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
    With $1,986Without $1,704

    E-5 at El Centro draws $1,986 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,704 without

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/el-centro-ca/e-5/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    El Centro, CA
    E-5 · with dependents
    $1,986/ month
    $23,832 / year
    At E-5, this is #182 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185
    MHA CA420 · ZIPs 92222 92227 92231 92232 92233 92243 +13 more
    Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,546 / mo gross
    Without dependents here$1,704 / mo
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    El Centro — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$1,905$1,500
    E-2$1,905$1,500
    E-3$1,905$1,500
    E-4$1,905$1,500
    E-5$1,986$1,704
    E-6$2,151$1,824
    E-7$2,334$1,905
    E-8$2,541$2,025
    E-9$2,721$2,061
    Warrant officer
    W-1$2,166$1,890
    W-2$2,418$2,022
    W-3$2,673$2,070
    W-4$2,739$2,187
    W-5$2,823$2,382
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$2,373$1,983
    O-2E$2,634$2,052
    O-3E$2,751$2,139
    Officer
    O-1$2,013$1,818
    O-2$2,148$1,962
    O-3$2,664$2,085
    O-4$2,847$2,346
    O-5$2,976$2,460
    O-6$2,997$2,652
    O-7$3,018$2,697
    PCS compareEl Centro · E-5 · $1,986/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$2,478/mo · $29,736/yr
    ▲ RAISE+$492+$5,904/yr · like +$7,569 of salary

    What this rate means

    E-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month
    San Francisco$5,127
    Barstow$2,001
    Cleveland$1,998
    Louisville$1,989
    Chattanooga$1,986
    El Centro$1,986
    Kansas City$1,986
    Rapid City$1,986
    Twenty Nine Palms MCB$1,980
    County Cost Group 800$1,962
    Anniston$1,185

    El Centro is #182 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,942 a month — $47,304 a year, untaxed.

    Every pay grade at El Centro0 – $3,018 / month
    E-1$1,905
    E-2$1,905
    E-3$1,905
    E-4$1,905
    E-5$1,986
    E-6$2,151
    E-7$2,334
    E-8$2,541
    E-9$2,721
    W-1$2,166
    W-2$2,418
    W-3$2,673
    W-4$2,739
    W-5$2,823
    O-1E$2,373
    O-2E$2,634
    O-3E$2,751
    O-1$2,013
    O-2$2,148
    O-3$2,664
    O-4$2,847
    O-5$2,976
    O-6$2,997
    O-7$3,018

    Promoting to E-6 here adds $165 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 El Centro to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,141 a month — about 19 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $165 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 17% 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. $1,986 a month of BAH takes more than $1,986 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.