What is O-2 BAH at Buffalo in 2026?

$2,550 per month with dependents ($30,600 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $2,166 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-2 BAH at Buffalo 2026 — $2,550/mo with dependents

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

Buffalo, NY

O-2 · with dependents

$2,550/ month

$30,600 / year

At O-2, this is #131 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,451 · low Youngstown $1,332

MHA NY216 · ZIPs 14001 14004 14006 14008 14010 14012 +104 more

Your grade is calledARMY1LTUSMC1stLtNAVYLTJGUSAF1st Lt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,269 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,166 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Buffalo — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,055	$1,623
E-2	$2,055	$1,623
E-3	$2,055	$1,623
E-4	$2,055	$1,623
E-5	$2,214	$1,791
E-6	$2,553	$1,914
E-7	$2,631	$2,058
E-8	$2,718	$2,289
E-9	$2,862	$2,382
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,571	$2,010
W-2	$2,667	$2,286
W-3	$2,775	$2,394
W-4	$2,895	$2,565
W-5	$3,045	$2,652
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,646	$2,211
O-2E	$2,757	$2,361
O-3E	$2,919	$2,544
Officer
O-1	$2,262	$1,890
O-2	$2,550	$2,166
O-3	$2,772	$2,427
O-4	$3,093	$2,631
O-5	$3,324	$2,676
O-6	$3,351	$2,754
O-7	$3,372	$2,802

What this rate means

O-2 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,451 / month

San Francisco$5,451

Asheville$2,568

Elizabeth City$2,559

Norfolk$2,556

Brunswick$2,553

Buffalo$2,550

Spokane$2,550

Patuxent River$2,544

Twenty Nine Palms MCB$2,544

Birmingham$2,529

Youngstown$1,332

Buffalo is #131 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,119 a month — $49,428 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Buffalo0 – $3,372 / month

E-1$2,055

E-2$2,055

E-3$2,055

E-4$2,055

E-5$2,214

E-6$2,553

E-7$2,631

E-8$2,718

E-9$2,862

W-1$2,571

W-2$2,667

W-3$2,775

W-4$2,895

W-5$3,045

O-1E$2,646

O-2E$2,757

O-3E$2,919

O-1$2,262

O-2$2,550

O-3$2,772

O-4$3,093

O-5$3,324

O-6$3,351

O-7$3,372

Promoting to O-3 here adds $222 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 Buffalo to San Francisco at O-2 is worth $2,901 a month — about 13 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $222 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 18% 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. $2,550 a month of BAH takes more than $2,550 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-2 with dependents at Buffalo draws $2,550 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you