What is E-9 BAH at Lake Charles in 2026?

$1,545 per month without dependents ($18,540 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,061 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-9 BAH at Lake Charles 2026 — $1,545/mo without dependents

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

Lake Charles, LA

E-9 · without dependents

$1,545/ month

$18,540 / year

At E-9, this is #314 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,286 · low Anniston $1,335

MHA LA370 · ZIPs 70601 70602 70605 70606 70607 70609 +15 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGM / CSMUSMCMGySgt / SgtMajNAVYMCPOUSAFCMSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$1,981 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,061 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Lake Charles — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,287	$1,188
E-2	$1,287	$1,188
E-3	$1,287	$1,188
E-4	$1,287	$1,188
E-5	$1,356	$1,197
E-6	$1,626	$1,218
E-7	$1,755	$1,317
E-8	$1,893	$1,419
E-9	$2,061	$1,545
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,644	$1,278
W-2	$1,809	$1,413
W-3	$1,983	$1,548
W-4	$2,088	$1,650
W-5	$2,223	$1,785
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,776	$1,353
O-2E	$1,956	$1,473
O-3E	$2,109	$1,617
Officer
O-1	$1,398	$1,215
O-2	$1,623	$1,338
O-3	$1,977	$1,551
O-4	$2,265	$1,755
O-5	$2,472	$1,854
O-6	$2,490	$1,962
O-7	$2,502	$1,992

What this rate means

E-9 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,286 / month

San Francisco$5,286

County Cost Group 620$1,566

County Cost Group 610$1,557

County Cost Group 600$1,551

Fort Riley$1,548

Lake Charles$1,545

County Cost Group 590$1,539

Alexandria$1,530

Wichita$1,530

County Cost Group 580$1,527

Anniston$1,335

Lake Charles is #314 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,951 a month — $47,412 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Lake Charles0 – $1,992 / month

E-1$1,188

E-2$1,188

E-3$1,188

E-4$1,188

E-5$1,197

E-6$1,218

E-7$1,317

E-8$1,419

E-9$1,545

W-1$1,278

W-2$1,413

W-3$1,548

W-4$1,650

W-5$1,785

O-1E$1,353

O-2E$1,473

O-3E$1,617

O-1$1,215

O-2$1,338

O-3$1,551

O-4$1,755

O-5$1,854

O-6$1,962

O-7$1,992

Rates flatten out at the top of each track, which is why the sheet stops at O-7.

Dependency status is worth 33% 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. $1,545 a month of BAH takes more than $1,545 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-9 without dependents at Lake Charles draws $1,545 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you