What is E-5 BAH at Fort Drum in 2026?

$1,665 per month with dependents ($19,980 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,422 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.

E-5 BAH at Fort Drum 2026 — $1,665 with dependents, $1,422 without

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

Fort Drum/Watertown, NY

E-5 · with dependents

$1,665/ month

$19,980 / year

At E-5, this is #246 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA NY225 · ZIPs 13305 13312 13325 13327 13343 13345 +52 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,135 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,422 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Fort Drum — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,569	$1,356
E-2	$1,569	$1,356
E-3	$1,569	$1,356
E-4	$1,569	$1,356
E-5	$1,665	$1,422
E-6	$1,893	$1,476
E-7	$2,103	$1,578
E-8	$2,331	$1,749
E-9	$2,526	$1,896
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,914	$1,548
W-2	$2,196	$1,713
W-3	$2,478	$1,899
W-4	$2,544	$1,938
W-5	$2,631	$2,154
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,145	$1,662
O-2E	$2,436	$1,827
O-3E	$2,559	$1,920
Officer
O-1	$1,701	$1,470
O-2	$1,890	$1,638
O-3	$2,469	$1,902
O-4	$2,655	$2,115
O-5	$2,784	$2,244
O-6	$2,805	$2,457
O-7	$2,823	$2,496

What this rate means

E-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month

San Francisco$5,127

Fort Hood$1,695

Yuma$1,695

County Cost Group 760$1,686

Montgomery$1,683

Fort Drum$1,665

Cheyenne$1,653

Wright-Patterson AFB$1,650

Fort Knox$1,647

Oklahoma City$1,644

Anniston$1,185

Fort Drum is #246 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 Fort Drum0 – $2,823 / month

E-1$1,569

E-2$1,569

E-3$1,569

E-4$1,569

E-5$1,665

E-6$1,893

E-7$2,103

E-8$2,331

E-9$2,526

W-1$1,914

W-2$2,196

W-3$2,478

W-4$2,544

W-5$2,631

O-1E$2,145

O-2E$2,436

O-3E$2,559

O-1$1,701

O-2$1,890

O-3$2,469

O-4$2,655

O-5$2,784

O-6$2,805

O-7$2,823

Promoting to E-6 here adds $228 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 Fort Drum to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,462 a month — about 15 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $228 per grade here.

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.

None of it is taxed. $1,665 a month of BAH takes more than $1,665 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.

E-5 at Fort Drum draws $1,665 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,422 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you