Rental Cap Rate Calculator: NOI as a Share of Property Price
Work out a rental property's cap rate — the headline yield investors use to compare income properties before financing is taken into account.
Adjust the inputs and select Calculate for a full breakdown.
Compare Common Scenarios
How the numbers shift across typical situations for this calculator:
| Scenario | Cap rate | Non-yield share |
|---|---|---|
| $30k NOI · $500k price | 6.00% | 94.00% |
| $18k NOI · $400k price | 4.50% | 95.50% |
| $60k NOI · $750k price | 8.00% | 92.00% |
| $12k NOI · $220k price | 5.45% | 94.55% |
How This Calculator Works
Enter the annual net operating income — gross rent minus operating expenses but before mortgage payments — and the property price. The calculator divides one by the other and multiplies by 100 to give the cap rate, the yield the property generates on the purchase price.
The Formula
Part as a Percentage of a Whole
Part is the portion, Whole is the total it belongs to
Worked Example
A property earning $30,000 of NOI on a $500,000 purchase price posts a 6% cap rate. Typical cap rates run 4% to 8% on residential rentals — lower in supply-constrained metros, higher in markets where rent growth is slower.
Key Insight
Cap rate is intentionally unleveraged — it strips out financing so two properties can be compared like for like. The leveraged return after a mortgage is usually much higher than the cap rate when rates are low, and can be lower or negative when rates exceed the cap rate.
Cap rate is the inverse P/E for real estate
Cap rate represents the unleveraged yield on real estate at purchase price. A 5% cap rate = paying 20× annual NOI; a 10% cap rate = paying 10× annual NOI. The inverse relationship to P/E means cap rate is intuitive for fixed-income-style investors but counterintuitive for equity-style investors.
The spread between cap rates and the 10-year Treasury yield is the 'real estate risk premium'. Historically ~2-4 percentage points. In 2021 the spread compressed to <1 percentage point (cap rates fell to 4-5% while 10Y was 1-2%) — a sign of overheated real estate. In 2024 with cap rates at 5-7% and 10Y at 4.2%, the spread is back to ~1-2.5 percentage points — historically modest but more sustainable.
Implications for valuation: when 10-year yields rose from 1.5% to 4.5% during 2022-2024, cap rates SHOULD have risen proportionally. They did — multifamily cap rates expanded from ~4% to ~5.5%. This rerated valuations: a property generating $1M NOI was worth $25M at 4% cap; only $18M at 5.5%. Real estate values declined 25-30% in some commercial sectors purely through cap rate expansion, independent of NOI.
Cap rate by property class — A, B, C, D
Real estate classes range from A (newest, best location, best tenants) to D (oldest, marginal location, problematic tenants). Cap rates rise as class declines because risk rises. Typical 2024 multifamily cap rate spreads: Class A 4.5-5.5%; Class B 5.5-6.5%; Class C 6.5-8%; Class D 8-12%.
The higher cap rate on lower-class properties looks attractive but compensates for higher risk: tenant turnover (2-3× higher than Class A); collection challenges (deeper credit losses); deferred maintenance (Class C properties often need $20K-$50K per unit to bring to current standards); regulatory exposure (rent control, eviction restrictions affect lower-income properties more).
Value-add strategy: buy Class C, invest in renovations to bring to Class B, raise rents, sell at compressed cap rate. The 'cap rate compression' from 7.5% (purchase as C) to 6% (sell as B) on a property generating $200K NOI produces value: $200K/7.5% = $2.67M purchase; $200K/6% = $3.33M sale — $670K value created from cap rate compression alone, before NOI improvement. This is the canonical value-add real estate playbook.
