What is E-5 BAH at Champaign in 2026?

$1,539 per month with dependents ($18,468 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,329 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 Champaign 2026 — $1,539 with dependents, $1,329 without

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

Champaign/Urbana, IL

E-5 · with dependents

$1,539/ month

$18,468 / year

At E-5, this is #276 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA IL088 · ZIPs 60949 61801 61802 61803 61815 61816 +27 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,973 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,329 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Champaign — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,467	$1,230
E-2	$1,467	$1,230
E-3	$1,467	$1,230
E-4	$1,467	$1,230
E-5	$1,539	$1,329
E-6	$1,980	$1,485
E-7	$2,034	$1,527
E-8	$2,091	$1,632
E-9	$2,238	$1,761
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,001	$1,500
W-2	$2,058	$1,629
W-3	$2,130	$1,776
W-4	$2,280	$1,989
W-5	$2,466	$2,046
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,040	$1,536
O-2E	$2,118	$1,731
O-3E	$2,310	$1,974
Officer
O-1	$1,599	$1,392
O-2	$1,977	$1,530
O-3	$2,127	$1,818
O-4	$2,529	$2,028
O-5	$2,820	$2,115
O-6	$2,841	$2,130
O-7	$2,859	$2,145

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,127

Sioux Falls$1,554

Johnson City$1,548

Minot AFB$1,548

Scott AFB$1,542

Champaign$1,539

County Cost Group 720$1,536

Lexington$1,536

Sault Ste Marie$1,536

Huntington$1,533

Anniston$1,185

Champaign is #276 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 Champaign0 – $2,859 / month

E-1$1,467

E-2$1,467

E-3$1,467

E-4$1,467

E-5$1,539

E-6$1,980

E-7$2,034

E-8$2,091

E-9$2,238

W-1$2,001

W-2$2,058

W-3$2,130

W-4$2,280

W-5$2,466

O-1E$2,040

O-2E$2,118

O-3E$2,310

O-1$1,599

O-2$1,977

O-3$2,127

O-4$2,529

O-5$2,820

O-6$2,841

O-7$2,859

Promoting to E-6 here adds $441 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 Champaign to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,588 a month — about 8 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $441 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 16% 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. $1,539 a month of BAH takes more than $1,539 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 Champaign draws $1,539 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,329 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you