Washington DC BAH 2026: What It Buys Near the Pentagon, Belvoir, Quantico and Andrews

Four installations, two housing allowance areas, five counties. Where you are assigned sets your BAH. Where you buy decides how far it goes.

By Ken Byrne, NMLS #187129 · ALCOVA Mortgage LLC, NMLS #40508 · Updated September 2026

A PCS to the Washington area brings one question before any other: what does my housing allowance actually buy here? The answer is not one number. The DC area contains two separate military housing areas, four major installations and home values that range from about $425,000 to over $800,000 depending on the county. This guide puts the 2026 BAH rates next to what homes near each installation cost and what the monthly payment would be, so you can see where your allowance stretches and where it does not. For your own grade, family and price range, the Ken Byrne Team can run the full numbers the same day.

2026 BAH for the Washington DC area, by rank

Basic Allowance for Housing is set each January by the Defense Travel Management Office for each military housing area, by pay grade and by whether you have dependents. Two areas matter here.

2026 BAH rates effective January 1, 2026, Defense Travel Management Office, as republished by MyBaseGuide for the Washington DC Metro Area and for MCB Quantico, and cross checked against other sites that republish the DoD table. Confirm your own rate with the official DoD BAH calculator using your duty station ZIP code.

The gap between the two areas is not small. With dependents, the Quantico rate is $177 a month lower for an E-5, $585 lower for an E-6, $627 lower for an E-7 and $693 lower for an O-3. BAH distinguishes only between with and without dependents; the number of dependents does not change it.

Your duty station sets the BAH, not your address

This is the rule that shapes every decision that follows. The Defense Travel Management Office states that a member assigned to permanent duty in the United States is eligible for BAH "based on the member’s rank, dependency status, and permanent duty station zip code." Where you choose to live does not change the amount.

Two people can live on the same street in Woodbridge, one assigned to the Pentagon and one to Quantico, and receive different allowances. An O-3 with dependents assigned to Belvoir or the Pentagon receives $693 a month more than an O-3 at Quantico. Over a three year tour, that is $24,948.

What BAH buys in each county

To compare places fairly, the table below works backward from BAH to the highest price it would cover on its own, using the same assumptions everywhere: a VA loan with nothing down, the first use funding fee financed into the loan, today’s average 30 year rate, and each county’s real estate tax.

Calculated. Rate 6.95 percent, the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey 30 year average for the week of September 17, 2026. VA funding fee 2.15 percent, first use with under 5 percent down, financed. Real estate tax per $100 of assessed value: Arlington $1.053, Fairfax $1.12, Prince William $0.865, Stafford $0.9675 plus its $0.014 fire and EMS levy, Prince George’s $1.112 including the state rate. Homeowners insurance and any HOA fee are excluded and would lower every figure.

The county tax rate moves the result less than you might expect. For the same grade, the reach varies by only a few percent from county to county. What varies enormously is what homes cost, which is where the next table comes in. The rates behind those tax figures are set out county by county in our guide to Northern Virginia property tax rates.

Typical homes near each installation, against BAH

Here is the other side of the equation: the typical home value in areas near each installation, the monthly cost of buying it with the same VA assumptions, and how that compares with the BAH an E-6 and an O-3 with dependents would receive there.

Typical values from the Zillow Home Value Index, updated August 31, 2026. Monthly cost is principal and interest plus county real estate tax, zero down, funding fee financed, at 6.95 percent. BAH is the Washington DC Metro rate for Pentagon, Belvoir and Andrews rows and the Quantico rate for Quantico rows. Insurance and HOA fees excluded.

Three patterns stand out. Andrews is the one installation where BAH comfortably covers a typical home in the surrounding county, because it combines the higher DC Metro allowance with the lowest typical home values of any county in this guide. Arlington is the opposite: a typical home costs well over any enlisted or company grade allowance. And Quantico carries a double disadvantage, a lower BAH and surrounding areas that are not cheap, which leaves Woodbridge as the closest fit near Quantico.

Buying below your BAH leaves the difference in your pocket every month. Buying above it means the gap comes out of base pay.

Near the Pentagon and Fort Belvoir

Both installations pay the DC Metro rate, and both sit in the most expensive part of the region. On BAH alone, an O-4 with dependents reaches about $577,000 in Arlington, against a typical Arlington value of $806,890. Closing that gap usually means one of three things: a second income, a condo or townhouse rather than a detached house, or buying farther south.

Farther south is where the Virginia Railway Express matters. Its Fredericksburg Line runs northbound through Quantico, Rippon, Woodbridge, Lorton and Franconia-Springfield to Alexandria and Crystal City, in Arlington near the Pentagon, before continuing into the District. That line puts Woodbridge on the shortlist for Pentagon and Belvoir buyers: it is the one Northern Virginia area in the table where an E-6’s DC Metro allowance covers a typical home.

For Belvoir specifically, nearby Lorton has a typical value of $649,706, well above what any grade in the table reaches on BAH alone. Our full Fort Belvoir BAH guide breaks that down rank by rank and submarket by submarket.

