What is W-2 BAH at Salem in 2026?

$2,085 per month without dependents ($25,020 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,562 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-2 BAH at Salem 2026 — $2,085/mo without dependents

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

Salem, OR

W-2 · without dependents

$2,085/ month

$25,020 / year

At W-2, this is #180 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,193 · low Youngstown $1,224

MHA OR244 · ZIPs 97002 97020 97026 97032 97071 97137 +27 more

Your grade is calledARMYCW2USMCCWO2NAVYCWO2

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,673 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,562 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Salem — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,872	$1,455
E-2	$1,872	$1,455
E-3	$1,872	$1,455
E-4	$1,872	$1,455
E-5	$2,004	$1,635
E-6	$2,397	$1,797
E-7	$2,511	$1,884
E-8	$2,634	$2,088
E-9	$2,796	$2,199
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,418	$1,839
W-2	$2,562	$2,085
W-3	$2,712	$2,214
W-4	$2,826	$2,421
W-5	$2,967	$2,538
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,532	$2,001
O-2E	$2,688	$2,175
O-3E	$2,847	$2,391
Officer
O-1	$2,058	$1,740
O-2	$2,394	$1,965
O-3	$2,709	$2,253
O-4	$3,009	$2,514
O-5	$3,228	$2,580
O-6	$3,252	$2,691
O-7	$3,276	$2,736

What this rate means

W-2 without dependents, nearest stations0 – $5,193 / month

San Francisco$5,193

Provo$2,094

Twenty Nine Palms MCB$2,094

Barstow$2,088

Cleveland$2,085

Salem$2,085

Chattanooga$2,070

Toledo$2,061

Louisville$2,049

Battle Creek$2,043

Youngstown$1,224

Salem is #180 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $3,969 a month — $47,628 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Salem0 – $2,736 / month

E-1$1,455

E-2$1,455

E-3$1,455

E-4$1,455

E-5$1,635

E-6$1,797

E-7$1,884

E-8$2,088

E-9$2,199

W-1$1,839

W-2$2,085

W-3$2,214

W-4$2,421

W-5$2,538

O-1E$2,001

O-2E$2,175

O-3E$2,391

O-1$1,740

O-2$1,965

O-3$2,253

O-4$2,514

O-5$2,580

O-6$2,691

O-7$2,736

Promoting to W-3 here adds $129 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 Salem to San Francisco at W-2 is worth $3,108 a month — about 24 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $129 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 23% 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. $2,085 a month of BAH takes more than $2,085 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-2 without dependents at Salem draws $2,085 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you