Home Affordability SimulatorBuy the house without giving up early retirement

How much house can I afford on a $400K salary?

Up to roughly $810K, this household keeps comfortable odds — at least 85% of simulated futures still reach financial independence by 60. Between there and about $1.14M the purchase is workable but the margin thins. That comes from a Monte Carlo simulation — 1,000 thirty-year futures with market crashes, job losses that cluster in downturns, real federal/state/FICA taxes, and the full carrying cost of owning — not from a salary multiple.

≈$810Khighest price with comfortable odds (85%+ futures on track)
≈$1.14Mhighest workable price (70%+ futures on track)
$5,607/moall-in cost of a $810K home: mortgage, tax, insurance, upkeep
$200,625cash to close at 20% down

Run this with your own savings and spending →

Why there is no fixed salary multiple

At $400,000 of household income, the model's comfortable ceiling works out to about 2.0× salary for this illustrative household. But the ceiling isn't really a function of salary — it's a function of what's left after the house. This household spends $11,700 a month outside housing (35% of gross, the planner default), has $225K saved toward closing, and wants the option to retire by 60. Change any of those and the same salary supports a very different house: more savings shifts the sweep up, higher spending drags every price's odds down, and a later target age forgives a bigger mortgage. The simulation prices those trade-offs directly instead of hiding them inside a multiple.

The other thing a multiple can't see is risk: 0% of futures at the recommended price still end in a forced sale — a layoff landing in a down market, usually. The planner search never recommends a price whose forced-sale rate exceeds 5%, no matter how good the average case looks.

The illustrative household — married filing jointly, age 35, $400,000 gross household income, $11,700/mo non-housing spending, $225K taxable savings sized to fund closing, $580K in retirement accounts, 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, a 5% effective state tax, retirement target age 60. Fixed random seed; deterministic. If your numbers differ — they do — use the button above.

Common questions

What's the actual number for a $400K salary?

About $810K for the illustrative household on this page — the highest price where at least 85% of 1,000 simulated futures still reach financial independence by age 60. Prices up to about $1.14M stay above the 70% "workable" line. Your own ceiling moves with your savings, spending, and timeline — the button on this page re-runs the simulation with your numbers.

Isn't the rule just 3–4× your salary?

Salary multiples are a shortcut for the average case. Here the model lands at about 2.0× — but the same income with double the savings, or $1,000 more monthly spending, or a 60-instead-of-65 retirement target lands somewhere very different. The multiple is an output of your situation, not an input.

What monthly cost does the recommended price carry?

A $810K purchase costs this household about $5,607/month all-in — $3,990 of principal and interest at 6.3%, plus property tax, insurance, and maintenance — which is 16.8% of gross income. Cash needed at closing is roughly $200,625.

Does "salary" mean my income or my household's?

Household gross income — the simulation models the household budget, taxes are computed as married filing jointly, and the job-loss model interrupts the full income. A single earner at $400K and a couple earning it together get the same page; the planner lets you refine everything else.

Specific prices at this income

Other salaries

Or see how your state's income tax moves these ceilings, or read why payment-ratio rules mislead.