What is W-3 BAH at Fort Drum in 2026?

$2,478 per month with dependents ($29,736 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,899 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.

W-3 BAH at Fort Drum 2026 — $2,478/mo with dependents

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

Fort Drum/Watertown, NY

W-3 · with dependents

$2,478/ month

$29,736 / year

At W-3, this is #10 of 17 stations loaded · high Camp Pendleton $4,662 · low Fort Riley $1,956

MHA NY219 · ZIPs 13602 13601 13603

Your grade is calledARMYCW3USMCCWO3NAVYCWO3

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,177 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,899 without dependents

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

W-3 with dependents, every station0 – $4,662 / month

Camp Pendleton$4,662

San Diego$4,521

Honolulu County$4,434

JB Elmendorf-Richardson$3,369

JB Lewis-McChord$3,126

Norfolk$2,697

Fort Stewart$2,601

Fort Carson$2,598

Fort Campbell$2,499

Fort Drum$2,478

Fort Hood$2,346

Fort Bliss$2,205

Fort Bragg$2,178

San Antonio (JBSA)$2,130

Camp Lejeune$2,088

Fort Benning$2,061

Fort Riley$1,956

Fort Drum is #10 of 17. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $2,706 a month — $32,472 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 W-4 here adds $66 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 Camp Pendleton at W-3 is worth $2,184 a month — about 33 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $66 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 30% 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. $2,478 a month of BAH takes more than $2,478 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.

W-3 with dependents at Fort Drum draws $2,478 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you