What is E-3 BAH at Birmingham in 2026?

$1,668 per month without dependents ($20,016 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,223 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-3 BAH at Birmingham 2026 — $1,668/mo without dependents

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

Birmingham, AL

E-3 · without dependents

$1,668/ month

$20,016 / year

At E-3, this is #129 of 338 stations loaded · high New York City $4,833 · low Fort Chaffee $879

MHA AL007 · ZIPs 35004 35005 35006 35007 35015 35020 +117 more

Your grade is calledARMYPFCUSMCLCplNAVYSNUSAFA1C

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,138 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,223 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Birmingham — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,223	$1,668
E-2	$2,223	$1,668
E-3	$2,223	$1,668
E-4	$2,223	$1,668
E-5	$2,439	$1,878
E-6	$2,532	$2,031
E-7	$2,550	$2,232
E-8	$2,559	$2,463
E-9	$2,583	$2,478
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,547	$2,160
W-2	$2,556	$2,460
W-3	$2,568	$2,484
W-4	$2,598	$2,520
W-5	$2,682	$2,532
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,553	$2,436
O-2E	$2,562	$2,472
O-3E	$2,613	$2,517
Officer
O-1	$2,457	$2,007
O-2	$2,529	$2,370
O-3	$2,565	$2,490
O-4	$2,703	$2,523
O-5	$2,826	$2,535
O-6	$2,847	$2,538
O-7	$2,865	$2,556

What this rate means

E-3 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $4,833 / month

New York City$4,833

Minneapolis$1,689

Bridgeport$1,683

Morehead$1,683

Port Angeles$1,671

Birmingham$1,668

Dallas$1,665

Kings Bay$1,656

Great Lakes Navtracen$1,653

County Cost Group 830$1,650

Fort Chaffee$879

Birmingham is #129 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,954 a month — $47,448 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Birmingham0 – $2,556 / month

E-1$1,668

E-2$1,668

E-3$1,668

E-4$1,668

E-5$1,878

E-6$2,031

E-7$2,232

E-8$2,463

E-9$2,478

W-1$2,160

W-2$2,460

W-3$2,484

W-4$2,520

W-5$2,532

O-1E$2,436

O-2E$2,472

O-3E$2,517

O-1$2,007

O-2$2,370

O-3$2,490

O-4$2,523

O-5$2,535

O-6$2,538

O-7$2,556

Promoting to E-4 here adds $0 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Dependency status is worth 33% 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. $1,668 a month of BAH takes more than $1,668 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-3 without dependents at Birmingham draws $1,668 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you