What is O-1 BAH at Birmingham in 2026?

$2,457 per month with dependents ($29,484 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,007 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-1 BAH at Birmingham 2026 — $2,457 with dependents, $2,007 without

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

Birmingham, AL

O-1 · with dependents

$2,457/ month

$29,484 / year

At O-1, this is #101 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,172 · low Youngstown $1,218

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

Your grade is calledARMY2LTUSMC2ndLtNAVYENSUSAF2d Lt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,150 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,007 / mo

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

O-1 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,172 / month

San Francisco$5,172

Fresno$2,490

Great Lakes Navtracen$2,475

St. Louis$2,472

Beaufort$2,457

Birmingham$2,457

County Cost Group 850$2,454

Norfolk$2,454

Eglin AFB$2,451

Hampden County$2,451

Youngstown$1,218

Birmingham is #101 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 – $2,865 / month

E-1$2,223

E-2$2,223

E-3$2,223

E-4$2,223

E-5$2,439

E-6$2,532

E-7$2,550

E-8$2,559

E-9$2,583

W-1$2,547

W-2$2,556

W-3$2,568

W-4$2,598

W-5$2,682

O-1E$2,553

O-2E$2,562

O-3E$2,613

O-1$2,457

O-2$2,529

O-3$2,565

O-4$2,703

O-5$2,826

O-6$2,847

O-7$2,865

Promoting to O-2 here adds $72 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 Birmingham to San Francisco at O-1 is worth $2,715 a month — about 38 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $72 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 22% 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. $2,457 a month of BAH takes more than $2,457 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-1 at Birmingham draws $2,457 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,007 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you