Military pay reference
2026 BAH Rates by State and Military Housing Area
299 Military Housing Areas, every pay grade and both dependency categories, organized for a fast answer.
Look up BAH by duty-station ZIP
Enter the ZIP code for your permanent duty station, then select pay grade and dependency status.
The lookup files are loaded only after you submit the form. BAH uses the permanent duty-station ZIP, not the ZIP where you choose to live.
2026 BAH rates by state
Choose a state, then select the Military Housing Area tied to the permanent duty station. Each location page contains all 27 rate rows.
County Cost Group rates for ZIP codes outside named MHAs →
What determines your BAH?
Duty-station ZIP
BAH uses the permanent duty-station ZIP, not the ZIP of the home you rent or own.
Pay grade
Each area publishes one with-dependent and one without-dependent amount for every grade.
Dependency status
The table has two categories. It does not add a separate amount for each dependent.
Years of service change basic pay but do not change BAH within a pay grade. Branch does not change the rate either: members in the same grade, dependency category and duty location use the same published table.
Common BAH questions
Is BAH taxable?
BAH is generally excluded from federal taxable income. It should still be separated from take-home pay and lender-specific qualifying-income calculations.
What if the published rate went down?
Individual rate protection may preserve a previously higher rate when eligibility remains uninterrupted. A PCS, reduction in grade or change in dependency status can affect protection.
Why is my installation not the table name?
DoD groups duty-station ZIP codes into Military Housing Areas. Several installations can share the same regional table, and some rural ZIPs use a numbered County Cost Group. The ZIP lookup above resolves the correct code.