Rent affordability
How much rent can you afford in Burlington, NC?
You need an income of about $48,880 a year to rent a typical 1-bedroom in Burlington under the 30% rule. That apartment rents for about $996 a month in the Burlington, NC metro as of August 2026, plus about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. At Burlington's median household income of $56,880, the rule leaves about $1,196 a month for rent.
- Metro 1-bedroom
- $996 / month
- Income needed
- $48,880 / year
- Housing share
- 26% of gross
- Apartment utilities
- $141 / month
Max rent in Burlington, NC
$1,196/mo
30% of gross income is $1,422 a month. Utilities, internet, and renters insurance take $226, which leaves $1,196 for rent.
A typical 1-bedroom in the Burlington metro rents for about $996, $200 under your max.
- Take-home
- $3,789/moAfter estimated federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
- Move-in cash
- $2,392First month and a one-month deposit, at your max rent.
- Landlord screen
- $1,580/moHighest rent if a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
Monthly budget
Where take-home pay of $3,789 goes at your max rent of $1,196. Each slice is its share of take-home.
- Rent32%$1,196
- Electric, gas, water4%$141
- Internet2%$71
- Renters insurance<1%$14
- Left over62%$2,367
Housing comes to $1,422 a month, 30% of gross income and 38% of take-home. That leaves $2,367 for food, transportation, savings, and everything else.
Search Burlington, NC
Find 1-bedrooms in Burlington, NC under $1,150
Rounded down from your max rent of $1,196.
What renters in Burlington pay and earn
Of the 25,505 households in Burlington, 46% rent. The median renter household earns $45,226 a year. Median gross rent, which is rent plus utilities across every lease including ones signed years ago, is $1,051 a month. 47% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 18% spend half or more.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024, for Burlington city, North Carolina. See how Burlington compares in the affordability rankings.
Rent in Burlington
Burlington is the main city of the Burlington, NC metro. Updated August 2026, -1.6% from a year earlier. The 1-bedroom median moved from $1,013 in August 2025 to $996 in August 2026. The 2-bedroom median moved from $1,069 in August 2025 to $1,051 in August 2026. Studio and 3-bedroom figures are estimates scaled from the published 1- and 2-bedroom medians.
This series is the metro median from Apartment List, not a single building. brightplace also stores each community's asking rent from daily listing scrapes. That history stays on the property page, because a building's price is not the city median. brightplace lists 5 apartment communities with units available in Burlington, about 353 apartments in all. Browse communities in Burlington.
How median rent changed
Each point is the overall median asking rent for one month. The vertical scale runs from the low to the high in this period, not from zero. Percentages on the right are the change since August 2025, marked by the dashed line.
Burlington, NC median rent: $1,109 in August 2025 to $1,091 in August 2026, down 1.6%. Low $1,089, high $1,123. 1-bedroom $996 in August 2026. 2-bedroom $1,051 in August 2026.
| Month | Overall | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | $1,109 | $1,013 | $1,069 |
| September 2025 | $1,111 | $1,014 | $1,070 |
| October 2025 | $1,118 | $1,021 | $1,077 |
| November 2025 | $1,109 | $1,013 | $1,068 |
| December 2025 | $1,107 | $1,011 | $1,066 |
| January 2026 | $1,102 | $1,007 | $1,062 |
| February 2026 | $1,112 | $1,016 | $1,072 |
| March 2026 | $1,122 | $1,024 | $1,081 |
| April 2026 | $1,123 | $1,026 | $1,082 |
| May 2026 | $1,118 | $1,021 | $1,077 |
| June 2026 | $1,099 | $1,003 | $1,058 |
| July 2026 | $1,089 | $994 | $1,049 |
| August 2026 | $1,091 | $996 | $1,051 |
True monthly cost
What a typical apartment costs each month at the metro median rent: rent plus an apartment utility estimate, state-average internet, and state-average renters insurance. Studio and 3-bedroom rents are estimates. Utilities and insurance are estimates, not a quote from a building.
| Cost | Studio | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom | 3-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $900 | $996 | $1,051 | $1,493 |
| Utilities (estimate) | $127 | $141 | $206 | $293 |
| Internet (estimate) | $71 | $71 | $71 | $71 |
| Renters insurance (estimate) | $14 | $14 | $14 | $14 |
| Total | $1,112 | $1,222 | $1,342 | $1,871 |
No city utility median is on file, so the estimate uses North Carolina's statewide utility average.
