2026 BAH Rates: Complete Guide by Duty Station

What changed in 2026

Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) rates updated January 1, 2026. The average increase was 4.2% nationwide — though individual Military Housing Areas (MHAs) saw everything from flat rates to double-digit changes, depending on local housing market surveys conducted by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO).

Approximately 1 million service members across 299 military housing areas receive BAH — roughly $29.9 billion paid annually in tax-free housing compensation.

The 2026 rates are based on the 2025 DTMO survey of local rental markets for each pay grade. If your area's rates increased, you see the bump on January 1. If your area's rates decreased, rate protection kicks in (more on that below).

How BAH works — the quick version

BAH is determined by three factors:

1. Your duty station's ZIP code — not where you actually live. You can live 30 miles from base; BAH is set by where you work.
2. Your pay grade — E-5 gets different BAH than O-3 in the same ZIP code.
3. Dependency status — "with dependents" (you have a qualifying spouse, child, or other dependent in DEERS) vs. "without dependents."

BAH is designed to cover approximately 95% of local median housing costs for your grade. You receive the same rate whether your actual rent is higher or lower. If you find housing below your BAH rate, you keep the difference tax-free. If housing costs more than your BAH, you pay the gap out of pocket.

BAH is completely excluded from federal income tax, FICA (Social Security and Medicare taxes), and most state income taxes. This significantly increases its real value compared to equivalent taxable income.

2026 BAH rates at the 10 largest military installations

All rates below are for E-5 with dependents, sourced directly from the 2026 DTMO data. These are official rates — not estimates.

| Installation | ZIP | MHA | BAH (E-5 w/dep) | |-------------|-----|-----|-----------------| | Fort Liberty (Bragg), NC | 28307 | Fort Bragg/Pope, NC | $1,806 | | Fort Cavazos (Hood), TX | 76544 | Fort Hood, TX | $1,695 | | Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA | 98431 | Tacoma, WA | $2,556 | | Fort Moore (Benning), GA | 31905 | Fort Benning, GA | $1,716 | | Camp Pendleton, CA | 92055 | Camp Pendleton, CA | $3,963 | | Naval Station Norfolk, VA | 23511 | Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA | $2,430 | | Joint Base San Antonio, TX | 78234 | San Antonio, TX | $1,869 | | Fort Stewart, GA | 31314 | Fort Stewart, GA | $2,310 | | MCB Camp Lejeune, NC | 28542 | Camp Lejeune, NC | $1,584 | | JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, HI | 96860 | Honolulu County, HI | $3,663 |

The range in this table alone — from $1,584 at Camp Lejeune to $3,963 at Camp Pendleton — is $2,379/month. That's $28,548/year in additional tax-free compensation, simply because of geography.

The highest and lowest BAH areas in the country

Highest E-5 with-dependents BAH rates in 2026:

| MHA | Monthly BAH | |-----|-------------| | San Francisco, CA | $5,127 | | New York City, NY | $5,070 | | Boston, MA | $4,791 | | Northern New Jersey, NJ | $4,749 | | Santa Clara County (Silicon Valley), CA | $4,659 |

Lowest E-5 with-dependents BAH rates in 2026:

| MHA | Monthly BAH | |-----|-------------| | Fort Polk, LA | $1,218 | | Vance AFB/Enid, OK | $1,200 | | Monroe, LA | $1,194 | | Youngstown, OH | $1,191 | | Anniston/Fort McClellan, AL | $1,185 |

The spread between the highest and lowest is $3,942/month — nearly $47,000/year — for the same E-5 rank. Housing market costs drive everything.

BAH rate protection: your rate won't go down

If the 2026 DTMO survey shows that local housing costs declined in your area, your BAH rate is protected. You keep your 2025 rate unless one of these things changes:

• You PCS to a different duty station
• You receive a promotion or demotion (pay grade changes)
• Your dependency status changes (you gain or lose dependents)

Rate protection resets when any of these events occurs. Your new rate at a PCS station is the current 2026 rate for that MHA — no protection carries over. This matters when comparing duty stations: if you're moving from a protected higher rate to a lower-rate installation, you'll feel the change on January 1 after your PCS.

The PCS comparison everyone should run before orders arrive

Before accepting orders or making housing decisions at a new installation, compare the BAH. The difference can be substantial enough to change your financial picture entirely.

Example: Fort Liberty, NC → San Diego, CA

• Fort Liberty E-5 w/dep: $1,806/month
• San Diego (NAS) E-5 w/dep: $3,975/month (ZIP 92134)
• Difference: +$2,169/month = +$26,028/year

That additional $26,028 is tax-free. Moving from Fort Liberty to San Diego effectively gives an E-5 the equivalent of a $33,000+ gross salary increase, just from BAH alone — before accounting for cost-of-living differences that partially offset it.

Not all moves go in your favor. Pendleton to Fort Stewart is the reverse: from $3,963 to $2,310 — a $1,653/month drop. Run the comparison before you make any financial commitments.

BAH and buying a home with a VA loan

If you're considering buying a home instead of renting, BAH is a critical input for your purchasing power.

VA loans have no down payment requirement and no private mortgage insurance (PMI) — two features that make them exceptional for qualifying buyers. And because BAH is tax-free income, many lenders allow BAH to be grossed up (often around 25%) when calculating your qualifying income.

Here's what that means: if your BAH is $2,400/month, the lender treats it as $3,000/month in qualifying income ($2,400 × 1.25). This increases your maximum loan amount and can be the difference between qualifying and not qualifying.

Using BAH to cover (or nearly cover) a mortgage payment can be a powerful financial strategy depending on your situation. If your BAH exceeds your monthly mortgage payment, you're using your housing allowance to build equity.

What BAH doesn't cover

A few situations where BAH either doesn't apply or works differently:

• Living in barracks or government quarters: You don't receive BAH. If you move off-post, it starts.
• Overseas assignments: You receive OHA (Overseas Housing Allowance) instead. OHA is calculated differently — if you're headed overseas, contact your finance office for your specific entitlement.
• U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, USVI): These are treated as overseas for housing purposes. Residents receive OHA, not BAH. Our BAH calculator will show a "territory" message for these ZIP codes.
• Reserve/Guard on short orders: Different rules apply under BAH-RC (Reserve Component). Full BAH typically requires active duty orders of more than 30 days.

How to look up your exact BAH rate

Every year, DTMO publishes the complete dataset — 40,959 ZIP codes, each mapped to one of 299 military housing areas with rates for every pay grade and dependency status. Our BAH Calculator uses that exact dataset.

You need two things: your duty station ZIP code and your pay grade. The calculator handles the rest — including the PCS comparison tool that lets you see two locations side by side with the difference highlighted.

The bottom line

BAH is the component of military compensation that varies most dramatically and gets the least attention in standard "military pay" discussions. An E-5 at Camp Pendleton and an E-5 at Camp Lejeune have the same base pay — but $2,379/month difference in monthly compensation.

Before PCS, before signing a lease, before comparing military pay to civilian salaries — look up the real BAH number for your specific ZIP code. It changes the math significantly.

If you're using GI Bill benefits for education, that same BAH rate drives your monthly housing allowance — the most valuable and most variable component of your GI Bill. See how GI Bill housing allowance works and why your school's ZIP code matters.

For a ranked breakdown of which duty stations offer the best and worst BAH value relative to local housing costs, see Best and Worst BAH Duty Stations in 2026.