What is O-5 BAH at Chattanooga in 2026?

$3,201 per month with dependents ($38,412 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,460 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-5 BAH at Chattanooga 2026 — $3,201 with dependents, $2,460 without

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

Chattanooga, TN

O-5 · with dependents

$3,201/ month

$38,412 / year

At O-5, this is #147 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $8,064 · low Youngstown $1,827

MHA TN266 · ZIPs 30726 30736 30742 37302 37304 37308 +30 more

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Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,104 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,460 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Chattanooga — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,863	$1,446
E-2	$1,863	$1,446
E-3	$1,863	$1,446
E-4	$1,863	$1,446
E-5	$1,986	$1,629
E-6	$2,397	$1,797
E-7	$2,445	$1,863
E-8	$2,490	$2,073
E-9	$2,631	$2,193
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,418	$1,830
W-2	$2,463	$2,070
W-3	$2,523	$2,208
W-4	$2,670	$2,403
W-5	$2,856	$2,454
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,448	$1,983
O-2E	$2,511	$2,166
O-3E	$2,700	$2,391
Officer
O-1	$2,043	$1,734
O-2	$2,394	$1,950
O-3	$2,520	$2,247
O-4	$2,916	$2,436
O-5	$3,201	$2,460
O-6	$3,228	$2,499
O-7	$3,249	$2,541

What this rate means

O-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $8,064 / month

Westchester County$8,064

Bloomington$3,225

Cleveland$3,222

Rochester$3,222

Nashville$3,219

Chattanooga$3,201

Syracuse$3,198

Spokane$3,195

Dallas$3,192

Coastal Maine$3,183

Youngstown$1,827

Chattanooga is #147 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 Chattanooga0 – $3,249 / month

E-1$1,863

E-2$1,863

E-3$1,863

E-4$1,863

E-5$1,986

E-6$2,397

E-7$2,445

E-8$2,490

E-9$2,631

W-1$2,418

W-2$2,463

W-3$2,523

W-4$2,670

W-5$2,856

O-1E$2,448

O-2E$2,511

O-3E$2,700

O-1$2,043

O-2$2,394

O-3$2,520

O-4$2,916

O-5$3,201

O-6$3,228

O-7$3,249

Promoting to O-6 here adds $27 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 Chattanooga to Westchester County at O-5 is worth $4,863 a month — about 180 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $27 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 30% 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. $3,201 a month of BAH takes more than $3,201 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-5 at Chattanooga draws $3,201 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,460 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you