What is E-5 BAH at Wilkes-Barre in 2026?

$1,740 per month with dependents ($20,880 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. without dependents it is $1,488 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 Wilkes-Barre 2026 — $1,740/mo with dependents

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

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA

E-5 · with dependents

$1,740/ month

$20,880 / year

At E-5, this is #235 of 338 stations loaded · high San Francisco $5,127 · low Anniston $1,185

MHA PA254 · ZIPs 18058 18201 18202 18216 18219 18221 +109 more

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,231 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$1,488 without dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Wilkes-Barre — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$1,677	$1,272
E-2	$1,677	$1,272
E-3	$1,677	$1,272
E-4	$1,677	$1,272
E-5	$1,740	$1,488
E-6	$1,887	$1,614
E-7	$1,956	$1,674
E-8	$2,034	$1,776
E-9	$2,181	$1,806
Warrant officer
W-1	$1,902	$1,668
W-2	$1,986	$1,773
W-3	$2,088	$1,815
W-4	$2,214	$1,893
W-5	$2,376	$1,971
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$1,965	$1,737
O-2E	$2,070	$1,800
O-3E	$2,241	$1,875
Officer
O-1	$1,767	$1,611
O-2	$1,884	$1,722
O-3	$2,085	$1,827
O-4	$2,427	$1,953
O-5	$2,676	$2,007
O-6	$2,697	$2,064
O-7	$2,712	$2,097

What this rate means

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

San Francisco$5,127

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

Fort Benning$1,716

Auburn$1,707

Anniston$1,185

Wilkes-Barre is #235 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 Wilkes-Barre0 – $2,712 / month

E-1$1,677

E-2$1,677

E-3$1,677

E-4$1,677

E-5$1,740

E-6$1,887

E-7$1,956

E-8$2,034

E-9$2,181

W-1$1,902

W-2$1,986

W-3$2,088

W-4$2,214

W-5$2,376

O-1E$1,965

O-2E$2,070

O-3E$2,241

O-1$1,767

O-2$1,884

O-3$2,085

O-4$2,427

O-5$2,676

O-6$2,697

O-7$2,712

Promoting to E-6 here adds $147 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 Wilkes-Barre to San Francisco at E-5 is worth $3,387 a month — about 23 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $147 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 17% 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. $1,740 a month of BAH takes more than $1,740 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 Wilkes-Barre draws $1,740 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you