What is E-5 BAH at Norfolk in 2026?

$1,908 per month without dependents ($22,896 per year), effective 01 JAN 2026. with dependents it is $2,430 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 Norfolk 2026 — $1,908/mo without dependents

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

Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA

E-5 · without dependents

$1,908/ month

$22,896 / year

At E-5, this is #7 of 17 stations loaded · high San Diego $3,147 · low Fort Riley $1,158

MHA VA298 · ZIPs 23511 23505 23503

Your grade is calledARMYSGTUSMCSgtNAVYPO2USAFSSgt

Untaxed — matching it with taxable pay takes$2,446 / mo gross

Other dependency status here$2,430 with dependents

In government quarters, no dependents$50.10 / mo partial

Norfolk — full sheetTap a row

Grade	With dep.	Without
Enlisted
E-1	$2,229	$1,707
E-2	$2,229	$1,707
E-3	$2,229	$1,707
E-4	$2,229	$1,707
E-5	$2,430	$1,908
E-6	$2,559	$2,043
E-7	$2,604	$2,235
E-8	$2,661	$2,463
E-9	$2,796	$2,487
Warrant officer
W-1	$2,574	$2,166
W-2	$2,628	$2,460
W-3	$2,697	$2,496
W-4	$2,832	$2,562
W-5	$3,000	$2,616
Officer — prior enlisted
O-1E	$2,613	$2,427
O-2E	$2,685	$2,481
O-3E	$2,859	$2,547
Officer
O-1	$2,454	$2,022
O-2	$2,556	$2,367
O-3	$2,694	$2,505
O-4	$3,054	$2,601
O-5	$3,318	$2,625
O-6	$3,342	$2,673
O-7	$3,366	$2,718

What this rate means

E-5 without dependents, every station0 – $3,147 / month

San Diego$3,147

Camp Pendleton$3,093

Honolulu County$2,856

JB Elmendorf-Richardson$2,157

JB Lewis-McChord$2,121

Fort Stewart$1,947

Norfolk$1,908

Fort Carson$1,860

Fort Campbell$1,593

Fort Hood$1,530

Fort Bragg$1,527

San Antonio (JBSA)$1,500

Fort Benning$1,482

Camp Lejeune$1,476

Fort Bliss$1,437

Fort Drum$1,422

Fort Riley$1,158

Norfolk is #7 of 17. The spread between the dearest and cheapest station at this grade is $1,989 a month — $23,868 a year, untaxed.

Every pay grade at Norfolk0 – $2,718 / month

E-1$1,707

E-2$1,707

E-3$1,707

E-4$1,707

E-5$1,908

E-6$2,043

E-7$2,235

E-8$2,463

E-9$2,487

W-1$2,166

W-2$2,460

W-3$2,496

W-4$2,562

W-5$2,616

O-1E$2,427

O-2E$2,481

O-3E$2,547

O-1$2,022

O-2$2,367

O-3$2,505

O-4$2,601

O-5$2,625

O-6$2,673

O-7$2,718

Promoting to E-6 here adds $135 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 Norfolk to San Diego at E-5 is worth $1,239 a month — about 9 promotions worth of housing allowance, at $135 per grade here.

Dependency status is worth 27% 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. $1,908 a month of BAH takes more than $1,908 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 without dependents at Norfolk draws $1,908 per month in 2026

What this rate means

Things the rate table doesn't tell you