What is W-3 BAH at Norfolk in 2026?

$2,496 per month without dependents ($29,952 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,697 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 Norfolk 2026 — $2,496/mo without dependents

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

Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA

W-3 · without dependents

$2,496/ month

$29,952 / year

At W-3, this is #6 of 17 stations loaded · high San Diego $4,206 · low Fort Riley $1,566

MHA VA298 · ZIPs 23511 23505 23503

Your grade is calledARMYCW3USMCCWO3NAVYCWO3

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,200 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,697 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Norfolk — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,229	$1,707
E-2	$2,229	$1,707
E-3	$2,229	$1,707
E-4	$2,229	$1,707
E-5	$2,430	$1,908
E-6	$2,559	$2,043
E-7	$2,604	$2,235
E-8	$2,661	$2,463
E-9	$2,796	$2,487
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,574	$2,166
W-2	$2,628	$2,460
W-3	$2,697	$2,496
W-4	$2,832	$2,562
W-5	$3,000	$2,616
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,613	$2,427
O-2E	$2,685	$2,481
O-3E	$2,859	$2,547
Officer
O-1	$2,454	$2,022
O-2	$2,556	$2,367
O-3	$2,694	$2,505
O-4	$3,054	$2,601
O-5	$3,318	$2,625
O-6	$3,342	$2,673
O-7	$3,366	$2,718

What this rate means

W-3 without dependents, every station0 – $4,206 / month

San Diego$4,206

Camp Pendleton$4,197

Honolulu County$3,795

JB Lewis-McChord$2,751

JB Elmendorf-Richardson$2,619

Norfolk$2,496

Fort Carson$2,394

Fort Stewart$2,376

Fort Bliss$1,992

San Antonio (JBSA)$1,986

Fort Campbell$1,968

Fort Bragg$1,935

Fort Drum$1,899

Fort Benning$1,854

Fort Hood$1,812

Camp Lejeune$1,776

Fort Riley$1,566

Norfolk is #6 of 17. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $2,640 a month — $31,680 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Norfolk0 – $2,718 / month

E-1$1,707

E-2$1,707

E-3$1,707

E-4$1,707

E-5$1,908

E-6$2,043

E-7$2,235

E-8$2,463

E-9$2,487

W-1$2,166

W-2$2,460

W-3$2,496

W-4$2,562

W-5$2,616

O-1E$2,427

O-2E$2,481

O-3E$2,547

O-1$2,022

O-2$2,367

O-3$2,505

O-4$2,601

O-5$2,625

O-6$2,673

O-7$2,718

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 Norfolk to San Diego at W-3 is worth $1,710 a month — about 26 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $66 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 8% 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. $2,496 a month of BAH takes more than $2,496 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 without dependents at Norfolk draws $2,496 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you