Pentagon civilians and contractors face the same prices without the allowance, and several loan options differ for them. Those are covered in our guide to mortgages for Pentagon and DoD employees.

Near Quantico

Quantico is the one installation of the four where the allowance is set by a separate housing area, and it is lower at every grade. An E-6 with dependents receives $3,174 here, against $3,759 at Belvoir.

That lower allowance meets home values that are not proportionally lower. A typical home in Stafford County is $537,904 and in Dumfries $589,237; the monthly cost of either is $900 or more above an E-6’s Quantico BAH. Woodbridge, at $498,767, is the closest fit, and even there an E-6 is about $558 short on BAH alone.

The VA loan process from start to finish for Marines stationed here is covered in our guide to VA loans near Quantico for Marines.

Near Joint Base Andrews

Andrews is where BAH goes furthest in the whole region. It pays the full DC Metro rate, and the typical home in Prince George’s County is $425,252, the lowest of any county in this guide. An E-6 with dependents covers the monthly cost of that typical home with about $489 to spare, and an O-3 with about $750. In Clinton, near the base, the typical value is $438,585 and an E-6 still has about $387 left over.

Maryland also has rules of its own. Under Maryland Tax Property Code 13-203, when a home is sold to a first time Maryland buyer who will live in it as a principal residence, the state transfer tax is reduced to 0.25 percent and is paid entirely by the seller. Local transfer and recordation taxes are separate, so check the full closing cost estimate rather than assuming the whole transfer tax disappears.

Prince George’s real estate tax is $1.00 per $100 at the county level plus the $0.112 state rate in unincorporated areas. The wider Maryland picture, including state assistance programs, is on our Maryland mortgage page.

Rules that apply wherever you buy

A few VA loan rules matter more for PCS buyers than for anyone else.

38 U.S.C. 3704(c)(1) and (c)(2) on occupancy and spouse certification. VA funding fee rates as published by VA for purchase loans. Va. Code 58.1-3219.5 and Md. Tax Property Code 7-208 on the disabled veteran exemptions.

The funding fee can be financed, which is how every figure in this guide treats it. The full fee schedule and the exemptions are set out in our guide to the VA funding fee in 2026.

If you keep a first home when you move on, your next VA loan uses what remains of your entitlement, and in the DC area that works against the $1,249,125 county limit. Our guide to VA loan limits in Virginia, Maryland and DC shows exactly how much you can borrow with nothing down the second time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 2026 BAH for Washington DC?

For the Washington DC Metro Area, with dependents: E-4 $3,096, E-5 $3,132, E-6 $3,759, E-7 $3,855, O-1 $3,213, O-2 $3,753, O-3 $4,020 and O-4 $4,410 a month, effective January 1, 2026. Without dependents, E-5 receives $2,832 and O-3 $3,531.

What is the BAH at Quantico in 2026?

Quantico falls in the Quantico and Woodbridge housing area, VA296. With dependents: E-4 $2,730, E-5 $2,955, E-6 $3,174, E-7 $3,228, O-3 $3,327 and O-4 $3,753 a month. It is lower than the DC Metro rate at every grade.

Do the Pentagon, Fort Belvoir and Andrews have the same BAH?

Yes. All three are in the Washington DC Metro Area military housing area, code DC053, so the same rate applies at each for the same grade and dependency status.

Is BAH based on where I live or where I am stationed?

Where you are stationed. The Defense Travel Management Office bases BAH on your rank, dependency status and permanent duty station ZIP code. Living farther away does not raise or lower it.

How much house can I afford on BAH in the DC area?

On BAH alone, with a zero down VA loan at 6.95 percent and county tax included, an E-6 at a DC Metro installation reaches about $488,000 to $502,000 depending on the county, and an O-3 about $522,000 to $537,000. Other income, debts and insurance change the real figure.

Where does BAH go furthest near DC?

Near Joint Base Andrews. It pays the full DC Metro rate, and the typical home in Prince George’s County is about $425,000, so an E-6 covers the monthly cost of a typical home with money left over.

Can my spouse live in the house if I am deployed or not yet moved?

Yes. Under 38 U.S.C. 3704(c)(2), when an active duty veteran cannot occupy the home, the spouse’s occupancy satisfies the requirement and the spouse can make the certification.

Can I keep my DC area home and rent it out after my next PCS?

Generally yes. The occupancy requirement applies when you buy. When you later buy again with a VA loan, the entitlement still tied up in the first home reduces what you can borrow with nothing down.

Do disabled veterans pay property tax in Virginia or Maryland?

A veteran rated 100 percent service connected, permanent and total is exempt from real estate tax on the principal residence in both Virginia, under Va. Code 58.1-3219.5, and Maryland, under Tax Property Code 7-208.

Is Quantico BAH going up?

BAH adjustments take effect each January 1. Quantico’s 2026 rates took effect January 1, 2026, and until the 2027 rates are published, plan on the current figures.