15% of your income

[sleepfirefly]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

[joniboini]

I feel like we have housing crisis for years now. When did you read that 15% thing? Are you sure it hasn't been updated to 20% or higher? Granted, we could also argue that we need a higher income instead of increasing budget allocation for housing and whatnot.

In my country, I feel like the price for daily goods has increased over the past 5 years. Everything is expensive whether we have a house crisis or not. Land prices have increased, granted it's still cheap to buy and live in the countryside. I don't need to allocate for rent, but I have to pay for electricity, internet, and water. It's definitely more than 15% of my monthly income.

[Bluedrem]

If I say in the context of my country, then in my country, there are different housing costs in villages and cities. I am a student, I pay tuition to cover my education and living expenses. Since I don't have a house in the city, I have to live in a rented house. Half of the money that is spent on my university tuition fees goes to renting my house. To be honest, our housing costs are much higher in the city. But in the villages, everyone has their own house, so everyone can stay in their own house. In that case, apart from the development of the house, there is no housing cost.

[Shishir99]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

LOL. In some cities, you have to pay more than 50% of your income just for housing, yet people live there. Often, in a sublet, hostel, or even a cage-like room, so they can have cheap bills. In my country, most people in the village live in their own houses. But people who live in the city mostly live in rented houses. Those people pay huge percentage of their total income just for housing.

The problem will become worse in the future. People need to save money, build their own housing and move there. If you do not have a house, do not live a luxury life. Save money and build your own house first.

[rat03gopoh]

That's just a relative opinion. I think 15% might still be the norm in some areas, or even lower if you employ extreme savings techniques. I have a colleague who works in a factory and spends only 10% of his salary (the combined income of both husband and wife).

Housing in industrial areas usually has more affordable rental rates, perhaps due to local regulations, agreements with companies, or market price competition. But don't expect more for a low price.

[Porfirii]

15%, LOL!

In Spain, the most frequent salary is around 1,000 EUR (although the average is reasonably higher), and the average rental price is 1,155 EUR. The accounts don't add up. Even in a couple where both work, it would account for almost 60% of their income.

Being able to access decent housing at a reasonable price is a fundamental right, but as long as funds speculate with them and people are willing to mortgage for thirty or more years, in some countries we don't work our entire life to live, but to just inhabit.

[Zlantann]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

So many factors can affect the amount you pay for accommodation. Your location, family size, availability of basic amenities,.etc. To save the cost of transportation you have to stay close to your place of work. If you have a big family your expenses on accommodation could be more than 15%. With the rate of increase in residential property, you wouldn't get a decent home if your budget is 15% of your income. This case is true if you are a low or average-income earner. Let me use myself as an example, my rent is close to 30% of my annual income and that's one of the cheapest I can get in my area.

[salad daging]

Rental costs may now be higher especially in urban areas close to offices or other industrial plants, perhaps each region is different so the price variation will determine it.
I think 15% of your total opinion will not be enough for now, rents can be expensive this does not include other bills, so for me it could be more than 20% or even 30%.
In Europe it might be even higher because from what I know the rent can be more than $1000 not to mention their income is highly taxed.

[sunsilk]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

I think if we go in the reality of this year and even the past close years, it's no longer 15% of someone's household income that goes to the rental expenses.

AFAIK, it usually go in the basic of 20%-30% and maybe the median and the common now is at 30%. That's why many have to hustle for 2-3 more jobs just to be able to pay it.

There's certainly a housing crisis and the minimum wage is no longer enough to cover it.

[BRINIRHA]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

Unfortunately, housing expenses are currently the largest expense for me. And I'm sure many people are spending more than 15% of their income on housing right now, because inflation has made money less valuable. So even though our income has increased, the amount of money we have to spend has also increased significantly due to inflation. And now, due to several geopolitical issues in the Middle East, I think the situation could take a turn for the worse again. Inflation could rise again, especially due to the disruption of the oil sector caused by the Strait of Hormuz issue. So, we must now even prepare to face inflation, which will soon rise again due to several factors. And I think that currently, many people have living expenses that far exceed 50% of their income.

[Rruchi man]

is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

Housing expense is a yearly deal in my country, and that makes it easier for you to plan for, as you have more time. You will be able to save up a good percentage of your income to cover the expense if you plan well for it.

Between one rent payment and another, there could be some expenses that are higher than housing expenses. It is not always the biggest yearly expense.

[YellowSwap]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

In which country exactly?

In my country people are the ones pushing themselves into things that they can't really afford.
How can you be making $200 per month and your yearly rent is $1500? Where there are houses that cost less, I get to understand that people want to set standards that isn't right for them.

