Rent Affordability Calculator
Free NZ rent affordability calculator. See what share of your take-home pay your rent takes, and what's left to live on each week.
Left to live on each week
$650
Rent takes 46% of your take-home pay, above the 30% commonly used as a housing-affordability guideline, so the rest of the budget absorbs it.
- 46%
- of your pay
- $28,600
- rent per year
The number that matters isn't the rent, it's the share of your pay it takes. A $600 week on $1,800 take-home is a different life from $600 on $1,100, and only one of them leaves room for everything else.
Housing is commonly considered a stretch above 30% of income. That's a guideline rather than a rule, and plenty of Kiwis are well past it in the main centres, but it's a useful line to know you're crossing.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of income should rent be in NZ?
A long-standing affordability guideline puts housing at up to 30% of take-home pay. Above that, rent starts squeezing everything else in the budget. It's a guideline, not a rule, and many renters in Auckland and Wellington sit above it.
Should I use gross or take-home pay?
Take-home. Rent comes out of what actually lands in your account, so calculating against gross pay flatters the result.
Does this include power and internet?
No, this is rent only. Add your utilities separately, they typically add $40 to $80 a week depending on the household.
Want this tracked automatically?
Steady shows what's safe to spend after rent and bills are accounted for, automatically.
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