BAH Rate Desk2026
Rates effective
01 JAN 2026 · CONUS

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

Duty station or MHA
    Try Fort Liberty, Cavazos, Moore or a ZIP — old and unofficial names resolve.
    Or type your rank
    Enlisted
    E-1E-2E-3E-4E-5E-6E-7E-8E-9
    Warrant
    W-1W-2W-3W-4W-5
    Prior enl.
    O-1EO-2EO-3E
    Officer
    O-1O-2O-3O-4O-5O-6O-7
    Dependents
    With $4,488Without $4,065

    E-8 at San Diego draws $4,488 per month with dependents in 2026, $4,065 without

    Permalinkbahratedesk.com/san-diego/e-8/ExcelCSVDownloads cover this station.
    San Diego, CA
    E-8 · with dependents
    $4,488/ month
    $53,856 / year
    At E-8, this is #16 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,333 · low Anniston $1,638
    MHA CA038 · ZIPs 91901 91902 91903 91905 91906 91908 +155 more
    Your grade is calledARMYMSG / 1SGUSMCMSgt / 1stSgtNAVYSCPOUSAFSMSgt
    Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$5,754 / mo gross
    Without dependents here$4,065 / mo
    In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial
    MHA

    One MHA covers the county — 32nd Street, Coronado, North Island, Miramar and MCRD all draw the same rate.

    San Diego — full sheetTap a row
    GradeWith dep.Without
    Enlisted
    E-1$3,666$2,763
    E-2$3,666$2,763
    E-3$3,666$2,763
    E-4$3,666$2,763
    E-5$3,975$3,147
    E-6$4,404$3,387
    E-7$4,446$3,678
    E-8$4,488$4,065
    E-9$4,671$4,188
    Warrant officer
    W-1$4,425$3,564
    W-2$4,464$4,062
    W-3$4,521$4,206
    W-4$4,731$4,410
    W-5$4,992$4,455
    Officer — prior enlisted
    O-1E$4,449$3,972
    O-2E$4,506$4,161
    O-3E$4,770$4,398
    Officer
    O-1$4,032$3,351
    O-2$4,401$3,873
    O-3$4,518$4,248
    O-4$5,082$4,440
    O-5$5,493$4,458
    O-6$5,541$4,494
    O-7$5,586$4,575
    PCS compareSan Diego · E-8 · $4,488/mo
    Aberdeen Proving Grounds$2,991/mo · $35,892/yr
    ▼ CUT−$1,497−$17,964/yr · like −$23,031 of salary

    What this rate means

    E-8 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,333 / month
    Westchester County$6,333
    Florida Keys$4,677
    Monterey$4,599
    Camp Pendleton$4,596
    Kauai County$4,566
    San Diego$4,488
    Staten Island$4,473
    Los Angeles$4,443
    Essex CO$4,344
    Cape Cod-Plymouth$4,317
    Anniston$1,638

    San Diego is #16 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,695 a month — $56,340 a year, untaxed.

    Every pay grade at San Diego0 – $5,586 / month
    E-1$3,666
    E-2$3,666
    E-3$3,666
    E-4$3,666
    E-5$3,975
    E-6$4,404
    E-7$4,446
    E-8$4,488
    E-9$4,671
    W-1$4,425
    W-2$4,464
    W-3$4,521
    W-4$4,731
    W-5$4,992
    O-1E$4,449
    O-2E$4,506
    O-3E$4,770
    O-1$4,032
    O-2$4,401
    O-3$4,518
    O-4$5,082
    O-5$5,493
    O-6$5,541
    O-7$5,586

    Promoting to E-9 here adds $183 a month. The pay chart moves this allowance far less than the map does.

    01

    Where you are stationed outweighs what you are paid. Moving from San Diego to Westchester County at E-8 is worth $1,845 a month — about 10 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $183 per grade here.

    02

    Dependency status is worth 10% 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.

    03

    None of it is taxed. $4,488 a month of BAH takes more than $4,488 of basic pay to match, which is why comparing a civilian salary against military base pay alone understates the gap.

    Ad slot — in-content, after the answerPlaced below the number, never above it. VA-loan and PCS-move advertisers bid here.

    Things the rate table doesn't tell you

    01

    “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.

    02

    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.

    03

    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.