Housing crises might be worst in the U.S or U.K but in developing countries there is houses for everyone depending on how much you are willing to pay or how much you cannot afford, some states are cheaper than others.

[Moreno233]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

I don't live in Europe or the US where rent are paid monthly, here rent are paid annually and we use a different benchmark for this calculation. By our calculation, if rent is more than one month income, then there is bound to be financial stress. Unfortunately, there is housing crisis like you noted, and annual rent is taking as high as two to three months income which is why many people are sliding below the poverty line in my country.

[Marykeller]

Well, every city or town has its own price range for renting a house. You can't compare the house rent of someone who lives in an urban area with that of a rural area, there is a big difference.

Where I live, being an urban area, the house rent is more than most people's 15% of their salaries. People are going for the house they can afford their rent, so that their feeding won't be affected as they live in the house.

However, some landlords or landladies are wicked, they are fond of increasing the house rent of their tenants almost every 4-5 years. They do that in accordance with the present expenses of building a new house.

[Fortify]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

That's never been true, even 10 years ago, and the accepted figure is usually closer to the 30% range but even that is on the low end. Maybe you got confused with something like car or travel expenses. I don't know how you think that 10 years ago people had 85% of their income as free for other expenditures and it makes me wonder if you've even started paying rent or a mortgage yet. Most people would usually allocate 15% as either fun money or alternatively it is about the same amount that you'd hope to be saving/investing, although even that should really grow proportionally when you get older. For anyone who's got bills it most definitely would be the greatest expense, unless you're living with family in which case a car bill often takes that place.

[YOSHIE]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

A situation like that is clear, ten years ago it was no longer the same as the current economic situation, in the past the price of low necessities might have been 15% more than enough to cover the cost of renting a house, but this is no longer the case.

With necessities and costs increasing, expenses must also be increased by 20% of income. This does not happen without a definite reason, inflation, the bad global economy triggers an increase in all kinds of expenses, not only house rent, The basic necessities that were set aside 20% per month have now increased to 30%, what's more the turmoil in various countries with incessant wars.

[Alone055]

almost 10 years ago, i read that your rent or whatever you pay for your home should not exceed 15% of your monthly income. now in 2026, many reports are saying that there definitely is a housing crisis.

with some saying this could be worse than the 2008 crisis. do you still believe that only 15% of your income goes to rent or house expense? is housing expense your biggest expense monthly?

It should depend on where a person lives, because housing prices and minimum wages can differ based on region or country of residence. Someone who lives in a third-world country will surely be paying way more than 15% of their income because mostly the minimum wage is very low, and inflation is very high, so if you are making like $200 in a third-world country, you will probably be spending around around $70 to $80 for rent, because the rates are usually high and wages are low as I said. In contrast, someone from a first-world country or a country which has a good economy might have to spend even less than 15% of their income for rent, because inflation is low, and wages are good or high.

For this reason alone, rent and other general expenses, people from third-world countries are often compelled to do more than one jobs to be able to sustain the expenses they have to bear, because if you are spending about 30% to 40% only on rent, you can wonder how one can manage with the rest of the funds for a whole month if they have a family to take care of. So, economic hurdles are everywhere, especially if a country is struggling economically, the government and their people might enjoy all the benefits, but the civilians will always suffer.

[Agbamoni]

In this era, it is above 15%.

For many people, the cost of paying rent is one of the largest financial burdens to them. There is a high cost of living, and salary is not increasing. For those that gets paid for their skill often find it hard to keep up with paying their rent monthly in this generation. Some months may be profitable to them, while other months, they barely get a sale or a gig, yet rent remains a must for them.

[7juju]

It totally depends on how much your income is on monthly and the size of your family. In my place the cost of building a house has totally gone up so has the cost of renting house gone up. But what has refused to go up is the salary. There are people that are earning big amount as salaries, their 15% can rent them a comfortable house, but that can't be said for people that don't earn that much. In cases of people that their 15% can't get a conducive house for,  they can increase to any percentage that can get them the house they need for their household. I don't like living my life on terms set by other people's reality. Every individual should adjust to what's obtainable with their current realities.

[Akbarkoe]

We live in a different era, and prices are skyrocketing. That term only applies to the past. We needed a much larger income to build a house.
We're encouraged to keep working and working,
while inflation erodes our money.
Is there a solution? Yes, there is a solution. If our income is higher, for example, $40,000 per month, and setting aside 15% of that is enough to build your modest home.