Is the GI Bill® housing allowance based on my rank?
No, it is DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of the campus where you attend most classes, whatever your rank or family size. The campus, your rate of pursuit above half time and your eligibility tier set what you are paid.
Authority38 U.S.C. 3313Registermha-zip, mha-more-than-half, rate-of-pursuit, ch33-tier
Transcript
- Asked, plainly. Is the GI Bill housing allowance based on my rank? Asked by a service member doing four years and getting out
- No, it is DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of the campus where you attend most classes, whatever your rank or family size.
- The campus, your rate of pursuit above half time and your eligibility tier set what you are paid.
- The law behind it. 38 U.S.C. 3313. The full answer is at wegotyou1776.com/questions
- We Got You 1776. Plan around your education benefits. wegotyou1776.com/questions
How does this apply to you?
If you are getting out after one enlistment
The figure is set by the campus you choose, at the E-5 with dependents rate for its ZIP code. VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool shows each school’s housing figure to compare.
Registermha-zip, comparison-tool
If you have already separated
If you retired at a higher grade, the housing allowance is still the E-5 with dependents rate at your campus ZIP code. How much of it you are paid depends on your rate of pursuit above half time and your eligibility tier.
Registermha-zip, rate-of-pursuit, mha-more-than-half, ch33-tier
If you are briefing
For a brief: the housing allowance is the BAH for an E-5 with dependents at the campus ZIP code, whatever the member’s rank or family size. It is paid only above half time, and a member on active duty is paid none.
Registermha-zip, mha-more-than-half, ch33-no-mha-active-duty
Do I get more GI Bill housing if I have kids?
No. The rate is the one for an E-5 with dependents at the campus ZIP code, whatever the family size.
Registermha-zip
I got out as an E-7, why is my GI Bill housing at the E-5 rate?
The housing allowance is set at one grade: the BAH for an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of the campus where you attend most classes, whatever the member’s rank.
Registermha-zip
Is the GI Bill housing allowance the same as BAH?
It is drawn from it: DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents, at the ZIP code of the campus where the student attends most classes. At a school abroad it is one foreign rate, the national average.
Registermha-zip, foreign-mha
Is my son paid GI Bill housing at my rank on my months?
No. His housing is the BAH for an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of his campus. His share follows your eligibility tier, the same as yours would.
Registermha-zip, teb-same-rate, ch33-tier
What changes the GI Bill housing allowance if rank does not?
The campus ZIP code, the rate of pursuit above half time and the eligibility tier. All-online study pays half the national average, and a school abroad pays one foreign rate.
Registermha-zip, rate-of-pursuit, mha-more-than-half, ch33-tier, online-mha, foreign-mha
How is the GI Bill housing allowance figured?
The housing allowance is drawn from DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing at one fixed grade, an E-5 with dependents. The place is the ZIP code of the campus where the student attends most classes. A Veteran who left as a senior NCO or an officer and a Veteran who left as an E-4 see the same figure at the same campus, and family size does not move it.
The campus sets the starting figure. Since August 1, 2018 housing follows where the student physically attends classes, so a student who changes campuses can see it change. VA’s GI Bill Comparison Tool shows each school’s housing figure. All-online study pays half the national average housing allowance, and one in-person class keeps the local rate. At a school outside the U.S. the GI Bill pays one foreign housing rate, the national average, whatever the country or city.
The student’s load sets the share. Housing pays only above half time; at exactly half time, 6 credits where 12 is full time, it pays nothing. Above half time it is paid at the rate of pursuit rounded to the nearest 10 percent: 7 credits of 12 is 60 percent, 8 is 70, 9 or 10 is 80, 11 is 90.
The member’s service sets the rest. How much of the tuition and housing the Post-9/11 GI Bill pays depends on how long the member served (the eligibility tier). A student on transferred months is paid at the same rate as the person who transferred them. The Post-9/11 GI Bill pays no housing allowance to a member on active duty, or to a spouse using transferred months while the member is on active duty.
The rates move on a calendar. Post-9/11 rates change each August 1, and DoD’s BAH table takes effect each January 1. Housing uses the BAH rates in effect on January 1 of the year the academic year starts.
By We Got You 1776, LLC.
