Joint Base Lewis-McChord BAH Rates 2026
Joint Base Lewis-McChord's BAH is set by Military Housing Area **WA311**, which covers Tacoma and the rest of Pierce County. Every rank below is the actual 2026 rate for this MHA — not a national average, not an estimate.
Enlisted
| Rank | Without Dependents | With Dependents |
|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $2,034/mo | $2,370/mo |
| E-2 | $2,034/mo | $2,370/mo |
| E-3 | $2,034/mo | $2,370/mo |
| E-4 | $2,034/mo | $2,370/mo |
| E-5 | $2,121/mo | $2,556/mo |
| E-6 | $2,199/mo | $2,919/mo |
| E-7 | $2,376/mo | $2,994/mo |
| E-8 | $2,634/mo | $3,072/mo |
| E-9 | $2,736/mo | $3,180/mo |
Warrant
| Rank | Without Dependents | With Dependents |
|---|---|---|
| W-1 | $2,313/mo | $2,940/mo |
| W-2 | $2,631/mo | $3,024/mo |
| W-3 | $2,751/mo | $3,126/mo |
| W-4 | $2,931/mo | $3,201/mo |
| W-5 | $3,009/mo | $3,297/mo |
Officer
| Rank | Without Dependents | With Dependents |
|---|---|---|
| O-1 | $2,178/mo | $2,607/mo |
| O-1E | $2,553/mo | $3,006/mo |
| O-2 | $2,496/mo | $2,916/mo |
| O-2E | $2,712/mo | $3,108/mo |
| O-3 | $2,784/mo | $3,123/mo |
| O-3E | $2,913/mo | $3,216/mo |
| O-4 | $2,991/mo | $3,324/mo |
| O-5 | $3,030/mo | $3,471/mo |
| O-6 | $3,102/mo | $3,501/mo |
| O-7 | $3,156/mo | $3,525/mo |
How BAH Is Calculated Here
BAH isn't a flat, made-up number — it's recalculated every year from an actual survey of the local rental market. Each Military Housing Area gets its own annual survey of median rent plus average utility costs (electricity, heat, and water/sewer) for six housing profile categories, and the Department of Defense sets a separate rate for every paygrade, with and without dependents, based on which housing profile fits that paygrade.
That's why the E-1 through E-4 rate is identical at $2,034 (or $2,370 with dependents) here — those four grades share the same housing profile in the DoD's model, and the difference only starts showing up at E-5.
One protection worth knowing: BAH can't drop for you personally while you're still assigned here, even if the local market rate falls the next year. If WA311's rate goes down, you keep your higher rate until you PCS or get promoted into a new bracket. It can only go up for you mid-assignment, never down.
What BAH Actually Covers at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
BAH at JBLM is built to cover the median rent plus average utilities for a home matching your paygrade's housing profile in the Tacoma–Pierce County rental market — it's not a guarantee that covers any specific address you pick. Find something below the local median and BAH can cover the full rent with room left over. Find something above it — a newer build, a bigger yard, a neighborhood closer to base — and you're covering the difference out of pocket.
This is exactly why BAH applied to a mortgage works differently than BAH applied to rent: a mortgage builds equity with every payment, even the portion above the median. Rent is gone the day you send it.
How It Compares
Pierce County's rental market runs well above what most families see at other duty stations — one reason JBLM's BAH rates land noticeably higher than a base like Fort Liberty or Fort Cavazos at the same rank. Higher BAH doesn't automatically mean an easier buy, though; home prices around Tacoma run higher too.
Don't guess at that gap. Use the BAH calculator to plug in your actual rank, dependent status, and a real listing price near JBLM, and see the side-by-side for yourself.