For many Americans, housing costs aren't just another expense — they shape how the rest of the budget comes together.
Yet figuring out how much you can reasonably afford to spend on housing has become increasingly complicated in recent years, as shelter costs continue to rise.
If you earn $80,000 a year — the median household income — a decades-old rule of thumb suggests spending no more than 30% of your income on housing, or about $2,000 per month.
But for many earners, that's far from realistic, especially in large cities where housing prices have surged the most.
As a result, nearly a third of American households are now considered "cost burdened," meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
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