What is O-5 BAH at Barstow in 2026?

$3,144 per month with dependents ($37,728 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,616 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.

O-5 BAH at Barstow 2026 — $3,144 with dependents, $2,616 without

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

Barstow/Fort Irwin, CA

O-5 · with dependents

$3,144/ month

$37,728 / year

At O-5, this is #154 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $8,064 · low Youngstown $1,827

MHA CA028 · ZIPs 92307 92310 92311 92312 92327 92342 +5 more

Your grade is calledARMYLTCUSMCLtColNAVYCDRUSAFLt Col

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,031 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,616 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Barstow — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,890	$1,557
E-2	$1,890	$1,557
E-3	$1,890	$1,557
E-4	$1,890	$1,557
E-5	$2,001	$1,695
E-6	$2,430	$1,824
E-7	$2,547	$1,911
E-8	$2,673	$2,091
E-9	$2,814	$2,214
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,451	$1,866
W-2	$2,598	$2,088
W-3	$2,751	$2,232
W-4	$2,838	$2,454
W-5	$2,946	$2,574
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,568	$1,998
O-2E	$2,730	$2,187
O-3E	$2,856	$2,424
Officer
O-1	$2,058	$1,776
O-2	$2,427	$1,968
O-3	$2,748	$2,274
O-4	$2,976	$2,550
O-5	$3,144	$2,616
O-6	$3,168	$2,730
O-7	$3,189	$2,778

What this rate means

O-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $8,064 / month

Westchester County$8,064

Dallas$3,192

Coastal Maine$3,183

State College$3,180

Fort Collins$3,165

Barstow$3,144

County Cost Group 810$3,129

Fort Stewart$3,129

Coos Bay$3,117

Hampton$3,099

Youngstown$1,827

Barstow is #154 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $6,237 a month — $74,844 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Barstow0 – $3,189 / month

E-1$1,890

E-2$1,890

E-3$1,890

E-4$1,890

E-5$2,001

E-6$2,430

E-7$2,547

E-8$2,673

E-9$2,814

W-1$2,451

W-2$2,598

W-3$2,751

W-4$2,838

W-5$2,946

O-1E$2,568

O-2E$2,730

O-3E$2,856

O-1$2,058

O-2$2,427

O-3$2,748

O-4$2,976

O-5$3,144

O-6$3,168

O-7$3,189

Promoting to O-6 here adds $24 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 Barstow to Westchester County at O-5 is worth $4,920 a month — about 205 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $24 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 20% 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. $3,144 a month of BAH takes more than $3,144 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.

O-5 at Barstow draws $3,144 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,616 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you