Chattanooga, TN: 2026 BAH at a glance
Military Housing Area TN266 covers 36 ZIP codes in Chattanooga, Soddy Daisy, Apison, Bakewell, Birchwood and nearby communities, Tennessee (plus parts of GA). 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 $1,986 a month, 4% below the median housing area ($2,064), ranking 184 of 338 nationally.
For officers, an O-3 with dependents gets $2,520, ranking 171 of 338 (right at the $2,529 median). Promotion from E-5 to E-7 adds $459 a month in housing allowance here, before any change in base pay.
Dependents add $357 a month for an E-5 (22% over the $1,629 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 | $1,863 | $1,446 | $417 |
| E-2 | $1,863 | $1,446 | $417 |
| E-3 | $1,863 | $1,446 | $417 |
| E-4 | $1,863 | $1,446 | $417 |
| E-5 | $1,986 | $1,629 | $357 |
| E-6 | $2,397 | $1,797 | $600 |
| E-7 | $2,445 | $1,863 | $582 |
| E-8 | $2,490 | $2,073 | $417 |
| E-9 | $2,631 | $2,193 | $438 |
| W-1 | $2,418 | $1,830 | $588 |
| W-2 | $2,463 | $2,070 | $393 |
| W-3 | $2,523 | $2,208 | $315 |
| W-4 | $2,670 | $2,403 | $267 |
| W-5 | $2,856 | $2,454 | $402 |
| O-1E | $2,448 | $1,983 | $465 |
| O-2E | $2,511 | $2,166 | $345 |
| O-3E | $2,700 | $2,391 | $309 |
| O-1 | $2,043 | $1,734 | $309 |
| O-2 | $2,394 | $1,950 | $444 |
| O-3 | $2,520 | $2,247 | $273 |
| O-4 | $2,916 | $2,436 | $480 |
| O-5 | $3,201 | $2,460 | $741 |
| O-6 | $3,228 | $2,499 | $729 |
| O-7 | $3,249 | $2,541 | $708 |
Official DoD rates for MHA TN266. 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 108 miles, E-5 with-dependents BAH runs from $1,185 (Calhoun County, AL) to $2,388 (Atlanta, GA Area), a spread of $1,203 a month or $14,436 a year for the same rank.
| Housing area | Distance | E-5 with deps | O-3 with deps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huntsville, AL Area AL003 | 87 mi | $1,797 | $2,226 |
| Gainesville, GA Area GA079 | 92 mi | $2,208 | $2,550 |
| Knoxville, TN TN267 | 92 mi | $2,184 | $2,904 |
| Atlanta, GA Area GA071 | 101 mi | $2,388 | $2,745 |
| Calhoun County, AL AL001 | 106 mi | $1,185 | $1,686 |
| Nashville, TN TN269 | 108 mi | $2,268 | $2,784 |
ZIP codes in this housing area
Chattanooga, TN
Soddy Daisy, TN
Apison, TN
Bakewell, TN
Birchwood, TN
Collegedale, TN
Fort Oglethorpe, GA
Graysville, GA
Harrison, TN
Hixson, TN
Lookout Mountain, TN
Lupton City, TN
Ooltewah, TN
Ringgold, GA
Sale Creek, TN
Signal Mountain, TN
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.