Military BAHRATES

Joint · South Carolina · ZIP 29404

Joint Base Charleston BAH rates 2026

Joint Base Charleston

SC259 · 2026 BAH

$2,385/mo

E-5 · with dependents

$28,620 a year · −0.9% vs 2025

Without dependents: $1,941/mo

Dependency status

BAH at Joint Base Charleston comes from DTMO's Charleston, SC military housing area (SC259). In 2026 an E-5 with dependents receives $2,385 a month, or $1,941 without dependents. Also searched as Charleston AFB.

$2,220
E-1 to E-4
with dependents (one shared rate)
$2,652
E-7
with dependents, $267 more than E-5
$2,721
O-3
with dependents
0.0%
Avg change vs 2025
all 24 grades; E-5 pay ranks #44 of 127 bases

Joint Base Charleston BAH by rank, with and without dependents, 2026

Monthly rates for every pay grade; your grade is highlighted. The rate depends on your duty station's ZIP code, so it applies wherever you choose to live.

DTMO’s official BAH calculator, Department of Defense (opens in a new tab) ↗
GradeWith dependentsWithout dependentsvs 2025
(with)
E-1Private (PV1) (Army), Airman Basic (AF)
$2,220
$1,755
−1.1%
E-2Private (PV2) (Army), Airman (AF)
$2,220
$1,755
−1.1%
E-3Private First Class (Army), Airman First Class (AF)
$2,220
$1,755
−1.1%
E-4Specialist / Corporal (Army), Senior Airman (AF)
$2,220
$1,755
−1.1%
E-5Sergeant (Army), Staff Sergeant (AF)
$2,385
$1,941
−0.9%
E-6Staff Sergeant (Army), Technical Sergeant (AF)
$2,616
$2,064
+0.2%
E-7Sergeant First Class (Army), Master Sergeant (AF)
$2,652
$2,223
+0.3%
E-8Master Sergeant / First Sergeant (Army), Senior Master Sergeant (AF)
$2,694
$2,439
+0.6%
E-9Sergeant Major (Army), Chief Master Sergeant (AF)
$2,769
$2,496
+0.4%
W-1Warrant Officer 1 / Warrant Officer 1
$2,634
$2,172
+0.3%
W-2Chief Warrant Officer 2
$2,667
$2,436
+0.3%
W-3Chief Warrant Officer 3
$2,724
$2,508
+0.6%
W-4Chief Warrant Officer 4
$2,790
$2,619
+0.4%
W-5Chief Warrant Officer 5
$2,880
$2,661
+0.4%
O-1EO-1 with 4+ yrs prior enlisted service
$2,655
$2,382
+0.3%
O-2EO-2 with 4+ yrs prior enlisted service
$2,712
$2,484
+0.4%
O-3EO-3 with 4+ yrs prior enlisted service
$2,802
$2,607
+0.4%
O-1Second Lieutenant
$2,421
$2,049
−0.7%
O-2First Lieutenant
$2,613
$2,334
+0.2%
O-3Captain
$2,721
$2,529
+0.6%
O-4Major
$2,904
$2,646
+0.3%
O-5Lieutenant Colonel
$3,039
$2,664
+0.3%
O-6Colonel
$3,060
$2,697
+0.2%
O-7+O-7 and above
$3,081
$2,742
+0.1%

BAH since 2022

E-5 with dependents moved from $1,806 in 2022 to $2,385 in 2026 (+32.1%).

How Charleston, SC compares →

Monthly BAH in Charleston, SC, 2022–2026

US dollars a month, with dependents, two common pay grades

E-5O-3
$1,500$2,000$2,500$3,00020222023202420252026E-5 with dependents 2022: $1,806E-5 with dependents 2023: $2,079E-5 with dependents 2024: $2,364E-5 with dependents 2025: $2,406E-5 with dependents 2026: $2,385O-3 with dependents 2022: $2,202O-3 with dependents 2023: $2,376O-3 with dependents 2024: $2,742O-3 with dependents 2025: $2,706O-3 with dependents 2026: $2,721$2,721O-3 with dependents$2,385E-5 with dependents
$1,500$2,000$2,500$3,000202220242026E-5 with dependents 2022: $1,806E-5 with dependents 2023: $2,079E-5 with dependents 2024: $2,364E-5 with dependents 2025: $2,406E-5 with dependents 2026: $2,385O-3 with dependents 2022: $2,202O-3 with dependents 2023: $2,376O-3 with dependents 2024: $2,742O-3 with dependents 2025: $2,706O-3 with dependents 2026: $2,721$2,721$2,385
Source: DTMO annual BAH rate files; rates in effect 1 January each year.
View as table: every grade, 2022–2026

