Honolulu County · MHA HI408
2026 Oʻahu BAH Rates
Every pay grade, with and without dependents, from the official Department of Defense rate file.
- Rate year
- 2026
- Effective
- January 1, 2026
- Source
- Defense Travel Management Office
- Last verified
- September 27, 2026
2026 BAH Rates for Honolulu County (HI408)
Monthly amounts in U.S. dollars. Honolulu County is one Military Housing Area, so every ZIP code the official file assigns to HI408 draws these rates.
| Pay Grade | Without Dependents | With Dependents |
|---|---|---|
| Enlisted | ||
| E-1 to E-4 | $2,598 | $3,333 |
| E-5 | $2,856 | $3,663 |
| E-6 | $3,036 | $3,912 |
| E-7 | $3,348 | $4,098 |
| E-8 | $3,720 | $4,302 |
| E-9 | $3,783 | $4,518 |
| Warrant Officers | ||
| W-1 (WO1) | $3,222 | $3,930 |
| W-2 (CW2) | $3,717 | $4,182 |
| W-3 (CW3) | $3,795 | $4,434 |
| W-4 (CW4) | $3,951 | $4,551 |
| W-5 (CW5) | $4,146 | $4,692 |
| Titles shown are Army usage. The Coast Guard uses CWO2 to CWO4; the Air Force and Space Force differ. The rate follows the pay grade, not the title. | ||
| Prior-Enlisted Officers | ||
| O-1E | $3,660 | $4,137 |
| O-2E | $3,768 | $4,398 |
| O-3E | $3,903 | $4,572 |
| Commissioned Officers | ||
| O-1 | $2,997 | $3,702 |
| O-2 | $3,555 | $3,909 |
| O-3 | $3,819 | $4,428 |
| O-4 | $4,110 | $4,737 |
| O-5 | $4,224 | $4,959 |
| O-6 | $4,413 | $5,001 |
| O-7 to O-10 | $4,494 | $5,040 |
| The official 2026 file gives O-7 through O-10 the same Honolulu County rate. | ||
Source: 2026 BAH rate file, Defense Travel Management Office, published December 9, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. Epic Hawaiʻi Homes is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Defense.
What BAH Is
The Department of Defense describes BAH as an allowance that provides uniformed service members equitable housing compensation based on housing costs in local housing markets when government quarters are not provided. Rates vary by duty station, pay grade and dependency status.
With vs Without Dependents
BAH has two rates for each pay grade: with dependents and without dependents. The rate depends on whether you have an eligible dependent, not on how many. A spouse or child, as the regulation defines them, can qualify you for the with dependents rate.
Prior-Enlisted Officer Rates (O-1E to O-3E)
Federal law sets a separate pay computation for commissioned officers in grades O-1 through O-3 who are credited with over four years of service as an enlisted member or warrant officer. Department of Defense pay tables label these grades O-1E, O-2E and O-3E, and the BAH rate file lists them separately. Your finance office confirms which grade applies to you.
How BAH Is Built
BAH is based on rental housing costs: median market rents plus utilities such as electricity, heat, and water and sewer. It is not based on homeownership costs such as mortgage payments or property taxes, and it is not designed to cover every member's full housing cost. For 2026 the Department of Defense kept a member cost sharing element of five percent of the national average housing cost by pay grade.
Rates rose by an average of 4.2 percent nationally for 2026. Individual locations differ from that average.
Rate Protection
If you keep uninterrupted BAH eligibility at the same location, your rate will not go down, even if local rates fall.
Using BAH in a Housing Budget
Many Families use BAH as one input when they plan a home purchase, alongside the VA loan, their other income and debt, and the residual income a lender will look at. BAH is sized to rental costs, so the only way to know what works for your Family is to run your own numbers with a lender.
The VA loan section of our PCS guide and the BAH and military benefits section go deeper on how allowances are treated when you apply.
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Wondering how your allowance fits the homes you are looking at? Tell Tina where you are in your PCS and she will help you map out the next steps.
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Questions About Oʻahu BAH
What are the 2026 BAH rates on Oʻahu?
The rates are in the chart above. For 2026 they run from $2,598 a month for E-1 to E-4 without dependents to $5,040 a month for O-7 to O-10 with dependents, from the official Department of Defense rate file for Honolulu County (HI408), effective January 1, 2026.
Is BAH the same everywhere on Oʻahu?
Within the Honolulu County Military Housing Area it is. The official 2026 file assigns 69 ZIP codes to HI408, including 96818, 96706 and 96707, and every ZIP in HI408 draws the same rate for a given pay grade and dependency status. That means the neighborhood you choose changes your commute, not your allowance.
Is BAH the same on Maui, Hawaiʻi Island or Kauaʻi?
No. Hawaiʻi has four Military Housing Areas, each with its own rates: Honolulu County (HI408), Maui (HI407), Hawaiʻi Island (HI409) and Kauaʻi (HI414).
How much did BAH go up for 2026?
The Department of Defense reported an average increase of 4.2 percent nationally for 2026. That is an average across all locations and pay grades; individual rates, including Honolulu County's, differ from it.
Can my BAH go down while I am stationed here?
Not because of a rate change. Under individual rate protection, a member who keeps uninterrupted BAH eligibility at the same location does not see a rate decrease. A change in location, pay grade or dependency status can change your rate.
Is BAH meant to cover a mortgage?
No. BAH is based on rental housing costs, median market rents plus utilities, not homeownership costs such as mortgage payments or property taxes, and it carries a five percent member cost sharing element. Whether a purchase works depends on your full financial picture, which is a conversation for you and your lender.
What does “with dependents” mean for BAH?
It means you have at least one eligible dependent, such as a spouse or child as the regulation defines them. BAH distinguishes between with dependents and without dependents, not the number of dependents.
What is O-1E?
O-1E, O-2E and O-3E are the pay table designations for commissioned officers in grades O-1 through O-3 credited with over four years of service as an enlisted member or warrant officer. The BAH rate file lists them separately from O-1 through O-3. Your finance office confirms which grade applies to you.
Where do I confirm my exact rate?
Use the official DoD BAH Calculator from the Defense Travel Management Office, with your duty station ZIP code, pay grade and dependency status.
Sources and Updates
- Rates: 2026 BAH rate file, Defense Travel Management Office, published December 9, 2025, effective January 1, 2026.
- Definition, rate basis and rate protection: DTMO Basic Allowance for Housing and the DoD BAH Fact Sheet.
- 2026 average increase and cost sharing: Department of War release, December 2025.
- Dependents: DoD Financial Management Regulation, Volume 7A, Chapter 26. Prior-enlisted officer pay: 37 U.S.C. 203(d).
We update this page when the Department of Defense publishes new rates, usually each December. Last verified September 27, 2026.
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