GI Bill & TSP · guide
Post-9/11 GI Bill housing allowance (MHA) for 2026-27
How much the monthly housing allowance pays in large college towns from August 2026, and how the tier, the credits and online classes change it.
GI Bill housing allowance, 2026-27
Housing allowance per month
$5,070
| Full E-5 with-dependents rate | $5,070 |
| Rate of pursuit (rounded) | 100% |
| For a 9-month school year | $45,630 |
The monthly housing allowance of the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the military Basic Allowance for Housing of an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of the campus where the student takes most classes. From August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027, VA uses the 2026 BAH table, so the allowance at 100% is $5,070 a month in New York City, $4,791 in Boston, $2,241 in Austin and $1,875 in Columbus, Ohio. Two reductions apply: the eligibility tier (50% to 100% by length of service) and the rate of pursuit, the share of a full-time load, rounded by VA to the nearest tenth. Below or at half time, no housing allowance is paid. Students whose classes are all online receive $1,261, half the national average, and students at a foreign school $2,522, the national average. The allowance is paid at the end of each month of enrollment, not during breaks between terms, and students who began using the benefit before 2018 may receive a slightly higher grandfathered rate.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Housing allowance in large college towns, 2026-27
| City (housing area) | 100%, full time | 80% tier | 100%, 9 credits |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York City (New York City, NY) | $5,070 | $4,056 | $4,056 |
| Boston (Boston, MA) | $4,791 | $3,833 | $3,833 |
| Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA) | $3,882 | $3,106 | $3,106 |
| San Diego (San Diego, CA) | $3,975 | $3,180 | $3,180 |
| Washington DC area (Washington, DC Metro Area) | $3,132 | $2,506 | $2,506 |
| Seattle (Seattle, WA) | $3,135 | $2,508 | $2,508 |
| Chicago (Chicago, IL) | $3,438 | $2,750 | $2,750 |
| Austin (Austin, TX) | $2,241 | $1,793 | $1,793 |
| Denver (Denver, CO) | $2,841 | $2,273 | $2,273 |
| Atlanta (Atlanta, GA) | $2,388 | $1,910 | $1,910 |
| Phoenix (Phoenix, AZ) | $2,289 | $1,831 | $1,831 |
| Columbus, OH (Columbus, OH) | $1,875 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Nashville (Nashville, TN) | $2,268 | $1,814 | $1,814 |
| San Antonio (San Antonio, TX) | $1,869 | $1,495 | $1,495 |
| Orlando (Orlando, FL) | $2,658 | $2,126 | $2,126 |
Rate of pursuit: credits matter more than you think
VA divides your credits by what your school considers full time, often twelve credits for a standard term, and rounds the result to the nearest tenth. Twelve credits or more is 100%. Ten credits is 83%, rounded to 80%. Nine credits is 75%, rounded to 80%. Seven credits is 58%, rounded to 60%. Six credits is exactly half time, and half time pays nothing. A student who drops from seven credits to six during a term therefore loses the entire allowance from the date of the change, and VA may create a debt for amounts already paid. Schools that use clock hours or non-standard terms follow other conversion rules.
Which ZIP code counts
The allowance follows the physical location of the campus where you attend the majority of your classes, not your home address and not the school's headquarters. A university with a main campus and branch sites can produce different allowances for students in the same program. If most classes are online but one is in person, VA uses the ZIP code of that in-person location. You can check the BAH area of any ZIP code with the BAH calculator, using grade E-5 with dependents.
Tiers and transferred benefits
The allowance is multiplied by your eligibility tier, from 100% for 1,095 days of active duty since September 11, 2001 down to 50% for 90 days; see the Post-9/11 GI Bill guide for the full scale. Spouses using benefits transferred by a member who is still on active duty receive no housing allowance; children using transferred benefits do, even while the parent serves. Members using the benefit themselves on active duty also receive none, since they already draw BAH.
New York against San Antonio: what the gap means
The table shows a spread of more than $3,200 a month between the most and least expensive cities listed. That spread follows rents, and students should not read it as a bonus: a veteran in New York pays far more for an apartment than one in San Antonio. Where the allowance can really change a budget is in the choice between two schools in the same region, for example a campus in the city and one in a cheaper suburb that falls in a different housing area, or between an in-person program and an online one at $1,261.
The grandfathered rate
Since 2018, the housing allowance follows the DoD BAH rates, which include the member cost share of a few percent. Students who began using the Post-9/11 GI Bill before January 1, 2018 continue to receive the slightly higher rates computed without that cost share. VA applies this automatically; the difference is small but can reach several dozen dollars a month in high-cost areas.
Planning a school year
The allowance is paid at the end of each month and covers only enrolled days, so the first payment of a fall term often arrives at the beginning of October for classes that started in late August. Budgeting for that gap, and for the break between terms, avoids the most common money problem of student veterans. The GI Bill calculator adds tuition and books for your school, and the BAH rates page lists every housing area.
Students who change schools or campuses mid-year should tell the school certifying official at once: the allowance follows the new campus ZIP code from the first day of classes there.