What percent of income to allocate to mortgage?

 There are various rules of thumb for how much of your income to allocate to housing costs. Traditionally about 1/3 of take home pay was the guideline but with housing costs, both rents and mortgages, rising dramatically, you need to dive a bit deeper into your finances to determine what is a "safe" percentage to pay for housing. Unfortunately many young Americans will look at the numbers and laugh. If only! That's when it's time to think about Plan B which might be getting a roommate, living with parents, or moving to a less expensive area. To commit to paying 50% or more of income for housing means you won't be able to afford to invest for retirement, pay off student loans, get married, buy a home, start a family, etc. Hard choices. Maybe it's time to investigate affordable housing initiatives in your city.

Check out this detailed description of calculating housing affordability: https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/what-percent-of-income-should-go-to-mortgage/#percent-income