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 Chicago draws $3,732 per month in 2026

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/chicago-il/e-8/with/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    Chicago, IL
    E-8 · with dependents
    $3,732/ month
    $44,784 / year
    At E-8, this is #45 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638
    MHA IL325 · ZIPs 60004 60005 60006 60007 60008 60009 +292 more
    Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$4,785 / mo gross
    Other dependency status here$3,498 without dependents
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    Chicago — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$3,174$2,415
    E-2$3,174$2,415
    E-3$3,174$2,415
    E-4$3,174$2,415
    E-5$3,438$2,736
    E-6$3,702$2,937
    E-7$3,723$3,186
    E-8$3,732$3,498
    E-9$3,771$3,567
    Warrant officer
    W-1$3,720$3,090
    W-2$3,729$3,495
    W-3$3,741$3,579
    W-4$3,795$3,696
    W-5$3,900$3,708
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$3,726$3,435
    O-2E$3,735$3,552
    O-3E$3,810$3,693
    Officer
    O-1$3,477$2,907
    O-2$3,699$3,354
    O-3$3,738$3,603
    O-4$3,927$3,699
    O-5$4,086$3,711
    O-6$4,122$3,714
    O-7$4,152$3,756
    PCS compareChicago · E-8 · $3,732/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$2,991/mo · $35,892/yr
    ▼ CUT−$741−$8,892/yr · like −$11,400 of salary

    What this rate means

    E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month
    Westchester County$6,333
    Providence$3,876
    New Haven$3,813
    County Cost Group 890$3,753
    Vandenberg SFB$3,747
    Chicago$3,732
    Worcester$3,669
    Riverside$3,663
    Hartford$3,657
    Santa Fe$3,639
    Anniston$1,638

    Chicago is #45 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 Chicago0 – $4,152 / month
    E-1$3,174
    E-2$3,174
    E-3$3,174
    E-4$3,174
    E-5$3,438
    E-6$3,702
    E-7$3,723
    E-8$3,732
    E-9$3,771
    W-1$3,720
    W-2$3,729
    W-3$3,741
    W-4$3,795
    W-5$3,900
    O-1E$3,726
    O-2E$3,735
    O-3E$3,810
    O-1$3,477
    O-2$3,699
    O-3$3,738
    O-4$3,927
    O-5$4,086
    O-6$4,122
    O-7$4,152

    Promoting to E-9 here adds $39 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 Chicago to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $2,601 a month — about 67 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $39 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 7% 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. $3,732 a month of BAH takes more than $3,732 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.