What is E-5 BAH at White Sands MR in 2026?

$1,701 per month with dependents ($20,412 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,275 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 White Sands MR 2026 — $1,701/mo with dependents

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

White Sands MR/Las Cruces, NM

E-5 · with dependents

$1,701/ month

$20,412 / year

At E-5, this is #241 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA NM209 · ZIPs 87936 87937 87940 87941 88001 88002 +24 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,181 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,275 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

White Sands MR — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,503	$1,155
E-2	$1,503	$1,155
E-3	$1,503	$1,155
E-4	$1,503	$1,155
E-5	$1,701	$1,275
E-6	$1,929	$1,443
E-7	$1,983	$1,509
E-8	$2,043	$1,752
E-9	$2,127	$1,809
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,944	$1,458
W-2	$2,007	$1,749
W-3	$2,085	$1,821
W-4	$2,142	$1,932
W-5	$2,220	$1,995
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,989	$1,698
O-2E	$2,070	$1,797
O-3E	$2,154	$1,917
Officer
O-1	$1,737	$1,302
O-2	$1,926	$1,638
O-3	$2,082	$1,842
O-4	$2,241	$1,977
O-5	$2,358	$2,007
O-6	$2,376	$2,061
O-7	$2,388	$2,094

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,127

Fort Huachuca$1,719

Fort Benning$1,716

Auburn$1,707

Fargo$1,707

White Sands MR$1,701

Fort Hood$1,695

Yuma$1,695

County Cost Group 760$1,686

Montgomery$1,683

Anniston$1,185

White Sands MR is #241 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 White Sands MR0 – $2,388 / month

E-1$1,503

E-2$1,503

E-3$1,503

E-4$1,503

E-5$1,701

E-6$1,929

E-7$1,983

E-8$2,043

E-9$2,127

W-1$1,944

W-2$2,007

W-3$2,085

W-4$2,142

W-5$2,220

O-1E$1,989

O-2E$2,070

O-3E$2,154

O-1$1,737

O-2$1,926

O-3$2,082

O-4$2,241

O-5$2,358

O-6$2,376

O-7$2,388

Promoting to E-6 here adds $228 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 White Sands MR to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,426 a month — about 15 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $228 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 33% 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. $1,701 a month of BAH takes more than $1,701 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 with dependents at White Sands MR draws $1,701 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you