15% of your income

[abhiseshakana]

In my country for subsidized house, middle and lower income class spend 25-30% from their salary to pay monthly installment for around 15 years. Rent or mortgage cost , transportation cost, and consumption cost is three biggest monthly regular expenses and mostly their salary can not cover it, so they take consumption credit and no space for saving. So the challange for middle and lower income class is to well manage these three cost component as economically as possible and balancing life strategies. I also admit that this housing crisis mostly happen due to property inflation is faster than our salary which showing wider economic problem.

From my experiences financial safety comes first before lifestyle. Even house is primary needed but i see many people forget that financial stability is more important  than a house prestige, they force themselves to stay on more expensive house for comfort and social status, it is not wise They don't have spare for emergency fund saving.

For me as long as my house habitable, have safe environtment and support my family daily activity, it is quite enough. So my suggestion, choose affordable housing location, beside reducing expenses, increasing income is a must, just ensure financial safety first because financial health is our all purpose after all not only have a house.

[r_victory]

Here in Brazil, rent costs practically an entire month's salary. There are families living in precarious conditions to be able to pay less, and even then the money is never enough; it's impossible to maintain a house, clothe themselves and their families, and feed themselves with the salary they receive.

Paying rent with 15% of your income is an impractical dream here, and I believe that's true anywhere in the world. In places where salaries are higher, the cost of living is usually higher as well.

[EFS]

I don't know which country this research was performed, but 15% of a salary wouldn't even be enough for groceries, let alone rent. Most people earn salaries that are below the hunger threshold. A large part of society lives with an income under the poverty line. The economy is in very bad shape in my country. The average rent is higher than the minimum wage. I really don't understand how people can still endure this situation.

[khiholangkang]

If we measure 15% and make it as money saved to buy a house of course it is very good, but this does come back to the amount of income, how quickly to buy a house in terms of money collected is spent, for now 15% savings for a house is not big enough because the price of the house is soaring, maybe we need to increase it more than 50% of income for now and reduce expenses, this method is more effective for now in my opinion with a salary level that is far from the price of buying a house that has comfortable and safe specifications for a family residence.

[ColdLava40]

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.

$40k per month? That's quite the catch. In most countries people are compelled to rents and building from scratch might not be common.

In my country, it's much easier to raise a house from scratch since land is still quite cheap compared to some country.. someone earning at least $1000 per month can raise a fully functional house in some side of the country and still have something to save up.

Though the thought is beginning to shift from building to buying, so if someone can save up enough he can purchase a house in the rural areas. Rent is quite expensive, so the vast population are moving from tenancy to owning their own home..

[Zaguru12]

Paying rent with 15% of your income is an impractical dream here, and I believe that's true anywhere in the world. In places where salaries are higher, the cost of living is usually higher as well.

I don’t know the country which was used for this analysis or the era the stats was actually done or analyzed but I can confidently say that even utility payments have now actually surpassed that 15% monthly income in most countries for more than a decade now, talk more of renting which doesn’t even consumes 50% of monthly expenses but like 60% of the annual income. Inflation has actually eating every thing up and that’s why you see the current generation do not just Chase a second source of income but a third and also a stretch to fourth to make ends meet. Many will advice building but an average perish after paying off expenses has bearly nothing to save for that.

[Gost ms]

If you spend only 15% of your income on house rent then it is the right decision. If you talk about all your expenses then it will never be the right decision. Because it is never possible to survive by being so stingy in this day and age. We earn to enjoy our life beautifully. If we cannot enjoy our life beautifully by earning then our earning is meaningless.

The first priority should be to manage yourself financially properly. If a person earns $100 a month and if he stingily spends $15 and continues his month and saves the remaining $85 then it may never be the right decision for him. He can spend the amount of money he needs with caution and without wasting it then it will be the right decision

[Darker45]

It's interesting how we call it a housing crisis when there are so many houses that remain unsold in the market while families are having a hard time paying their monthly rents. Perhaps we're in the middle of a salary crisis instead.

From where I am, you can keep your rent to as low as 15% of your salary for as long as you're single and you're sharing the room with somebody else. It's not a home, in other words. You're just renting a bed space. But it's good enough to many.

[dansus021]

I believe we all know that we in the middle of house crisis not just in the big city but also in a rural  areas, here in Indonesia all price of land is getting more expensive in a matter of year. In 2026, the housing landscape isn't just a challenge, it’s a structural crisis.

So if you ask me Is the 15% Rule Dead? For most people in 2026, yes. the sallary doenst keep pace with the house price. Is this worse than 2008? maybe yes but this one is more scturtural rather than a big bank collapse like in 2008

[Su-asa]

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?

Before you calculate this you must consider the cost of houses now, renting even a one bedroom apartment is no longer the same amount as it was few years ago, the inflation has made everything x3 of what it used to be. secondly, you can't generalise this because everyone earns differently, for some people 15 percent of what they earn isn't enough to pay for rent even if it's the most affordable amount. But there are people that can comfortably allocate 15 percent of what they earn monthly into house rent. Not everyone is in the same class or category, to some 15 percent is nothing and to others it might be more than enough, it all depends on the amount that they earn.

