What is E-4 BAH at Rapid City in 2026?

$1,800 per month with dependents ($21,600 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,440 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-4 BAH at Rapid City 2026 — $1,800/mo with dependents

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

Rapid City/Ellsworth AFB, SD

E-4 · with dependents

$1,800/ month

$21,600 / year

At E-4, this is #189 of 338 stations loaded · high New York City $5,067 · low Youngstown $1,134

MHA SD264 · ZIPs 57626 57701 57702 57703 57706 57709 +26 more

Your grade is calledARMYSPC / CPLUSMCCplNAVYPO3USAFSrA

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,308 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,440 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Rapid City — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,800	$1,440
E-2	$1,800	$1,440
E-3	$1,800	$1,440
E-4	$1,800	$1,440
E-5	$1,986	$1,545
E-6	$2,211	$1,656
E-7	$2,307	$1,806
E-8	$2,409	$2,037
E-9	$2,538	$2,094
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,229	$1,746
W-2	$2,349	$2,034
W-3	$2,478	$2,103
W-4	$2,559	$2,226
W-5	$2,664	$2,328
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,322	$1,983
O-2E	$2,457	$2,082
O-3E	$2,574	$2,202
Officer
O-1	$2,022	$1,614
O-2	$2,208	$1,929
O-3	$2,475	$2,124
O-4	$2,691	$2,304
O-5	$2,850	$2,361
O-6	$2,871	$2,457
O-7	$2,889	$2,496

What this rate means

E-4 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,067 / month

New York City$5,067

Columbia$1,812

Fort Gordon$1,809

Louisville$1,809

Morehead$1,806

Rapid City$1,800

Pensacola$1,794

Cleveland$1,791

Greenville$1,785

Columbus$1,782

Youngstown$1,134

Rapid City is #189 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 Rapid City0 – $2,889 / month

E-1$1,800

E-2$1,800

E-3$1,800

E-4$1,800

E-5$1,986

E-6$2,211

E-7$2,307

E-8$2,409

E-9$2,538

W-1$2,229

W-2$2,349

W-3$2,478

W-4$2,559

W-5$2,664

O-1E$2,322

O-2E$2,457

O-3E$2,574

O-1$2,022

O-2$2,208

O-3$2,475

O-4$2,691

O-5$2,850

O-6$2,871

O-7$2,889

Promoting to E-5 here adds $186 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 Rapid City to New York City at E-4 is worth $3,267 a month — about 18 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $186 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 25% 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. $1,800 a month of BAH takes more than $1,800 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-4 with dependents at Rapid City draws $1,800 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you