What is E-3 BAH at Lafayette in 2026?

$1,449 per month with dependents ($17,388 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,140 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-3 BAH at Lafayette 2026 — $1,449/mo with dependents

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

Lafayette, LA

E-3 · with dependents

$1,449/ month

$17,388 / year

At E-3, this is #273 of 338 stations loaded · high New York City $5,067 · low Youngstown $1,134

MHA LA118 · ZIPs 70380 70501 70502 70503 70504 70505 +24 more

Your grade is calledARMYPFCUSMCLCplNAVYSNUSAFA1C

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,858 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,140 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Lafayette — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,449	$1,140
E-2	$1,449	$1,140
E-3	$1,449	$1,140
E-4	$1,449	$1,140
E-5	$1,584	$1,245
E-6	$1,845	$1,380
E-7	$1,914	$1,452
E-8	$1,992	$1,641
E-9	$2,112	$1,710
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,860	$1,413
W-2	$1,944	$1,638
W-3	$2,043	$1,722
W-4	$2,139	$1,854
W-5	$2,262	$1,929
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,926	$1,581
O-2E	$2,025	$1,695
O-3E	$2,157	$1,833
Officer
O-1	$1,623	$1,311
O-2	$1,842	$1,542
O-3	$2,040	$1,746
O-4	$2,298	$1,911
O-5	$2,484	$1,950
O-6	$2,502	$2,019
O-7	$2,517	$2,052

What this rate means

E-3 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,067 / month

New York City$5,067

Champaign$1,467

Johnson City$1,467

Goodfellow AFB$1,455

Erie$1,452

Lafayette$1,449

Whiteman AFB$1,449

County Cost Group 730$1,446

Fort Rucker$1,440

Morgantown$1,440

Youngstown$1,134

Lafayette is #273 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,933 a month — $47,196 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Lafayette0 – $2,517 / month

E-1$1,449

E-2$1,449

E-3$1,449

E-4$1,449

E-5$1,584

E-6$1,845

E-7$1,914

E-8$1,992

E-9$2,112

W-1$1,860

W-2$1,944

W-3$2,043

W-4$2,139

W-5$2,262

O-1E$1,926

O-2E$2,025

O-3E$2,157

O-1$1,623

O-2$1,842

O-3$2,040

O-4$2,298

O-5$2,484

O-6$2,502

O-7$2,517

Promoting to E-4 here adds $0 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

Dependency status is worth 27% 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. $1,449 a month of BAH takes more than $1,449 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-3 with dependents at Lafayette draws $1,449 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you