Take-home pay and max rent
Single filer, standard deduction, estimated North Carolina income tax and FICA. Max rent is 30% of gross minus about $226 a month for 1-bedroom utilities, internet, and renters insurance. The landlord column is the highest rent when a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
| Gross income | Take-home / month | Max rent | Landlord screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,718 | $774 | $1,111 |
| $60,000 | $3,987 | $1,274 | $1,666 |
| $80,000 | $5,143 | $1,774 | $2,222 |
| $100,000 | $6,244 | $2,274 | $2,777 |
Rent versus buying in the metro
A monthly ownership cost is not published for Burlington, NC. The metro's price-to-income ratio is 4.77. The ratio was down 0.4% from a year earlier. Over five years it was up 42.0%. This is a metro-level comparison from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, not a payment on a specific house.
Household income in Burlington
The calculator starts from Burlington's median household income of $56,880 (±$5,084), the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimate for Burlington city, North Carolina. The 5-year series is the one the Census publishes for every city. The 1-year figures below are newer but cover only larger areas. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates put median household income at $73,958 in North Carolina (up 1.5% from 2023).
Household utility bills in North Carolina
These are typical monthly bills for all household types in North Carolina, not an apartment quote. The rent calculator uses a smaller apartment estimate for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash, plus the internet row. The all-household core of those housing bills is $379 a month.
| Bill | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $150 |
| Natural gas | $84 |
| Water | $23 |
| Sewer | $59 |
| Trash | $63 |
| Internet | $71 |
Nearby and similar cities
In brightplace's rent affordability rankings, the Burlington metro is 92 of 218: a typical 1-bedroom with utilities takes 32% of the median renter household's income in Burlington.
Questions about renting in Burlington
How much rent can I afford in Burlington, NC?
Keep rent, utilities, internet, and renters insurance within 30% of gross income. At Burlington's median household income of $56,880, that leaves about $1,196 a month for rent. A typical 1-bedroom in the Burlington, NC metro rents for about $996 as of August 2026, and the other costs add about $226, so it calls for about $48,880 a year.
What salary do you need to live in Burlington?
To keep a typical 1-bedroom within 30% of gross income in Burlington, you need about $48,880 a year: $996 in rent plus about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. A 2-bedroom at the metro median of $1,051 needs about $53,680. The median renter household in Burlington earns $45,226 a year, per Census estimates for 2020–2024.
How much rent can I afford on $60,000 a year in Burlington?
On $60,000 a year, the 30% rule allows $1,500 a month for housing. After about $226 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance, that leaves about $1,274 for rent, $278 more than the $996 typical 1-bedroom in the Burlington, NC metro. A single filer in North Carolina takes home about $3,987 a month after estimated federal and North Carolina income tax and FICA. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
What income do landlords require in Burlington?
Many landlords in North Carolina screen for gross annual income of about 36 times the monthly rent, the same as three times the rent each month. For a $996 1-bedroom, that is about $35,856 a year. Requirements vary by building, so check the listing before paying an application fee.
What is the average rent in Burlington?
In the Burlington, NC metro, which includes Burlington, NC, estimated median rent as of August 2026 is $1,091 overall, $996 for a 1-bedroom, $1,051 for a 2-bedroom. Overall rent is -1.6% from a year earlier. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 median gross rent in Burlington, which counts utilities and leases signed years ago, is $1,051 a month.
How much are utilities for an apartment in Burlington?
A 1-bedroom apartment in Burlington, NC is estimated at about $141 a month for electricity, gas, and water, before internet. The city has no household utility median on file, so the estimate uses the state average instead. Actual bills depend on the building, what the lease includes, and how much you use.
Methodology and sources
Updated . Max rent is 30% of gross monthly income minus estimated utilities, internet, renters insurance, and any fees you enter. If you enter other bills, max rent also keeps housing plus those bills within 36% of gross income, a debt-to-income ratio lenders generally consider good. Federal tax uses 2026 brackets and the standard deduction. State tax uses 2025 single-filer brackets on gross income; married thresholds are doubled. FICA includes Social Security up to the 2026 wage base and Additional Medicare Tax. None of this is tax, legal, or housing advice. Read the financial disclosure.
- Apartment List Rent Estimates, August 2026 release
- IRS tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction, including One Big Beautiful Bill adjustments
- Tax Foundation, 2025 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- Insurance Information Institute and NAIC, 2025 homeowners and renters insurance data
- Compiled from public utility cost surveys and bill-pay data, 2025
- brightplace apartment utility reference (national baselines by unit size)
- HUD cost-burden thresholds and common landlord income screens
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (ACSBR-025)
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, State of the Nation's Housing 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (tables B19013, B25003, B25031, B25064, B25070, and B25119)