8% of the price) can wipe out early gains. If you might move within about five years, renting and investing the down payment is often the cheaper path.

Tips to afford more house on $75,000 a year

• Get pre-approved by two or three lenders on the same day; rates and fees for the same borrower can differ noticeably.
• Look at 5%–10% down rather than waiting years for 20% — PMI can be removed once you reach 20% equity.
• Keep other monthly debts below 8% of gross pay so the 36% back-end limit never binds.
• Raise your credit score above 740 before applying if you can; it lowers both your rate and PMI.
• Ask the seller for closing-cost credits when the market is slow — they can cut your cash needed by thousands.

Related guides

• House on $70,000 a yearLower salary
• House on $80,000 a yearHigher salary
• Rent you can afford on $75kRent vs buy
• $200,000 mortgage paymentYour loan size at today's rate
• $75,000 after taxes by state50-state take-home pay
• Is my salary good? Guides by stateSalary vs cost of living
• Mortgage calculatorPITI, PMI, amortization
• Home affordability calculatorAll salaries $40k–$300k

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Sources & assumptions

• Mortgage rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), week of October 29, 2026 — 30-year fixed 7.24% (prior week 7.32%, a year earlier 6.17%), 15-year fixed 6.6%. PMMS is a national average for borrowers with strong credit and 20% down; FHA and low-down-payment quotes differ.
• National median: National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing-home sales for September 2026 (released October 13, 2026) — $417,500 for all existing homes; NAR's Q3 2026 single-family median was $432,900 (released October 29, 2026).
• Metro prices (approximate): NAR metropolitan median single-family existing-home prices for Q2 2026, as tabulated in HSH.com's "Income you need to purchase a median-priced existing home" (Q2 2026). Metro medians cover whole metropolitan areas; city neighborhoods and condos differ widely.
• Property tax: 0.9% of value per year, the 2025 national effective rate for single-family homes (ATTOM). Insurance: $2,490 a year per $400,000 of dwelling coverage (NerdWallet, 2026), scaled to price. Both are national averages — your state can be far higher or lower.
• Mortgage insurance (estimates): FHA annual MIP 0.55% of the base loan plus 1.75% upfront MIP financed into the loan (HUD, for loans ≤ $726,200 with under 5% down). Conventional PMI assumed at 0.60% a year with 5% down and 0.45% with 10% down for a borrower with good credit; Freddie Mac cites roughly $30–$70 a month per $100,000 borrowed, and actual quotes depend on credit score.
• Loan limits 2026: conforming baseline $832,750 (FHFA); FHA $541,287 in most counties up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas (HUD). Closing costs assumed at 3% of price (2%–5% is typical). No HOA dues.
• Take-home pay: single filer, 2026 federal brackets and $16,100 standard deduction (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32), FICA, no state tax — same engine as our paycheck calculator.
• The 28/36 rule is a traditional lender guideline, not a law. The 43% debt-to-income cap was the Qualified Mortgage (QM) limit until the CFPB replaced it with a price-based test (mandatory since October 1, 2022); 43% remains FHA's standard back-end ratio and a common benchmark, while Fannie Mae's automated underwriting can approve up to 50% DTI.