What is O-1E BAH at Cape May in 2026?

$3,117 per month with dependents ($37,404 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $2,751 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-1E BAH at Cape May 2026 — $3,117/mo with dependents

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

Cape May, NJ

O-1E · with dependents

$3,117/ month

$37,404 / year

At O-1E, this is #72 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $5,931 · low Youngstown $1,521

MHA NJ198 · ZIPs 08202 08204 08210 08212 08214 08218 +15 more

Your grade is calledARMY2LTUSMC2ndLtNAVYENSUSAF2d Lt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,996 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,751 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Cape May — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With 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

What this rate means

O-1E with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,931 / month

Westchester County$5,931

Beale AFB$3,153

Fort Detrick$3,144

Madison$3,123

Denver$3,120

Cape May$3,117

County Cost Group 870$3,114

Hampden County$3,105

Stockton$3,096

Brunswick$3,090

Youngstown$1,521

Cape May is #72 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,410 a month — $52,920 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 O-2E here adds $60 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 Cape May to Westchester County at O-1E is worth $2,814 a month — about 47 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $60 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 13% 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. $3,117 a month of BAH takes more than $3,117 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-1E with dependents at Cape May draws $3,117 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you