If you are looking at listings in that band, the income question is really a payment question. How much house payment can your paycheck carry once taxes and insurance are in the number, not just principal and interest?
Here is a straight ballpark for Chicago ownership, then how to tighten it to your debts and your tax bill.
Get a second opinionNo credit pull. Jeff Shin reads it himself.
The short answer
Take a mid-band $375k purchase with 10% down. Use Freddie Mac’s latest public 30-year average, 6.76% as of September 10 on Rate Watch (context, not a BankPricer quote). Add an illustrative 2% annual property-tax stub and about $150/mo insurance:
- Monthly PITI lands near $3,000.
- If you plan around a ~36% total debt ratio with little other debt, that points near ~$99k gross a year.
- If you carry about $400/mo in other debts and plan nearer a ~43% total ratio, you are still in a similar neighborhood, roughly the mid $90ks.
Illustrative example only, not a quote. Actual APR and terms vary.
That is a planning range, not an approval. Your tax bill, down payment, credit, and other debts move it. A condo with HOA moves it again.
How the payment is built
Ownership cost is usually four lines:
- Principal and interest on the loan
- Property taxes (Chicago / Cook County parcels are often the part national charts miss)
- Homeowners insurance
- HOA if the building has one
Lenders look at that monthly stack next to your gross income and the debts that keep going after you close. The ratio they care about on a live file depends on the loan program.
The table below is for reading the payment. It is not a promise someone will approve you at that income.
Worked examples (illustrative)
Assumptions:
- Rate: 6.76% Freddie Mac weekly 30-year average (Sep 10 public stamp). Not a BankPricer lock.
- Term: 30-year fixed
- Tax stub: 2% of price / year (planning only. Use the parcel or ask your agent.)
- Insurance: ~$150/mo
- PMI / MI: The 10% down rows usually carry mortgage insurance. That cost is not in the table below. Real PITI with MI is higher than the numbers shown for those rows.
- No HOA
- Other debts column uses $400/mo of non-housing debt for the “with debts” income read
| Price | Down | Loan | Est. P&I | Est. PITI | Income ballpark (light other debt) | Income ballpark (~$400/mo other debts) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $350k | 10% | $315k | ~$2,045 | ~$2,780 | ~$93k | ~$89k |
| $350k | 20% | $280k | ~$1,820 | ~$2,550 | ~$85k | ~$82k |
| $375k | 10% | $337.5k | ~$2,190 | ~$2,970 | ~$99k | ~$94k |
| $375k | 20% | $300k | ~$1,950 | ~$2,720 | ~$91k | ~$87k |
| $400k | 10% | $360k | ~$2,340 | ~$3,150 | ~$105k | ~$99k |
| $400k | 20% | $320k | ~$2,080 | ~$2,890 | ~$96k | ~$92k |
Illustrative example only, not a quote. Actual APR and terms vary.
Round numbers on purpose. If taxes on that listing run hotter than 2%, the payment climbs, and so does the income you need. If you put more down, both fall.
What moves your number the most
Taxes. Chicago and Cook County parcels are often the line national salary charts skip. The table uses an illustrative 2% annual stub. If the listing’s tax bill runs hotter, monthly PITI climbs and the income ballpark climbs with it. Use the parcel or ask your agent.
Other debts. Car payments, student loans, and credit cards that keep going after you close sit in the same ratio as the house payment. The table’s second income column assumes about $400 a month of those. More debt, or a tighter ratio, moves the income you need.
Down payment. Ten percent vs twenty percent changes the loan size, the P&I, and whether mortgage insurance usually shows up. The 10% rows in the table do not include MI, so real PITI on those rows is higher than the number shown.
Rate. The examples use Freddie Mac’s latest public 30-year average, 6.76% as of September 10 on Rate Watch. That is context, not a BankPricer quote. A different rate, or a lock you already have, changes the payment. Nothing in this post is a BankPricer rate.
Run your scenario
Open the Affordability calculator. Type income, debts, tax, down payment, and a rate from a quote or from Rate Watch. See whether $350k-$400k clears with your inputs, not the table’s.
If you want a second pair of eyes
Bring the screen you ran. Jeff originates from Chicago with Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. NMLS 1041652. He can tell you if the inputs are even in the neighborhood and what is missing before anyone files an application.
A calculator result is not a commitment to lend. A blog post cannot lock a rate.
One thing to do
Open the Affordability calculator. Type income, debts, tax, down payment, and a rate from a quote or from Rate Watch. See whether $350k-$400k clears with your inputs, not the table’s.
If you want a second pair of eyes on the scenario, Get In Touch. Jeff originates from Chicago with Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. NMLS 1041652. Bring the screen you ran.
Jeff Shin, NMLS 1041652. Barrett Financial Group, L.L.C. Chicago. Equal Housing Lender. Not a commitment to lend.