BAH 2026 · housing area
BAH in Norfolk and Hampton Roads for 2026
The 2026 housing allowance of the Norfolk/Portsmouth housing area, the largest Navy concentration in the country, and how it compares with the Peninsula across the water.
BAH 2026 in Norfolk
E-5 with dependents
$2,430
| Per year, tax free | $29,160 |
| Without dependents | $1,908 |
| Difference | $522 |
An E-5 with dependents assigned to Naval Station Norfolk receives $2,430 a month of BAH in 2026, and $1,908 without dependents; a married O-3 receives $2,694. These are the rates of the housing area that the Defense Travel Management Office calls Norfolk/Portsmouth, VA (VA298), which takes in 67 ZIP codes on the south side of Hampton Roads: Norfolk, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, with Naval Air Station Oceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story and Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Across the water, the Peninsula forms a separate area, Hampton/Newport News, VA, where the same E-5 receives $2,274, $156 less. Junior enlisted members from E-1 to E-4 all receive $2,229 with a family. Norfolk ranks 102 of 338 housing areas for the E-5 rate with dependents, close to the middle of the national range.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Norfolk BAH by grade
| Grade | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $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 |
| W-2 | $2,628 | $2,460 |
| 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 |
Southside and Peninsula: two housing areas
Hampton Roads is split into housing areas along the water. The Southside area, VA298, covers ZIP codes from 23320 to 23851. The Peninsula, home to Joint Base Langley-Eustis and the cities of Hampton and Newport News, is VA297, with lower rates for most grades: an O-3 with dependents receives $2,475 there against $2,694 on the Southside. The rate follows the duty station, so a sailor assigned to Norfolk who chooses to live in Hampton still receives the Norfolk rate, and the reverse.
What changes with a promotion
In Norfolk the step between E-5 and E-6 is $129 a month with dependents, and the step between E-6 and E-7 $45. For officers, going from O-3 to O-4 adds $360. These steps reflect the housing standard the DoD prices for each grade, from a two-bedroom townhouse for junior enlisted families to a detached home for senior grades. The military pay calculator adds BAH to basic pay and BAS.
Housing decisions in a Navy town
Norfolk's rates matter for long sea tours. A family that signs a lease when the sailor reports keeps the same BAH while the ship deploys, because the rate follows the homeport, and BAH continues during deployment. When a ship changes homeport, the BAH changes with it on the effective date of the move. Rate protection keeps an existing rate if the published one goes down while the member stays in the area. The BAH calculator checks any ZIP code, and the San Diego page shows the West Coast fleet area for comparison: $3,975 for the same E-5.
Norfolk against the other East Coast fleet areas
| Housing area | E-5 with dependents | E-7 with dependents | O-3 with dependents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk/Portsmouth | $2,430 | $2,604 | $2,694 |
| Hampton/Newport News | $2,274 | $2,439 | $2,475 |
| Jacksonville (Mayport) | $2,181 | $2,283 | $2,364 |
| Kings Bay/Brunswick | $2,133 | $2,250 | $2,418 |
| Camp Lejeune | $1,584 | $1,995 | $2,085 |
A sailor rotating between East Coast homeports sees the housing allowance move by a few hundred dollars a month, while basic pay stays the same. Jacksonville, which includes Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and Kings Bay, home of the Atlantic ballistic missile submarines, are the two other large Navy areas in the region. When orders arrive, comparing the two rates before choosing a lease length avoids paying for a home the next allowance cannot cover.
Officers and warrant officers in Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads has a large population of officers at sea and ashore, from ensigns in their first ship to captains at fleet headquarters. The with-dependents rate runs from $2,454 for an O-1 to $3,342 for an O-6, and warrant officers sit between them, $2,628 for a CW2. An officer without dependents receives noticeably less, for an O-3 $2,505, because the single rate is priced on an apartment rather than a family home.
How much Norfolk BAH rose for 2026
Hampton Roads saw one of the firmer increases among the large Navy areas: the E-5 family rate climbed from $2,325 in 2025 to $2,430, up 4.5%, and the O-3 rate from $2,574 to $2,694. The increase came automatically on January 1 for every member assigned to the area; nothing has to be requested.
| Grade | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-4 | $2,154 | $2,229 | +$75 (+3.5%) |
| E-5 | $2,325 | $2,430 | +$105 (+4.5%) |
| E-6 | $2,469 | $2,559 | +$90 (+3.6%) |
| E-7 | $2,505 | $2,604 | +$99 (+4%) |
| E-9 | $2,673 | $2,796 | +$123 (+4.6%) |
| O-1 | $2,352 | $2,454 | +$102 (+4.3%) |
| O-3 | $2,574 | $2,694 | +$120 (+4.7%) |
| O-5 | $3,192 | $3,318 | +$126 (+3.9%) |
According to the DTMO's 2026 component breakdown, rent accounts for about 85% of the housing cost behind the Norfolk rate and utilities for 15%, a higher utility share than in Southern California because of heating in winter and air conditioning in the humid summer. Every rate also carries the 5% member cost share built into BAH since 2019.