What is E-5 BAH at Albany in 2026?

$1,371 per month with dependents ($16,452 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,242 per month.

Does BAH count as taxable income?

No. BAH is excluded from federal taxable income, so a given BAH amount is worth more than the same figure in basic pay.

What happens if my BAH rate drops this year?

BAH rate protection holds you at the prior year's amount as long as your duty location, pay grade and dependency status stay the same. The lower rate applies to members arriving on new orders.

E-5 BAH at Albany 2026 — $1,371 with dependents, $1,242 without

Basic Allowance for Housing by duty station, pay grade and dependency status. Official DoD rates, no login, no email.

Albany, GA

E-5 · with dependents

$1,371/ month

$16,452 / year

At E-5, this is #316 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA GA072 · ZIPs 31701 31702 31703 31704 31705 31706 +6 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,758 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,242 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Albany — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,326	$1,197
E-2	$1,326	$1,197
E-3	$1,326	$1,197
E-4	$1,326	$1,197
E-5	$1,371	$1,242
E-6	$1,539	$1,284
E-7	$1,671	$1,329
E-8	$1,815	$1,410
E-9	$2,010	$1,509
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,557	$1,326
W-2	$1,731	$1,407
W-3	$1,911	$1,512
W-4	$2,046	$1,563
W-5	$2,217	$1,707
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,695	$1,368
O-2E	$1,884	$1,440
O-3E	$2,073	$1,554
Officer
O-1	$1,401	$1,281
O-2	$1,536	$1,362
O-3	$1,905	$1,515
O-4	$2,271	$1,704
O-5	$2,532	$1,899
O-6	$2,550	$1,914
O-7	$2,568	$1,926

What this rate means

E-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month

San Francisco$5,127

Springfield$1,389

County Cost Group 580$1,380

Columbia$1,377

Wichita$1,377

Albany$1,371

County Cost Group 570$1,371

Cannon AFB$1,365

Paducah$1,365

County Cost Group 560$1,362

Anniston$1,185

Albany is #316 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,942 a month — $47,304 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Albany0 – $2,568 / month

E-1$1,326

E-2$1,326

E-3$1,326

E-4$1,326

E-5$1,371

E-6$1,539

E-7$1,671

E-8$1,815

E-9$2,010

W-1$1,557

W-2$1,731

W-3$1,911

W-4$2,046

W-5$2,217

O-1E$1,695

O-2E$1,884

O-3E$2,073

O-1$1,401

O-2$1,536

O-3$1,905

O-4$2,271

O-5$2,532

O-6$2,550

O-7$2,568

Promoting to E-6 here adds $168 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from Albany to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,756 a month — about 22 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $168 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 10% here. That is a status your finance office determines, not a box you tick — and it is the single largest lever on this page that is not a change of address.

None of it is taxed. $1,371 a month of BAH takes more than $1,371 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

Things the rate table doesn't tell you

“With dependents” is a dependency status, not a marital status. A single member paying child support can be authorized BAH-Diff; a married dual-military couple with no children is not automatically the with-dependents rate for both. If your situation is unusual, your finance office decides — not this table.

O-8, O-9 and O-10 draw the same BAH as O-7. The table stops there for a reason, not because it is missing rows.

This is CONUS BAH only. Overseas is OHA, which works differently — it reimburses actual rent up to a cap, with separate utility and move-in allowances. Alaska and Hawaii are BAH; Germany, Japan and Korea are OHA.

E-5 at Albany draws $1,371 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,242 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you