What is E-5 BAH at State College in 2026?

$1,791 per month with dependents ($21,492 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,443 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 State College 2026 — $1,791 with dependents, $1,443 without

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

State College, PA

E-5 · with dependents

$1,791/ month

$21,492 / year

At E-5, this is #226 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA PA252 · ZIPs 16677 16801 16802 16803 16804 16805 +25 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,296 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,443 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

State College — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,656	$1,329
E-2	$1,656	$1,329
E-3	$1,656	$1,329
E-4	$1,656	$1,329
E-5	$1,791	$1,443
E-6	$2,274	$1,707
E-7	$2,388	$1,791
E-8	$2,508	$1,893
E-9	$2,679	$2,034
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,295	$1,722
W-2	$2,436	$1,890
W-3	$2,583	$2,052
W-4	$2,715	$2,298
W-5	$2,877	$2,412
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,406	$1,806
O-2E	$2,562	$2,001
O-3E	$2,739	$2,268
Officer
O-1	$1,854	$1,515
O-2	$2,271	$1,794
O-3	$2,580	$2,097
O-4	$2,928	$2,388
O-5	$3,180	$2,454
O-6	$3,207	$2,562
O-7	$3,228	$2,607

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,127

Fort Bragg$1,806

Lansing$1,806

Robins AFB$1,800

Huntsville$1,797

State College$1,791

Corpus Christi$1,788

Lincoln$1,788

Fayetteville$1,782

Coos Bay$1,779

Anniston$1,185

State College is #226 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 State College0 – $3,228 / month

E-1$1,656

E-2$1,656

E-3$1,656

E-4$1,656

E-5$1,791

E-6$2,274

E-7$2,388

E-8$2,508

E-9$2,679

W-1$2,295

W-2$2,436

W-3$2,583

W-4$2,715

W-5$2,877

O-1E$2,406

O-2E$2,562

O-3E$2,739

O-1$1,854

O-2$2,271

O-3$2,580

O-4$2,928

O-5$3,180

O-6$3,207

O-7$3,228

Promoting to E-6 here adds $483 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 State College to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,336 a month — about 7 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $483 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 24% 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. $1,791 a month of BAH takes more than $1,791 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 State College draws $1,791 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,443 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you