BAH 2026 · housing area
BAH in San Diego for 2026
The 2026 housing allowance of the San Diego military housing area, grade by grade, and what changes when you have a family.
BAH 2026 in San Diego
E-5 with dependents
$3,975
| Per year, tax free | $47,700 |
| Without dependents | $3,147 |
| Difference | $828 |
An E-5 with dependents stationed in San Diego receives $3,975 a month of BAH in 2026, and $3,147 without dependents; an O-3 receives $4,518 or $4,248. These are the rates of the San Diego military housing area (CA038) in the Defense Travel Management Office file for 2026, which covers the ZIP codes of the county south of Camp Pendleton, from Naval Base San Diego and Naval Air Station North Island to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Naval Base Point Loma. Junior enlisted members from E-1 to E-4 all receive $3,666 with a family, because the DoD prices their housing on the same standard home. San Diego ranks 12 among the housing areas of the United States for the E-5 rate with dependents, so the allowance is one of the highest a sailor or Marine will see in a career.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
San Diego BAH by grade
| Grade | With dependents | Without dependents | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $3,666 | $2,763 | $903 |
| E-4 | $3,666 | $2,763 | $903 |
| E-5 | $3,975 | $3,147 | $828 |
| E-6 | $4,404 | $3,387 | $1,017 |
| E-7 | $4,446 | $3,678 | $768 |
| E-8 | $4,488 | $4,065 | $423 |
| E-9 | $4,671 | $4,188 | $483 |
| W-2 | $4,464 | $4,062 | $402 |
| W-3 | $4,521 | $4,206 | $315 |
| O-1 | $4,032 | $3,351 | $681 |
| O-2 | $4,401 | $3,873 | $528 |
| O-3 | $4,518 | $4,248 | $270 |
| O-4 | $5,082 | $4,440 | $642 |
| O-5 | $5,493 | $4,458 | $1,035 |
| O-6 | $5,541 | $4,494 | $1,047 |
Where the San Diego rate applies
The DTMO file assigns each ZIP code to one military housing area, and the San Diego area takes most of the county: downtown and the bay, Coronado, the South Bay toward the border, and inland communities such as El Cajon and Santee. Your rate is set by the ZIP code of your permanent duty station, so a sailor whose ship is homeported at Naval Base San Diego and a pilot at Miramar receive the same table even if they live thirty miles apart. The BAH calculator finds the housing area of any ZIP code. North of Oceanside, the Camp Pendleton area starts with its own table.
Family or no family: the gap at each grade
The with-dependents rate is built on a larger home than the single rate, so the difference is the price of that extra space. In San Diego it is $828 a month for an E-5 and $270 for an O-3, one of the wider gaps of the country because family homes there cost much more than apartments. Two service members married to each other and both stationed here each draw BAH: one at the with-dependents rate if they have a child, the other at the single rate, or both at the single rate if they have no children. It does not matter how many dependents you have: a spouse alone and a spouse with four children give the same rate.
What BAH does not cover in San Diego
BAH is designed to cover a typical rent and utilities for your grade in the area, minus a small share the member is expected to pay. It is not adjusted for the neighborhood you choose, and it stops if you move into government quarters. For the total pay picture, combine it with basic pay and BAS in the military pay calculator, and compare with another station on the BAH rates page.
Moving between San Diego and an East Coast fleet concentration area shows how much of a sailor's income BAH can be. The same E-5 with a family receives $2,430 in Norfolk, so a transfer from San Diego to Norfolk lowers the housing allowance by $1,545 a month while basic pay does not change. Rents differ in proportion, which is the point of the allowance, but the numbers are worth knowing before you sign a lease that runs past your projected rotation date.
Officers see the same logic at a higher level: an O-1 with dependents receives $4,032, an O-4 $5,082 and an O-6 $5,541, while warrant officers sit between the senior enlisted and the company grade officers.
Checking the rate on your LES
The Leave and Earnings Statement shows BAH as an entitlement line with the housing area code and your dependency status. If the amount differs from the table, the usual reasons are a status that was not updated after a marriage or a divorce, a member still drawing the rate of a previous station during a permanent change of station, or rate protection from an earlier year. The finance office corrects it with a copy of your orders and the marriage or birth certificate.
2025 to 2026: a flat year in San Diego
San Diego is one of the areas where the 2026 table barely moved, and moved down for some grades. The E-5 family rate went from $3,987 to $3,975, while the O-3 rate rose by a few dollars. Members already stationed here are protected: rate protection keeps the higher 2025 amount for those who were entitled to it on December 31, 2025, as long as they stay in the area with the same status. New arrivals in 2026 receive the published rate.
| Grade | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-4 | $3,663 | $3,666 | +$3 (+0.1%) |
| E-5 | $3,987 | $3,975 | −$12 (−0.3%) |
| E-6 | $4,395 | $4,404 | +$9 (+0.2%) |
| E-7 | $4,440 | $4,446 | +$6 (+0.1%) |
| E-9 | $4,662 | $4,671 | +$9 (+0.2%) |
| O-1 | $4,041 | $4,032 | −$9 (−0.2%) |
| O-3 | $4,515 | $4,518 | +$3 (+0.1%) |
| O-5 | $5,421 | $5,493 | +$72 (+1.3%) |
Rent and utilities in the San Diego rate
The DTMO builds each rate from median rents and average utilities for six housing profiles, then subtracts a member cost share of 5%. In San Diego, rent makes up about 91% of the total housing cost and utilities 9%, one of the highest rent shares of the country, which reflects both expensive rents and a mild climate with small heating and cooling bills.