E-5 and E-6 pay in 2026

E-5 and E-6 basic pay table, 2026

Where the steps stop

Basic pay grows with seniority in steps, and each grade has a ceiling written into the table. For an E-5, the last increase comes at over 12 years; an E-5 who is still in that grade at 14 or 20 years earns exactly the same basic pay as at 13. For an E-6 the last step comes at over 18 years. Services use high-year tenure rules that limit how long a member can stay in these grades, which is why the cells beyond the ceiling matter little in practice: the pay table rewards promotion more than time from this point on.

The gap between the two grades is wider than it looks at the start. An E-6 with six years earns $126 a month more than an E-5 with the same seniority, and the difference reaches $846 at 18 years, because the E-6 table keeps climbing six years longer. Over a twenty-year career, an early promotion to E-6 is worth more in basic pay than any single raise Congress has voted in the last decade, and it also raises the retirement base. Reserve and National Guard members are paid from the same table: one drill period is one thirtieth of the monthly amount, so a weekend of four drill periods pays four thirtieths of the monthly figure for your grade and years.

What an NCO actually takes home

Basic pay is taxable; the allowances are not. A married E-5 with four years at Naval Station Norfolk receives $3,946.80 of basic pay, $476.95 of BAS and $2,430 of BAH, so roughly $6,854 before taxes, of which only basic pay counts as taxable income. The military pay calculator does the same sum for any ZIP code and grade.

E-5 and E-6 in retirement terms

Under the Blended Retirement System, a member who retires at 20 years receives 2% of the high-36 average per year of service, so 40%; under High-3 it is 50%. For an E-6 at 20 years whose last three years were paid at the top of the table, that is about $2,107 a month under BRS and $2,634 under High-3, before the cost-of-living adjustments. Both amounts then rise each December with the cost-of-living adjustment of retired pay. The retirement calculator gives the exact figure for your years and months, and the E-7 to E-9 page shows what the next promotion changes.

One more difference between the grades concerns BAH, not basic pay: an E-5 and an E-6 are priced on different housing standards, so the housing allowance also jumps at promotion. At Fort Bragg the with-dependents rate goes from $1,806 for an E-5 to $2,049 for an E-6.

Reading the E-5 and E-6 lines of your LES

The Leave and Earnings Statement shows basic pay as a monthly entitlement, split over two paydays on the 1st and the 15th. The pay entry base date drives the column: if your seniority looks wrong, compare the date on the LES with your enlistment contract, since prior service in another branch or in the reserves counts toward the years used in the table.