[viljy]

It's real for most people (and in different countries) this figure is closer to 50% rather than 15% of income. The growth of another indicator is much more dangerous - the share of food expenses. In some places, this figure is also approaching 50%, and where food costs are lower, this is temporary, and soon everyone will feel the general rise in prices.

[whiteblue]

Here in Brazil, rent costs practically an entire month's salary. There are families living in precarious conditions to be able to pay less, and even then the money is never enough; it's impossible to maintain a house, clothe themselves and their families, and feed themselves with the salary they receive.

Paying rent with 15% of your income is an impractical dream here, and I believe that's true anywhere in the world. In places where salaries are higher, the cost of living is usually higher as well.

Most of the comments I read 15% is quite difficult for housing costs, especially if it is in a busy center or where the rental price increases there, are you in the same place, friend? or renting a place that has better facilities, in many countries even if the facilities are good and close to the city center or busy areas, it is usually much more expensive than the cost of renting a regular place that does not have many residents and also has limited facilities, my salary is still enough to pay for it, but 15% is indeed too low if calculated from the average minimum salary.

[Somegory]

People pay more than 50% to stay in the city because of their businesses, some cities are best for running businesses and such cuties will have high demand on housing which I return will skyrocket the prices, you need to put your business first before making a decision.

If you are fine with a lagging business just go into a town to run it, but I bet you will feel the negative impact in just few months, there are few important things to consider when you want to start a business, location is the first important one.

Those who work at home or work online most of their lives have no business paying more than 10% of their income for rents, so therefore they can live in any cheaper places either in town, village or cities.

[bakasabo]

1/3 of my monthly salary goes on utility bills, internet, tv, insurance. That is a lot. During heating season its even more. I dont know who has calculated those 15%, but if I was able to spend on bills only 15% of my salary, I would be more than happy. If I would have to rent the place, it will basically be working to pay for play to sleep. As to my salary, it is above average in my country. By the way, bills next year are expected to get even higher due to increasing cost of resources, which are already gained 20-30% in price.

[CONVOAI]

The 15% rule was actually a very old guideline. Now the reality has changed a lot. Most economists now say that housing costs up to 25 to 30% are considered sustainable for many countries. This is because land prices construction costs and interest rates in cities have increased a lot. So the problem is not only peoples income but also low supply and high demand.

[michellee]

Rent or house expense could be the biggest expense monthly in some areas. You may find 15% in the suburban place which is not have much facilities for those who lived there.

That percentage can increases in the future, especially if tax and all related also increase. So no wonder if house pricing is also increase sharply. Buying a house now become difficult for average although they can pay monthly.

But still they need more money to living. People search for a small house by renting in a not popular places or not too close with the city center.

[Die_empty]

People pay more than 50% to stay in the city because of their businesses, some cities are best for running businesses and such cuties will have high demand on housing which I return will skyrocket the prices, you need to put your business first before making a decision.

If you are fine with a lagging business just go into a town to run it, but I bet you will feel the negative impact in just few months, there are few important things to consider when you want to start a business, location is the first important one.

Those who work at home or work online most of their lives have no business paying more than 10% of their income for rents, so therefore they can live in any cheaper places either in town, village or cities.

Cities that attract tourists also suffer high house rents. I have seen some protests in a few European countries where they complain that an increase in visitors has caused house rents to go high in these cities.

Some of us have been forced to move to rural areas because our total monthly earnings cannot afford house rents in urban areas. However, I still prefer living in urban cities because of more opportunities, quality facilities and high security.

[crwth]

I don't think that's an updated value. From what I have read from the Office of Policy Development and Research^[1], it shows that the problems are:

• Rent burden levels
• Housing supply shortages
• Demand pressures
• Trends affecting low‑income renters

15% is definitely not realistic in the economy we are in now.^{(depending on the situation)} Maybe it's better to know that 30% is the current trend that we have now. Maybe this is the minimum now.


[1] - https://www.huduser.gov/portal/publications/Worst-Case-Housing-Needs-2025-Report-to-Congress.html

[GiftedMAN]

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.

In this era the cost of building a house will take some people to save all their salaries for life before they can achieve that because the cost of purchasing a piece of land and building materials is on a high side.

If we keep working while we spend money on different things it becomes a burden to us because it's difficult to see a job that pays that big for you to remove 15% and still have what to save to build your own house. Rent monthly takes more than 50% of some person's monthly income they have to sort out other things before having the thought of building a house.

[Cheema02]

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?

Your point is very realistic and now its very difficult to maintain the 15 percent of imcome for housing according to old pattern. Because houses prices and rents continuously increasing faster than income all over the world. So according to experts we should spend 25 to 30 percent of our income on housing and if move in expensive locations then automatically we spend more money which create financial stress on us. If we research many reports support housing affordability but we don't compare it with 2008 era which results the week financial rules. But currently the main issue is accessive demand and low avalibilty of houses. But still many people losses a bigg portion of there monthly income on housing.