Rent affordability
How much rent can you afford in Memphis, TN?
You need an income of about $47,680 a year to rent a typical 1-bedroom in Memphis under the 30% rule. That apartment rents for about $917 a month in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro as of August 2026, plus about $275 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. At Memphis's median household income of $51,736, the rule leaves about $1,018 a month for rent.
- Metro 1-bedroom
- $917 / month
- Income needed
- $47,680 / year
- Housing share
- 28% of gross
- Apartment utilities
- $185 / month
Max rent in Memphis, TN
$1,018/mo
30% of gross income is $1,293 a month. Utilities, internet, and renters insurance take $275, which leaves $1,018 for rent.
A typical 1-bedroom in the Memphis metro rents for about $917, $101 under your max.
- Take-home
- $3,646/moAfter estimated federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
- Move-in cash
- $2,036First month and a one-month deposit, at your max rent.
- Landlord screen
- $1,437/moHighest rent if a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
Monthly budget
Where take-home pay of $3,646 goes at your max rent of $1,018. Each slice is its share of take-home.
- Rent28%$1,018
- Electric, gas, water5%$185
- Internet2%$74
- Renters insurance<1%$16
- Left over65%$2,353
Housing comes to $1,293 a month, 30% of gross income and 35% of take-home. That leaves $2,353 for food, transportation, savings, and everything else.
Search Memphis, TN
Find 1-bedrooms in Memphis, TN under $1,000
Rounded down from your max rent of $1,018.
What renters in Memphis pay and earn
Of the 253,120 households in Memphis, 55% rent. The median renter household earns $41,072 a year. Median gross rent, which is rent plus utilities across every lease including ones signed years ago, is $1,181 a month. 56% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 30% spend half or more.
The Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro's 1-bedroom asking rent of $917 is 8% below the $994 median gross rent for a 1-bedroom in Memphis, which includes utilities.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024, for Memphis city, Tennessee. See how Memphis compares in the affordability rankings.
Rent in Memphis
Memphis is the main city of the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro. Updated August 2026, -1.2% from a year earlier. The 1-bedroom median moved from $928 in August 2025 to $917 in August 2026. The 2-bedroom median moved from $1,039 in August 2025 to $1,027 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 44 apartment communities with units available in Memphis, about 500 apartments in all. Browse communities in Memphis.
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.
Memphis, TN-MS-AR median rent: $1,116 in August 2025 to $1,103 in August 2026, down 1.2%. Low $1,092, high $1,116. 1-bedroom $917 in August 2026. 2-bedroom $1,027 in August 2026.
| Month | Overall | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | $1,116 | $928 | $1,039 |
| September 2025 | $1,111 | $924 | $1,035 |
| October 2025 | $1,103 | $917 | $1,027 |
| November 2025 | $1,097 | $912 | $1,022 |
| December 2025 | $1,094 | $909 | $1,019 |
| January 2026 | $1,093 | $909 | $1,018 |
| February 2026 | $1,092 | $908 | $1,017 |
| March 2026 | $1,093 | $909 | $1,018 |
| April 2026 | $1,096 | $911 | $1,021 |
| May 2026 | $1,101 | $915 | $1,025 |
| June 2026 | $1,103 | $917 | $1,027 |
| July 2026 | $1,103 | $917 | $1,027 |
| August 2026 | $1,103 | $917 | $1,027 |
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 | $829 | $917 | $1,027 | $1,459 |
| Utilities (estimate) | $167 | $185 | $271 | $384 |
| Internet (estimate) | $74 | $74 | $74 | $74 |
| Renters insurance (estimate) | $16 | $16 | $16 | $16 |
| Total | $1,086 | $1,192 | $1,388 | $1,933 |
The household utility median in Memphis is $497 a month. Apartment bills are lower than that all-household figure, so the estimate scales a national apartment baseline instead of using it directly.
Take-home pay and max rent
Single filer, standard deduction, estimated Tennessee income tax and FICA. Max rent is 30% of gross minus about $275 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 | $2,860 | $725 | $1,111 |
| $60,000 | $4,199 | $1,225 | $1,666 |
| $80,000 | $5,426 | $1,725 | $2,222 |
| $100,000 | $6,598 | $2,225 | $2,777 |
Rent versus buying in the metro
The monthly cost of the median-priced home in Memphis, TN-MS-AR was about $2,347, which is $1,244 more than the $1,103 median rent. That ownership cost was up 1.6% from a year earlier. The metro's price-to-income ratio is 4.18. The ratio was up 0.5% from a year earlier. Over five years it was up 4.2%. This is a metro-level comparison from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, not a payment on a specific house.
Household income in Memphis
The calculator starts from Memphis's median household income of $51,736 (±$1,072), the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimate for Memphis city, Tennessee. 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 $71,997 in Tennessee (up 3.4% from 2023).
Household utility bills in Tennessee
These are typical monthly bills for all household types in Tennessee, 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 $402 a month.
| Bill | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $152 |
| Natural gas | $66 |
| Water | $39 |
| Sewer | $81 |
| Trash | $64 |
| Internet | $74 |
Nearby and similar cities
In brightplace's rent affordability rankings, the Memphis metro is 125 of 218: a typical 1-bedroom with utilities takes 35% of the median renter household's income in Memphis.
Among 100 large cities ranked by income left after a typical 1-bedroom, Memphis is 88.
Questions about renting in Memphis
How much rent can I afford in Memphis, TN?
Keep rent, utilities, internet, and renters insurance within 30% of gross income. At Memphis's median household income of $51,736, that leaves about $1,018 a month for rent. A typical 1-bedroom in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro rents for about $917 as of August 2026, and the other costs add about $275, so it calls for about $47,680 a year.
What salary do you need to live in Memphis?
To keep a typical 1-bedroom within 30% of gross income in Memphis, you need about $47,680 a year: $917 in rent plus about $275 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. A 2-bedroom at the metro median of $1,027 needs about $55,520. The median renter household in Memphis earns $41,072 a year, per Census estimates for 2020–2024.
How much rent can I afford on $60,000 a year in Memphis?
On $60,000 a year, the 30% rule allows $1,500 a month for housing. After about $275 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance, that leaves about $1,225 for rent, $308 more than the $917 typical 1-bedroom in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro. A single filer in Tennessee takes home about $4,199 a month after estimated federal income tax and FICA. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
What income do landlords require in Memphis?
Many landlords in Tennessee screen for gross annual income of about 36 times the monthly rent, the same as three times the rent each month. For a $917 1-bedroom, that is about $33,012 a year. Requirements vary by building, so check the listing before paying an application fee.
What is the average rent in Memphis?
In the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro, which includes Memphis, TN, estimated median rent as of August 2026 is $1,103 overall, $917 for a 1-bedroom, $1,027 for a 2-bedroom. Overall rent is -1.2% from a year earlier. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 median gross rent in Memphis, which counts utilities and leases signed years ago, is $1,181 a month.
How much are utilities for an apartment in Memphis?
A 1-bedroom apartment in Memphis, TN is estimated at about $185 a month for electricity, gas, and water, before internet. That scales a national apartment baseline by the local household utility median of $497. 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
- doxoINSIGHTS 2025 U.S. Utilities Market Size and Household Spending Report
- 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)
- Compiled from public utility cost surveys and bill-pay data, 2025
- Compiled from publicly available income, tax, and rental market data, January 2025
- 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)