What is W-3 BAH at Bismarck in 2026?

$1,923 per month without dependents ($23,076 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,373 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.

W-3 BAH at Bismarck 2026 — $1,923/mo without dependents

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

Bismarck, ND

W-3 · without dependents

$1,923/ month

$23,076 / year

At W-3, this is #232 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,301 · low Youngstown $1,341

MHA ND188 · ZIPs 58477 58494 58501 58502 58503 58504 +15 more

Your grade is calledARMYCW3USMCCWO3NAVYCWO3

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,465 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,373 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Bismarck — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,500	$1,125
E-2	$1,500	$1,125
E-3	$1,500	$1,125
E-4	$1,500	$1,125
E-5	$1,596	$1,287
E-6	$2,202	$1,653
E-7	$2,262	$1,698
E-8	$2,328	$1,746
E-9	$2,376	$1,899
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,223	$1,668
W-2	$2,289	$1,716
W-3	$2,373	$1,923
W-4	$2,379	$2,211
W-5	$2,385	$2,277
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,271	$1,704
O-2E	$2,358	$1,860
O-3E	$2,382	$2,196
Officer
O-1	$1,674	$1,398
O-2	$2,196	$1,701
O-3	$2,370	$1,980
O-4	$2,388	$2,259
O-5	$2,391	$2,292
O-6	$2,397	$2,349
O-7	$2,409	$2,388

What this rate means

W-3 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,301 / month

San Francisco$5,301

Huntsville$1,947

Shreveport$1,941

Waco$1,938

Fort Bragg$1,935

Bismarck$1,923

County Cost Group 770$1,920

Fayetteville$1,920

Mountain Home AFB$1,920

Marquette$1,917

Youngstown$1,341

Bismarck is #232 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,960 a month — $47,520 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Bismarck0 – $2,388 / month

E-1$1,125

E-2$1,125

E-3$1,125

E-4$1,125

E-5$1,287

E-6$1,653

E-7$1,698

E-8$1,746

E-9$1,899

W-1$1,668

W-2$1,716

W-3$1,923

W-4$2,211

W-5$2,277

O-1E$1,704

O-2E$1,860

O-3E$2,196

O-1$1,398

O-2$1,701

O-3$1,980

O-4$2,259

O-5$2,292

O-6$2,349

O-7$2,388

Promoting to W-4 here adds $288 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 Bismarck to San Francisco at W-3 is worth $3,378 a month — about 12 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $288 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 23% 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. $1,923 a month of BAH takes more than $1,923 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.

W-3 without dependents at Bismarck draws $1,923 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you