How Much House Can I Afford on a $150K Salary?

Earning $150K a year means your gross monthly income is $12,500. Under the 28/36 rule, your total housing payment — including principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance — should stay below $3,500 per month. With your current monthly debts of $300, the 36% back-end ratio further caps your total debt payments at $4,500 per month. This gives you a maximum home purchase price of approximately $507K with 10% down at 6.5%.

Earning $150K gives you access to most U.S. housing markets. Your max budget of $507K exceeds median home prices in all but a handful of states. If your target home exceeds the conforming limit of $806,500, you'll need a jumbo loan, which typically requires 10-20% down, a 700+ credit score, and 6-12 months of cash reserves. On a $507K purchase, the conforming vs. jumbo decision point is important — jumbo rates can be 0.25-0.5% higher.

With $507K to work with, you can buy at or above median in 45+ states. In high-cost markets like California, Washington, and Massachusetts, focus on suburbs and smaller cities where your budget stretches further. In moderate-cost states, your budget puts you in premium neighborhoods. The biggest leverage at this level is being a strong, pre-approved buyer who can close quickly — in competitive markets, that's worth more than an extra $20K in purchase price.

Your next step: get pre-approved. A pre-approval letter based on your $150K income tells sellers you're serious and confirms your $507K budget with a real lender. It also locks in a rate for 60-90 days, protecting you from rate increases while you shop. Before applying, check your credit report (free at annualcreditreport.com), save at least $50,717 for your 10% down payment plus $10,143–$20,287 for closing costs, and gather your last 2 years of tax returns and W-2s.