What is E-5 BAH at Rapid City in 2026?

$1,986 per month with dependents ($23,832 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,545 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-5 BAH at Rapid City 2026 — $1,986 with dependents, $1,545 without

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-5 · with dependents

$1,986/ month

$23,832 / year

At E-5, this is #184 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

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

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,546 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,545 / mo

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-5 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,127 / month

San Francisco$5,127

Louisville$1,989

Chattanooga$1,986

El Centro$1,986

Kansas City$1,986

Rapid City$1,986

Twenty Nine Palms MCB$1,980

County Cost Group 800$1,962

Battle Creek$1,959

Fort Wayne$1,947

Anniston$1,185

Rapid City is #184 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,942 a month — $47,304 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-6 here adds $225 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 San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,141 a month — about 14 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $225 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 29% 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. $1,986 a month of BAH takes more than $1,986 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-5 at Rapid City draws $1,986 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,545 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you