What is E-8 BAH at Atlantic City in 2026?

$3,543 per month with dependents ($42,516 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $2,784 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-8 BAH at Atlantic City 2026 — $3,543/mo with dependents

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

Atlantic City, NJ

E-8 · with dependents

$3,543/ month

$42,516 / year

At E-8, this is #53 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638

MHA NJ196 · ZIPs 08037 08201 08203 08205 08213 08215 +26 more

Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,542 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,784 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Atlantic City — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,559	$2,004
E-2	$2,559	$2,004
E-3	$2,559	$2,004
E-4	$2,559	$2,004
E-5	$2,655	$2,298
E-6	$3,291	$2,469
E-7	$3,414	$2,562
E-8	$3,543	$2,784
E-9	$3,735	$2,976
Warrant officer
W-1	$3,312	$2,538
W-2	$3,465	$2,781
W-3	$3,627	$2,997
W-4	$3,774	$3,318
W-5	$3,954	$3,441
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$3,435	$2,652
O-2E	$3,603	$2,934
O-3E	$3,801	$3,285
Officer
O-1	$2,736	$2,457
O-2	$3,285	$2,628
O-3	$3,624	$3,060
O-4	$4,014	$3,417
O-5	$4,296	$3,486
O-6	$4,332	$3,606
O-7	$4,365	$3,669

What this rate means

E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month

Westchester County$6,333

Santa Fe$3,639

Boulder$3,621

Indian Head Navordsta$3,597

Warrenton$3,594

Atlantic City$3,543

Juneau$3,531

JB McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst$3,525

Vallejo$3,525

Everett$3,489

Anniston$1,638

Atlantic City is #53 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,695 a month — $56,340 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Atlantic City0 – $4,365 / month

E-1$2,559

E-2$2,559

E-3$2,559

E-4$2,559

E-5$2,655

E-6$3,291

E-7$3,414

E-8$3,543

E-9$3,735

W-1$3,312

W-2$3,465

W-3$3,627

W-4$3,774

W-5$3,954

O-1E$3,435

O-2E$3,603

O-3E$3,801

O-1$2,736

O-2$3,285

O-3$3,624

O-4$4,014

O-5$4,296

O-6$4,332

O-7$4,365

Promoting to E-9 here adds $192 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 Atlantic City to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $2,790 a month — about 15 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $192 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 27% 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. $3,543 a month of BAH takes more than $3,543 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-8 with dependents at Atlantic City draws $3,543 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you