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

    O-5 with dependents at Charleston draws $3,039 per month in 2026

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/charleston-sc/o-5/with/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    Charleston, SC
    O-5 · with dependents
    $3,039/ month
    $36,468 / year
    At O-5, this is #168 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $8,064 · low Youngstown $1,827
    MHA SC259 · ZIPs 29401 29402 29403 29404 29405 29406 +53 more
    Your grade is calledARMYLTCUSMCLtColNAVYCDRUSAFLt Col
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,896 / mo gross
    Other dependency status here$2,664 without dependents
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    Charleston — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$2,220$1,755
    E-2$2,220$1,755
    E-3$2,220$1,755
    E-4$2,220$1,755
    E-5$2,385$1,941
    E-6$2,616$2,064
    E-7$2,652$2,223
    E-8$2,694$2,439
    E-9$2,769$2,496
    Warrant officer
    W-1$2,634$2,172
    W-2$2,667$2,436
    W-3$2,724$2,508
    W-4$2,790$2,619
    W-5$2,880$2,661
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$2,655$2,382
    O-2E$2,712$2,484
    O-3E$2,802$2,607
    Officer
    O-1$2,421$2,049
    O-2$2,613$2,334
    O-3$2,721$2,529
    O-4$2,904$2,646
    O-5$3,039$2,664
    O-6$3,060$2,697
    O-7$3,081$2,742
    PCS compareCharleston · O-5 · $3,039/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$3,630/mo · $43,560/yr
    ▲ RAISE+$591+$7,092/yr · like +$9,092 of salary

    What this rate means

    O-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $8,064 / month
    Westchester County$8,064
    Carlisle Barracks$3,069
    Cincinnati$3,060
    New Orleans$3,060
    Panama City$3,060
    Charleston$3,039
    Eastern Panhandle$3,027
    Fort Campbell$3,006
    County Cost Group 800$2,997
    Myrtle Beach$2,982
    Youngstown$1,827

    Charleston is #168 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $6,237 a month — $74,844 a year, untaxed.

    Every pay grade at Charleston0 – $3,081 / month
    E-1$2,220
    E-2$2,220
    E-3$2,220
    E-4$2,220
    E-5$2,385
    E-6$2,616
    E-7$2,652
    E-8$2,694
    E-9$2,769
    W-1$2,634
    W-2$2,667
    W-3$2,724
    W-4$2,790
    W-5$2,880
    O-1E$2,655
    O-2E$2,712
    O-3E$2,802
    O-1$2,421
    O-2$2,613
    O-3$2,721
    O-4$2,904
    O-5$3,039
    O-6$3,060
    O-7$3,081

    Promoting to O-6 here adds $21 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 Charleston to Westchester County at O-5 is worth $5,025 a month — about 239 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $21 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 14% 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. $3,039 a month of BAH takes more than $3,039 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.