BAH Rate Desk2026
Rates effective
01 JAN 2026 · CONUS

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

Duty station or MHA
    Try Fort Liberty, Cavazos, Moore or a ZIP — old and unofficial names resolve.
    Or type your rank
    Enlisted
    E-1E-2E-3E-4E-5E-6E-7E-8E-9
    Warrant
    W-1W-2W-3W-4W-5
    Prior enl.
    O-1EO-2EO-3E
    Officer
    O-1O-2O-3O-4O-5O-6O-7
    Dependents
    WithWithout

    E-8 with dependents at Cape May draws $3,159 per month in 2026

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/cape-may-nj/e-8/with/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    Cape May, NJ
    E-8 · with dependents
    $3,159/ month
    $37,908 / year
    At E-8, this is #80 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638
    MHA NJ198 · ZIPs 08202 08204 08210 08212 08214 08218 +15 more
    Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,050 / mo gross
    Other dependency status here$2,823 without dependents
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    Cape May — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$2,523$1,968
    E-2$2,523$1,968
    E-3$2,523$1,968
    E-4$2,523$1,968
    E-5$2,754$2,172
    E-6$3,072$2,313
    E-7$3,114$2,532
    E-8$3,159$2,823
    E-9$3,312$2,913
    Warrant officer
    W-1$3,093$2,451
    W-2$3,132$2,820
    W-3$3,189$2,925
    W-4$3,360$3,078
    W-5$3,570$3,123
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$3,117$2,751
    O-2E$3,177$2,892
    O-3E$3,390$3,066
    Officer
    O-1$2,799$2,289
    O-2$3,069$2,682
    O-3$3,186$2,955
    O-4$3,639$3,108
    O-5$3,969$3,129
    O-6$4,002$3,165
    O-7$4,032$3,222
    PCS compareCape May · E-8 · $3,159/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$2,991/mo · $35,892/yr
    ▼ CUT−$168−$2,016/yr · like −$2,585 of salary

    What this rate means

    E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month
    Westchester County$6,333
    County Cost Group 870$3,204
    Eglin AFB$3,189
    Denver$3,168
    Beale AFB$3,159
    Cape May$3,159
    Ballston Spa$3,144
    Astoria$3,114
    Kodiak Island$3,096
    Baltimore$3,093
    Anniston$1,638

    Cape May is #80 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,695 a month — $56,340 a year, untaxed.

    Every pay grade at Cape May0 – $4,032 / month
    E-1$2,523
    E-2$2,523
    E-3$2,523
    E-4$2,523
    E-5$2,754
    E-6$3,072
    E-7$3,114
    E-8$3,159
    E-9$3,312
    W-1$3,093
    W-2$3,132
    W-3$3,189
    W-4$3,360
    W-5$3,570
    O-1E$3,117
    O-2E$3,177
    O-3E$3,390
    O-1$2,799
    O-2$3,069
    O-3$3,186
    O-4$3,639
    O-5$3,969
    O-6$4,002
    O-7$4,032

    Promoting to E-9 here adds $153 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

    01

    Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from Cape May to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $3,174 a month — about 21 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $153 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 12% 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.

    03

    None of it is taxed. $3,159 a month of BAH takes more than $3,159 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

    Ad slot — in-content, after the answerPlaced below the number, never above it. VA-loan and PCS-move advertisers bid here.

    Things the rate table doesn't tell you

    01

    “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.

    02

    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.

    03

    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.