All areas / WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA
Military housing area DC053WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA BAH rates
An E-5 with dependents stationed here draws $3,132 a month, tax free. That's $37,584 a year, and it ranks 47 of 338 areas at that grade.
Installations paid at this rate
Orders to any of these draw the WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA rate. The DoD sets one rate per housing area, so an assignment anywhere inside it pays the same.
- Fort Belvoir
- Fort Detrick Forest Glen Annex
- Fort Lesley J McNair
- Fort Myer
- Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling
- Joint Base Andrews
- Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
- Marine Barracks
- National Guard Camp Butner Maneuver Training Area
- National Guard Maneuver Training Area Camp Clark
- National Guard Maneuver Training Area Camp Crowder Neosho
- Naval Medical Center Bethesda
- Naval Military Intelligence Center Suitland
- Naval Observatory
- Naval Research Laboratory
- Naval Support Activity Bethesda
- Naval Support Activity Washington
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division
- Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Every pay grade
| Grade | With dependents | Without | Difference | A year, with deps |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $3,096 | $2,409 | $687 | $37,152 |
| E-2 | $3,096 | $2,409 | $687 | $37,152 |
| E-3 | $3,096 | $2,409 | $687 | $37,152 |
| E-4 | $3,096 | $2,409 | $687 | $37,152 |
| E-5 | $3,132 | $2,832 | $300 | $37,584 |
| E-6 | $3,759 | $3,057 | $702 | $45,108 |
| E-7 | $3,855 | $3,099 | $756 | $46,260 |
| E-8 | $3,957 | $3,261 | $696 | $47,484 |
| E-9 | $4,128 | $3,447 | $681 | $49,536 |
| W-1 | $3,780 | $3,096 | $684 | $45,360 |
| W-2 | $3,894 | $3,258 | $636 | $46,728 |
| W-3 | $4,023 | $3,471 | $552 | $48,276 |
| W-4 | $4,167 | $3,777 | $390 | $50,004 |
| W-5 | $4,350 | $3,876 | $474 | $52,200 |
| O-1E | $3,870 | $3,129 | $741 | $46,440 |
| O-2E | $4,002 | $3,405 | $597 | $48,024 |
| O-3E | $4,197 | $3,753 | $444 | $50,364 |
| O-1 | $3,213 | $3,054 | $159 | $38,556 |
| O-2 | $3,753 | $3,126 | $627 | $45,036 |
| O-3 | $4,020 | $3,531 | $489 | $48,240 |
| O-4 | $4,410 | $3,855 | $555 | $52,920 |
| O-5 | $4,692 | $3,909 | $783 | $56,304 |
| O-6 | $4,731 | $3,999 | $732 | $56,772 |
| O-7 | $4,770 | $4,071 | $699 | $57,240 |
| O-8 | $4,770 | $4,071 | $699 | $57,240 |
| O-9 | $4,770 | $4,071 | $699 | $57,240 |
| O-10 | $4,770 | $4,071 | $699 | $57,240 |
All 27 grades for WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA, monthly, rate year 2026. Grades ending in E are officers with prior enlisted service. BAH-ASCII-2026.zip
How the dependency difference works
Every grade here pays more with dependents than without, by $159 to $783 a month. Having dependents is a yes or no question for BAH: a service member with four children draws the same as one with a spouse and none. Nothing else about the family changes the figure.
It also doesn't depend on what you actually pay for housing. If your rent comes in under the allowance you keep the difference, and if it runs over, the difference is yours to cover.
Compare against another station
If you're moving here or away from here, the comparison on the front page puts this area against any other and shows what changes.
WASHINGTON, DC METRO AREA is military housing area DC053, covering 559 ZIP codes across 3 states.