2026 BAH Rates in PENSACOLA, FL

At $1,863 a month for an E-5 with dependents, PENSACOLA, FL ranks 199th of 299 military housing areas in the 2026 DoD tables, higher than 33% of locations. That is $255 below the national median of $2,118, which is the clearest single signal of how expensive the rental market around this duty station is compared with the rest of the force. Within Florida it sits 15th of 16 housing areas, $605 below the state median of $2,468.

The dependent premium here is $219 a month (+13.3% over the without-dependents rate of $1,644). DoD sets the with-dependents rate against a larger housing profile for the same paygrade, so the gap tracks how much more a family-sized rental costs locally, not a flat percentage. One dependent or five, the rate is the same: BAH has only two dependency tiers.

Between adjacent grades the largest single step in PENSACOLA, FL is E-5 to E-6, worth $372 more per month with dependents. An O-3 draws $2,271, about 1.22x the E-5 rate, because each paygrade is pegged to a different anchor housing type (from a one-bedroom apartment at the junior enlisted grades up to a single-family house for senior officers).

Over 4 years the E-5 with-dependents rate moved from $1,731 in 2023 to $1,863 in 2026 (+7.6% overall). Year by year: 2024: $1,731 (+0.0%); 2025: $1,833 (+5.9%); 2026: $1,863 (+1.6%). Every year came in at or above the previous one, so rate protection never had to apply here in this window.

BAH is not taxed and does not count toward retired pay. It is paid at the rate for the member's duty-station ZIP code, not the ZIP where they choose to live, so a cheaper rental outside PENSACOLA, FLleaves the difference in the member's pocket. Rates take effect January 1 and come from the annual DTMO survey of rents and average utilities for each housing area. Verify your exact entitlement with your unit pay office or your LES; see the LES guide and the with vs. without dependents explainer.