With dependents

Grade20222023202420252026Change
E-1$1,782$1,989$2,169$2,244$2,220+24.6%
E-2$1,782$1,989$2,169$2,244$2,220+24.6%
E-3$1,782$1,989$2,169$2,244$2,220+24.6%
E-4$1,782$1,989$2,169$2,244$2,220+24.6%
E-5$1,806$2,079$2,364$2,406$2,385+32.1%
E-6$2,169$2,256$2,583$2,610$2,616+20.6%
E-7$2,187$2,298$2,637$2,643$2,652+21.3%
E-8$2,196$2,346$2,700$2,679$2,694+22.7%
E-9$2,247$2,418$2,766$2,757$2,769+23.2%
W-1$2,184$2,271$2,598$2,625$2,634+20.6%
W-2$2,193$2,319$2,667$2,658$2,667+21.6%
W-3$2,205$2,379$2,745$2,709$2,724+23.5%
W-4$2,271$2,439$2,778$2,778$2,790+22.9%
W-5$2,364$2,511$2,829$2,868$2,880+21.8%
O-1E$2,190$2,301$2,646$2,646$2,655+21.2%
O-2E$2,199$2,367$2,730$2,700$2,712+23.3%
O-3E$2,280$2,445$2,784$2,790$2,802+22.9%
O-1$1,854$2,109$2,400$2,439$2,421+30.6%
O-2$2,166$2,253$2,580$2,607$2,613+20.6%
O-3$2,202$2,376$2,742$2,706$2,721+23.6%
O-4$2,391$2,532$2,841$2,895$2,904+21.5%
O-5$2,538$2,640$2,910$3,030$3,039+19.7%
O-6$2,556$2,664$2,931$3,054$3,060+19.7%
O-7+$2,574$2,682$2,952$3,078$3,081+19.7%

Without dependents

Grade20222023202420252026Change
E-1$1,455$1,614$1,695$1,779$1,755+20.6%
E-2$1,455$1,614$1,695$1,779$1,755+20.6%
E-3$1,455$1,614$1,695$1,779$1,755+20.6%
E-4$1,455$1,614$1,695$1,779$1,755+20.6%
E-5$1,647$1,791$1,869$1,971$1,941+17.9%
E-6$1,755$1,896$1,989$2,094$2,064+17.6%
E-7$1,788$1,986$2,175$2,250$2,223+24.3%
E-8$1,884$2,121$2,415$2,454$2,439+29.5%
E-9$1,986$2,160$2,469$2,502$2,496+25.7%
W-1$1,785$1,971$2,109$2,199$2,172+21.7%
W-2$1,881$2,118$2,412$2,451$2,436+29.5%
W-3$1,998$2,166$2,478$2,511$2,508+25.5%
W-4$2,166$2,259$2,592$2,610$2,619+20.9%
W-5$2,175$2,307$2,652$2,652$2,661+22.3%
O-1E$1,806$2,073$2,361$2,403$2,382+31.9%
O-2E$1,965$2,154$2,457$2,490$2,484+26.4%
O-3E$2,163$2,244$2,571$2,598$2,607+20.5%
O-1$1,752$1,893$1,968$2,079$2,049+17.0%
O-2$1,800$2,052$2,301$2,358$2,334+29.7%
O-3$2,034$2,187$2,499$2,532$2,529+24.3%
O-4$2,169$2,289$2,634$2,637$2,646+22.0%
O-5$2,178$2,319$2,667$2,655$2,664+22.3%
O-6$2,181$2,361$2,721$2,688$2,697+23.7%
O-7+$2,199$2,397$2,766$2,736$2,742+24.7%

Other installations in South Carolina

E-5 monthly BAH, 2026.

InstallationHousing areaWithWithout
Fort JacksonColumbia/Fort Jackson, SC$1,878$1,647
Parris IslandBeaufort/Parris Island, SC$2,403$2,103
MCAS BeaufortBeaufort/Parris Island, SC$2,403$2,103
Shaw AFBSumter/Shaw AFB, SC$1,503$1,290

Questions

What is E-5 BAH at Joint Base Charleston in 2026?
$2,385 a month with dependents and $1,941 without, from the Charleston, SC rates (MHA SC259).
Which ZIP code is used for Joint Base Charleston BAH?
This page uses ZIP 29404, which DTMO maps to SC259. If your unit's duty address has a different ZIP, enter it in the calculator: neighbouring ZIPs can fall in a different housing area.
Is BAH taxable?
No. BAH is a tax-free allowance; DTMO's BAH primer describes it as tax-free housing allowances paid to about one million service members.

Sources

  1. Defense Travel Management Office, BAH rates, all locations and all pay grades, 2026 (ASCII files), BAH Rate Lookup. Downloaded 2026-10-08.
  2. DTMO, 2025 and earlier rate files (same page), used for year-over-year change.