Focused guides for the search questions behind military pay planning.
These are the side-by-side breakdowns service members ask about before every PCS. Each one answers a high-stakes money question — "will I actually take home more in Texas or California?", "how much does adding a dependent really change my BAH?" — with real 2026 numbers, an assumptions table, and the SCRA and tax traps that quietly cost service members money. Base pay is federal and identical nationwide; these guides focus on what actually varies: housing allowance, state tax, and dependency status.
Every comparison on this site follows the same discipline, because most "military pay by state" content online gets the framing wrong. Three rules keep the numbers honest:
1. Base pay never varies by location. An E-5 over 6 years earns the same base pay at Fort Cavazos as at Camp Pendleton — it's set by the federal pay table. Any comparison that implies otherwise is broken. What varies is BAH (set per Military Housing Area, from under $1,200/mo in rural areas to over $4,500/mo in high-cost metros), state income tax treatment (about 25 states fully exempt active-duty pay or have no income tax; California and a handful of others tax it at full rates), and cost of living on the ground.
2. Tax-free allowances change the math more than people expect. BAH and BAS don't count as taxable income — federal or state. That means a duty station with $3,000/mo BAH delivers the equivalent of roughly $3,700-$3,900/mo in pre-tax civilian salary, depending on your bracket. Comparing military take-home to a civilian offer using base pay alone understates the military package by 25-40% for most members with dependents.
3. SCRA residency is the lever most people never pull. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, you're taxed by your state of legal residence, not where you're stationed. A member who establishes Texas or Florida residency before PCSing to California keeps their no-income-tax status the entire tour. Each comparison flags where this matters and roughly what it's worth — for a mid-career member in a full-tax state, commonly $1,500-$4,000 a year.
All figures trace to the 2026 DFAS pay tables (effective January 2026, including the 3.8% raise), current DTMO BAH rates, and each state's published tax code. When a number is an estimate — tax withholding especially, which depends on your W-4 and filing status — the comparison says so and shows the assumption.
Every comparison above pairs with a calculator. Open one in another tab and plug in your exact rank, years of service, duty ZIP, dependency status, and TSP percentage.