Columbia, SC: 2026 BAH at a glance
Military Housing Area SC260 covers 66 ZIP codes in Columbia, West Columbia, Lexington, Camden, Ballentine and nearby communities, South Carolina. BAH is set by your duty station's ZIP code, not where you choose to live, so this table applies to anyone assigned inside it.
An E-5 with dependents here receives $1,878 a month, 9% below the median housing area ($2,064), ranking 203 of 338 nationally.
For officers, an O-3 with dependents gets $2,232, ranking 235 of 338 (12% below the $2,529 median). Promotion from E-5 to E-7 adds $282 a month in housing allowance here, before any change in base pay.
Dependents add $231 a month for an E-5 (14% over the $1,647 single rate), less than the typical $375 gap nationally. The with-dependents rate is the same whether you have one dependent or five.
2026 BAH rates for every grade
Monthly, effective January 1, 2026. "Difference" is what dependents add at each grade.
| Grade | With dependents | Without | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 | $1,812 | $1,479 | $333 |
| E-2 | $1,812 | $1,479 | $333 |
| E-3 | $1,812 | $1,479 | $333 |
| E-4 | $1,812 | $1,479 | $333 |
| E-5 | $1,878 | $1,647 | $231 |
| E-6 | $2,121 | $1,746 | $375 |
| E-7 | $2,160 | $1,812 | $348 |
| E-8 | $2,202 | $1,932 | $270 |
| E-9 | $2,310 | $1,995 | $315 |
| W-1 | $2,136 | $1,803 | $333 |
| W-2 | $2,175 | $1,929 | $246 |
| W-3 | $2,235 | $2,004 | $231 |
| W-4 | $2,340 | $2,121 | $219 |
| W-5 | $2,475 | $2,166 | $309 |
| O-1E | $2,163 | $1,875 | $288 |
| O-2E | $2,223 | $1,980 | $243 |
| O-3E | $2,361 | $2,109 | $252 |
| O-1 | $1,914 | $1,743 | $171 |
| O-2 | $2,118 | $1,860 | $258 |
| O-3 | $2,232 | $2,028 | $204 |
| O-4 | $2,517 | $2,151 | $366 |
| O-5 | $2,724 | $2,172 | $552 |
| O-6 | $2,745 | $2,211 | $534 |
| O-7 | $2,760 | $2,247 | $513 |
Official DoD rates for MHA SC260. If rates in an area fall, members already there keep their higher rate (rate protection) until they PCS or their eligibility changes. 2027 rates are normally announced in mid-December: what to expect.
Nearby housing areas
The closest other MHAs by ZIP-code center. Your BAH follows your duty ZIP, but these show how the rate changes across the region if you are choosing between assignments.
Within about 109 miles, E-5 with-dependents BAH runs from $1,503 (Sumter, SC Area) to $2,385 (Charleston, SC Area), a spread of $882 a month or $10,584 a year for the same rank.
| Housing area | Distance | E-5 with deps | O-3 with deps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sumter, SC Area SC263 | 35 mi | $1,503 | $2,052 |
| Fort Gordon (Augusta, GA) GA073 | 63 mi | $1,890 | $2,250 |
| Charlotte, NC NC179 | 83 mi | $2,169 | $2,472 |
| Charleston, SC Area SC259 | 93 mi | $2,385 | $2,721 |
| Greenville, SC Area SC261 | 96 mi | $1,923 | $2,205 |
| Myrtle Beach, SC Area SC262 | 109 mi | $2,097 | $2,523 |
ZIP codes in this housing area
Columbia, SC
West Columbia, SC
Lexington, SC
Camden, SC
Ballentine, SC
Batesburg, SC
Bethune, SC
Blythewood, SC
Cassatt, SC
Cayce, SC
Chapin, SC
Eastover, SC
Elgin, SC
Gadsden, SC
Gaston, SC
Gilbert, SC
Hopkins, SC
Irmo, SC
Leesville, SC
Liberty Hill, SC
Lugoff, SC
North, SC
Pelion, SC
State Park, SC
Swansea, SC
Westville, SC
White Rock, SC
Using this rate
- Find your exact rate by duty ZIP, grade and dependency status in the BAH calculator.
- Moving here? Price the move and your PPM in the PCS calculator, and test renting against buying in the rent vs buy calculator.
- See BAH with base pay and BAS as one number in the compensation calculator.
Place names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), matched to the official DoD ZIP-to-MHA mapping. Rates: DoD BAH rate file effective January 1, 2026.