What is O-3 BAH at Des Moines in 2026?

$2,433 per month with dependents ($29,196 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,049 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-3 BAH at Des Moines 2026 — $2,433 with dependents, $2,049 without

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

Des Moines, IA

O-3 · with dependents

$2,433/ month

$29,196 / year

At O-3, this is #195 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,633 · low Anniston $1,686

MHA IA082 · ZIPs 50007 50009 50021 50023 50032 50035 +70 more

Your grade is calledARMYCPTUSMCCaptNAVYLTUSAFCapt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,119 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,049 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Des Moines — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,593	$1,284
E-2	$1,593	$1,284
E-3	$1,593	$1,284
E-4	$1,593	$1,284
E-5	$1,770	$1,359
E-6	$2,208	$1,656
E-7	$2,292	$1,719
E-8	$2,379	$1,863
E-9	$2,511	$1,989
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,229	$1,674
W-2	$2,328	$1,860
W-3	$2,436	$2,007
W-4	$2,538	$2,223
W-5	$2,667	$2,310
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,304	$1,767
O-2E	$2,418	$1,962
O-3E	$2,559	$2,202
Officer
O-1	$1,830	$1,413
O-2	$2,205	$1,722
O-3	$2,433	$2,049
O-4	$2,706	$2,289
O-5	$2,904	$2,334
O-6	$2,925	$2,415
O-7	$2,943	$2,454

What this rate means

O-3 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,633 / month

Westchester County$6,633

Cheyenne$2,442

Grand Rapids$2,439

Ocala$2,439

County Cost Group 790$2,433

Des Moines$2,433

Fort Knox$2,421

Morehead$2,421

Kings Bay$2,418

Auburn$2,412

Anniston$1,686

Des Moines is #195 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,947 a month — $59,364 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Des Moines0 – $2,943 / month

E-1$1,593

E-2$1,593

E-3$1,593

E-4$1,593

E-5$1,770

E-6$2,208

E-7$2,292

E-8$2,379

E-9$2,511

W-1$2,229

W-2$2,328

W-3$2,436

W-4$2,538

W-5$2,667

O-1E$2,304

O-2E$2,418

O-3E$2,559

O-1$1,830

O-2$2,205

O-3$2,433

O-4$2,706

O-5$2,904

O-6$2,925

O-7$2,943

Promoting to O-4 here adds $273 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 Des Moines to Westchester County at O-3 is worth $4,200 a month — about 15 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $273 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 19% 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. $2,433 a month of BAH takes more than $2,433 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-3 at Des Moines draws $2,433 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,049 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you