Other ways people ask this
- is GI Bill BAH paid at my rank
- why is my GI Bill housing at the E-5 rate
- does GI Bill housing depend on rank
- is GI Bill housing based on family size
- GI Bill BAH E-5 with dependents
Related questions
- How do I find my school’s GI Bill housing allowance?Asked the way a service member doing four years and getting out asks
- Can I use the GI Bill at a school overseas?Asked the way a student thinking about college asks
- Is my spouse or child paid the same GI Bill rate I would get?Asked the way a parent who already transferred asks
- Will the GI Bill cover all of my tuition?Asked the way a student thinking about college asks
Terms (5)
- Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33)
- 38 U.S.C. 3312(a), 38 U.S.C. 3313(c)(1)
- The Post-9/11 education benefit: up to 36 months that pay tuition and fees to the school, a monthly housing allowance set by the campus ZIP code, and a yearly payment for books and supplies. How much it pays depends on how long the member served (the eligibility tier).
- Transfer of Education Benefits (TEB)
- 38 U.S.C. 3319(b) and (c), 38 CFR 21.9571(b)
- Giving Post-9/11 GI Bill months to a spouse or children, the member’s dependents in DEERS. The Defense Department decides it: a member with at least 6 years of service who agrees to 4 more can transfer up to 36 months, requested through milConnect while still serving. VA’s rule calls it transfer of entitlement.
- Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA)
- 38 U.S.C. 3313(c)(1)(B)
- The GI Bill’s monthly housing payment: DoD’s Basic Allowance for Housing for an E-5 with dependents at the ZIP code of the campus where the student attends most classes. Schools abroad use one foreign rate instead, and a U.S. school’s campus abroad may not get the home campus rate.
- Rate of pursuit
- 38 U.S.C. 3313(c)(1)(B)(i), 38 CFR 21.9641(c)(1)
- How much of a full load you are carrying, as a percentage. Nine credits where 12 is full time is 75 percent. The GI Bill pays housing by it, rounded to the nearest 10 percent, and only when it is over 50 percent. It also sets how fast your GI Bill months get used. DEA uses steps instead: full, three-quarter, half, and less than half.
- Full time, three-quarter time and half time
- 38 CFR 21.4270(c), 38 U.S.C. 3532(a)
- How VA measures a course load. VA counts 14 credits a term as full time unless the school certifies 12 or 13 for its undergraduates. Where 12 is full time, 9 to 11 is three-quarter time and 6 to 8 is half time; for graduate work, full time is what the school certifies, or 14 credits. Chapter 35 DEA pays in steps by it, and the GI Bill pays housing only above half time.
From The Order Matters, The Terms, Plainly, and terms added or reworded here since, which go into the book at its next update.
Art from this page (3)
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See all the artSources (12)
The official sources this answer is built on, the law first, then the official pages.
- 38 U.S.C. 3311Post-9/11 educational assistance: who is entitled, including the Fry Scholarship
- 38 U.S.C. 3313What the Post-9/11 GI Bill pays: tuition and fees, housing by rate of pursuit, the foreign and online rates, books
- 38 U.S.C. 3319Transfer of Post-9/11 GI Bill months to a spouse or child
- Public Law 115-48, section 107Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (the Forever GI Bill): housing by the campus where you attend, from August 1, 2018
- 38 CFR 21.9641Post-9/11 GI Bill rates of payment: housing more than half time, rounded to the nearest 10 percent, the foreign rate
- VA.govPost-9/11 GI Bill rates, August 1, 2026 to July 31, 2027
- VA.govFry Scholarship rates
- VA.govTransferred Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit rates
- VA.govGI Bill Comparison Tool: approved schools, housing, Yellow Ribbon, caution flags
- VA.govTransfer your Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits
- VA.govChapter 35 (DEA) rates, effective October 1, 2026
- Defense Travel Management OfficeBAH rate lookup, the table the GI Bill housing allowance is drawn from
The full list is on Sources and Official References.
Last updated .
The current edition of each publication, and when it last changed.
| Publication | Edition | Date |
|---|---|---|
| This page | wegotyou1776.com/questions/gi-bill-housing-rank | |
| The Order Matters, PDF | First Edition, Revised October 2026, ISBN 979-8-9967812-0-1 | |
| The Order Matters, EPUB | First Edition, Revised October 2026, ISBN 979-8-9967812-1-8 | |
| College Tool | Version 1.2.3, App Store and Google Play | |
| Reference charts | All sizes, light and dark | |
| Official sources | Citation register, 110 sources |
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