What is E-5 BAH at Brownsville in 2026?

$1,503 per month with dependents ($18,036 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,248 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-5 BAH at Brownsville 2026 — $1,503 with dependents, $1,248 without

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

Brownsville, TX

E-5 · with dependents

$1,503/ month

$18,036 / year

At E-5, this is #286 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA TX281 · ZIPs 78501 78502 78503 78504 78505 78516 +46 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,927 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,248 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Brownsville — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,413	$1,125
E-2	$1,413	$1,125
E-3	$1,413	$1,125
E-4	$1,413	$1,125
E-5	$1,503	$1,248
E-6	$1,860	$1,392
E-7	$1,971	$1,479
E-8	$2,094	$1,578
E-9	$2,259	$1,695
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,878	$1,410
W-2	$2,022	$1,575
W-3	$2,172	$1,698
W-4	$2,292	$1,881
W-5	$2,442	$1,998
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,992	$1,500
O-2E	$2,148	$1,656
O-3E	$2,316	$1,851
Officer
O-1	$1,551	$1,323
O-2	$1,857	$1,482
O-3	$2,169	$1,728
O-4	$2,490	$1,974
O-5	$2,721	$2,040
O-6	$2,742	$2,151
O-7	$2,757	$2,187

What this rate means

E-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month

San Francisco$5,127

Moody AFB$1,524

Seymour Johnson AFB$1,521

Beaumont$1,518

County Cost Group 710$1,515

Brownsville$1,503

Saginaw$1,503

Sumter$1,503

County Cost Group 700$1,497

Terre Haute$1,494

Anniston$1,185

Brownsville is #286 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,942 a month — $47,304 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Brownsville0 – $2,757 / month

E-1$1,413

E-2$1,413

E-3$1,413

E-4$1,413

E-5$1,503

E-6$1,860

E-7$1,971

E-8$2,094

E-9$2,259

W-1$1,878

W-2$2,022

W-3$2,172

W-4$2,292

W-5$2,442

O-1E$1,992

O-2E$2,148

O-3E$2,316

O-1$1,551

O-2$1,857

O-3$2,169

O-4$2,490

O-5$2,721

O-6$2,742

O-7$2,757

Promoting to E-6 here adds $357 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 Brownsville to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,624 a month — about 10 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $357 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. $1,503 a month of BAH takes more than $1,503 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-5 at Brownsville draws $1,503 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,248 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you