What is E-5 BAH at Waco in 2026?

$1,755 per month with dependents ($21,060 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. Without dependents it is $1,440 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 Waco 2026 — $1,755 with dependents, $1,440 without

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

Waco, TX

E-5 · with dependents

$1,755/ month

$21,060 / year

At E-5, this is #233 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA TX415 · ZIPs 76524 76557 76624 76630 76633 76638 +27 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,250 / mo gross

Without dependents here$1,440 / mo

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Waco — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,617	$1,404
E-2	$1,617	$1,404
E-3	$1,617	$1,404
E-4	$1,617	$1,404
E-5	$1,755	$1,440
E-6	$2,097	$1,572
E-7	$2,199	$1,650
E-8	$2,310	$1,830
E-9	$2,496	$1,926
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,118	$1,590
W-2	$2,244	$1,827
W-3	$2,382	$1,938
W-4	$2,538	$2,118
W-5	$2,730	$2,223
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,217	$1,752
O-2E	$2,361	$1,902
O-3E	$2,568	$2,091
Officer
O-1	$1,803	$1,473
O-2	$2,094	$1,713
O-3	$2,379	$1,971
O-4	$2,793	$2,199
O-5	$3,093	$2,319
O-6	$3,117	$2,361
O-7	$3,138	$2,400

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,127

Fayetteville$1,782

Coos Bay$1,779

Des Moines$1,770

College Station$1,758

Waco$1,755

County Cost Group 770$1,752

Wilkes-Barre$1,740

Grand Forks$1,731

Fort Huachuca$1,719

Anniston$1,185

Waco is #233 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 Waco0 – $3,138 / month

E-1$1,617

E-2$1,617

E-3$1,617

E-4$1,617

E-5$1,755

E-6$2,097

E-7$2,199

E-8$2,310

E-9$2,496

W-1$2,118

W-2$2,244

W-3$2,382

W-4$2,538

W-5$2,730

O-1E$2,217

O-2E$2,361

O-3E$2,568

O-1$1,803

O-2$2,094

O-3$2,379

O-4$2,793

O-5$3,093

O-6$3,117

O-7$3,138

Promoting to E-6 here adds $342 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 Waco to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,372 a month — about 10 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $342 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 22% 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. $1,755 a month of BAH takes more than $1,755 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 Waco draws $1,755 per month with dependents in 2026, $1,440 without

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you