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 Columbus draws $2,496 per month in 2026

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/columbus-oh/e-8/with/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    Columbus, OH
    E-8 · with dependents
    $2,496/ month
    $29,952 / year
    At E-8, this is #168 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638
    MHA OH230 · ZIPs 43001 43002 43004 43008 43013 43016 +92 more
    Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,200 / mo gross
    Other dependency status here$1,953 without dependents
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    Columbus — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$1,782$1,422
    E-2$1,782$1,422
    E-3$1,782$1,422
    E-4$1,782$1,422
    E-5$1,875$1,587
    E-6$2,238$1,692
    E-7$2,364$1,782
    E-8$2,496$1,953
    E-9$2,640$2,055
    Warrant officer
    W-1$2,259$1,761
    W-2$2,418$1,950
    W-3$2,583$2,070
    W-4$2,664$2,262
    W-5$2,766$2,391
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$2,385$1,872
    O-2E$2,556$2,031
    O-3E$2,679$2,232
    Officer
    O-1$1,926$1,686
    O-2$2,235$1,848
    O-3$2,577$2,103
    O-4$2,793$2,364
    O-5$2,949$2,439
    O-6$2,973$2,562
    O-7$2,991$2,604
    PCS compareColumbus · E-8 · $2,496/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$2,991/mo · $35,892/yr
    ▲ RAISE+$495+$5,940/yr · like +$7,615 of salary

    What this rate means

    E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month
    Westchester County$6,333
    Grand Haven$2,535
    Carlisle Barracks$2,514
    New Orleans$2,508
    State College$2,508
    Columbus$2,496
    Chattanooga$2,490
    Durham$2,484
    Phoenix$2,484
    Myrtle Beach$2,481
    Anniston$1,638

    Columbus is #168 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 Columbus0 – $2,991 / month
    E-1$1,782
    E-2$1,782
    E-3$1,782
    E-4$1,782
    E-5$1,875
    E-6$2,238
    E-7$2,364
    E-8$2,496
    E-9$2,640
    W-1$2,259
    W-2$2,418
    W-3$2,583
    W-4$2,664
    W-5$2,766
    O-1E$2,385
    O-2E$2,556
    O-3E$2,679
    O-1$1,926
    O-2$2,235
    O-3$2,577
    O-4$2,793
    O-5$2,949
    O-6$2,973
    O-7$2,991

    Promoting to E-9 here adds $144 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 Columbus to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $3,837 a month — about 27 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $144 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 28% 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. $2,496 a month of BAH takes more than $2,496 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.