U.S. cap rate benchmarks by property type (CBRE 2024)
Reference cap rates by U.S. property type and class. Class A is best quality / lowest risk / lowest cap rate.
| Property type | Class A cap rate | Class B | Class C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Multifamily (urban Tier 1) | 4.5-5% | 5.5-6% | 6.5-7.5% |
| Multifamily (Tier 2/3) | 5-6% | 6-7% | 7-9% |
| Industrial / logistics | 4.5-5.5% | 5.5-7% | — |
| Retail (grocery-anchored) | 6-7% | 7-8.5% | — |
| Retail (other) | 6.5-8% | 8-10% | — |
| Office (CBD) | 7-9% | 9-11% | — |
| Office (suburban) | 8-10% | 10-13% | — |
| Self-storage | 5-6% | 6-7% | — |
| Single-family rental (SFR) | 5-7% | 6-8% | 8-10% |
| Mobile home parks | 6-8% | 8-10% | — |
Office cap rates have expanded substantially in 2022-2024 as work-from-home affected demand and vacancies rose. The 7-10% range reflects ongoing distress; some sub-markets show 12-15% for high-vacancy office buildings. Multifamily and industrial have held cap rates better than office. Self-storage and mobile home parks are increasingly institutionalized but still attractive for individual investors at 6-8%.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is cap rate calculated?
Divide net operating income by the property price, then multiply by 100. NOI of $30,000 on a $500,000 property is a 6% cap rate.
What goes into NOI?
Gross rent minus operating expenses — property tax, insurance, maintenance, property management, utilities you pay, and a vacancy allowance. NOI excludes mortgage payments and depreciation.
What is a good cap rate?
Residential rentals commonly run 4% to 8%. Lower cap rates often signal high-demand markets with strong appreciation expectations; higher cap rates can mean weaker markets or higher operating risk.
How does cap rate differ from cash-on-cash return?
Cap rate ignores financing; cash-on-cash measures return after the mortgage payment, on the actual cash invested. A 6% cap rate with cheap leverage can produce a 12%+ cash-on-cash.
Is cap rate the same as ROI?
No. Cap rate is a yield on price; ROI is the total return on money invested. Cap rate is the right lens for comparing properties before a financing decision.
When is this calculator unreliable?
When 'NOI' is calculated inconsistently — some operators include reserves and capital expenditures in operating expenses (lower NOI, higher cap rate appearance); others don't. Always verify what's in NOI. Also unreliable for properties with major capex needs (deferred maintenance can require $5K-$20K per unit to bring to current standards — not reflected in cap rate), or for stand-alone investment decisions without considering financing costs (cap rate doesn't tell you whether leverage is accretive).
References & Authoritative Sources
- CBRE Research — U.S. Cap Rate Survey — Annual · consulted June 1, 2026 · Industry-standard U.S. cap rate benchmarks by property type and market
- National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries (NCREIF) — Quarterly Property Returns · consulted June 1, 2026 · Institutional real estate performance index
- Investopedia — Capitalization Rate — Capitalization Rate (Cap Rate) Definition · consulted June 1, 2026 · Standard cap rate methodology reference
Related Calculators
Data Sources & Benchmarks
This calculator draws on 1 independent, dated source.
Methodology & Review
Cap rate (capitalization rate) equals net operating income (NOI) / property purchase price × 100. NOI = gross rents − operating expenses (exclude debt service, depreciation, capital expenditures). The calculator returns the cap rate. Cap rate is the most-cited multifamily and commercial real estate metric — a property's cap rate is its inverse P/E ratio: at 6% cap rate, $1 of NOI is purchased for $16.67. Average U.S. cap rates 2024: multifamily 4.5-6%; retail 6-8%; industrial 4.5-6%; office 7-10% (under stress); self-storage 5-7%. Cap rates vary by class (A vs B vs C properties) and market. RELIABILITY: Reliable for arm's-length transactions in liquid markets. Less reliable for thinly-traded property types (small specialty assets), for properties with major capex needs (NOI may understate true operating cost), or as a stand-alone metric (cap rate ignores debt cost, capital structure, and reinvestment requirements).
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