What is O-3 BAH at State College in 2026?

$2,580 per month with dependents ($30,960 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $2,097 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.

O-3 BAH at State College 2026 — $2,580 with dependents, $2,097 without

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

State College, PA

O-3 · with dependents

$2,580/ month

$30,960 / year

At O-3, this is #162 of 338 stations loaded · high Westchester County $6,633 · low Anniston $1,686

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

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Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$3,308 / mo gross

Without dependents here$2,097 / 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

O-3 with dependents, nearest stations0 – $6,633 / month

Westchester County$6,633

Cincinnati$2,604

Omaha$2,601

Fort Stewart$2,598

Fort Carson$2,595

State College$2,580

Tallahassee$2,580

Columbus$2,577

Birmingham$2,565

Carlisle Barracks$2,559

Anniston$1,686

State College is #162 of 338. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $4,947 a month — $59,364 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 O-4 here adds $348 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 Westchester County at O-3 is worth $4,053 a month — about 12 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $348 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. $2,580 a month of BAH takes more than $2,580 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.

O-3 at State College draws $2,580 per month with dependents in 2026, $2,097 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you