How much house can I afford on $80k a year?

The 28/36 rule on $80k: 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 $80,000 a year, gross pay is $6,667 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 $2,867 — enough for about $427,000 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 $1,867 a month buys about $278,000 with 20% down — 33% 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 $80k? Price by down payment at 7.24%

Here's how a $1,867 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.

Notice how a smaller down payment costs you twice: the loan is bigger, and mortgage insurance takes $81–$108 a month out of the same budget. Moving from FHA to 20% down raises the price you can afford by $56,000, though it also requires $47,774 more cash up front.

What a $1,867 housing payment covers (PITI breakdown)

The 28% rule caps the whole payment, not just the loan. With 20% down on a $278,000 home, here is how $1,867 a month splits up:

Property tax alone is $208 a month at the national average rate. In a state like New Jersey or Illinois, where effective rates run near or above 2%, the same budget buys a noticeably cheaper house; in Hawaii or Alabama it buys more. In the first year about $2,155 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 $533 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 $10,000, 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 $80k? 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 $80k you're $40,000 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.

Pittsburgh fits the 28% rule; Atlanta, Houston would need a stretch toward 43% DTI, while Los Angeles, Boston, Seattle, Denver, Chicago are out of reach for a median home on one $80k income. 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 $80k, a one-point drop in the rate would raise the price you can afford by about $24,000 with the same $1,867 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 $80k

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 $5,426 a month (single filer, 2026 federal tax and FICA, no state tax).

Fun equivalent: years of saving 15% of take-home ($9,767 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: $1,867 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 $347 a month at 1.5%) and housing can quietly crowd out savings.

Rent or buy on $80k?

The 30% rent rule would let you rent up to about $2,000 a month on $80,000 a year (see how much rent you can afford on $80k). Owning the $278,000 home costs $1,867 in PITI plus roughly $347 a month for maintenance — about $2,214 in all — and ties up $63,882 in down payment and closing costs.

The honest comparison is unrecoverable costs: interest, property tax, insurance and maintenance for owners versus rent for renters. Principal ($2,155 in year one here) is savings, not cost — but the down payment could otherwise be invested. Most break-even calculations land between 4 and 7 years.

Tips to afford more house on $80,000 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 $75,000 a yearLower salary
• House on $85,000 a yearHigher salary
• Rent you can afford on $80kRent vs buy
• $225,000 mortgage paymentYour loan size at today's rate
• $80,000 after taxes by state50-state take-home pay
• Is $80k a good salary in Texas?Cost-of-living guide
• 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.