Posted on Jan 8, 2021
SGT Jake Ellison
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Why did lower enlisted BAH go down and NCO and officers go up? I am aware that I will receive my 2020 BAH since I was stationed here before the change and will be grandfathered. However, I don’t see how or why this happened. Would love it if someone could shed some light on this.
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SGM Operations Sergeant Major
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Average housing costs are going to largely be driven by supply and demand. They have built a lot of multi-family units, townhouses, and duplexes around Fort Hood recently, so that could have led to a decline in prices across the board.

Free standing homes are in shorter supply nationwide, and higher ranking troops generally have greater need for those properties because their families are typically larger and older.
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SGT Jake Ellison
SGT Jake Ellison
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That’s just it, from what I have seen from at least a few E6s and a 1LT their BAH increased substantially. I just don’t understand why the increases and decreases in BAH do not positively correlate throughout the ranks.
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SGT Jake Ellison
SGT Jake Ellison
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For example: in 2020 an E6 at Fort Hood with dependents received $1173 in BAH per month. In 2021 the same E6 gets $1314 a month. On the other hand. E4 and below were paid $1149 in 2020 and now it has been lowered to $1140 according to DFAS. I don’t see why or how that is possible.
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SGM Operations Sergeant Major
SGM (Join to see)
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This article has a lot of good info:

https://themilitarywallet.com/basic-allowance-for-housing-bah/

The article describes what are known as “anchor points” and gives a table as an example. In a nutshell, they determine housing needs based on rank and dependency status. An E6 is tied to the anchor point of “townhouse/duplex” with three bedrooms. I don’t have any firsthand knowledge of the market conditions there at Fort Hood, but it would make logical sense that less 3 bedroom multi-family units exist than 1 or 2 bedroom units. Lower supply would result in a higher average price for those types of properties.

But to be honest, I’m just trying to understand it logically. I really don’t know for sure. Basic market forces always determine price, so this seems like the simple answer.
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SFC Retention Operations Nco
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Every year the DOD does an evaluation on all the BAH rates for locations. Some go down and others go up. There's a formula they use to determine cost of living. If you're really interested you can look it up on DFAS
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SGT Jake Ellison
SGT Jake Ellison
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Roger, I am aware of that I just figured if it went down it would go down for all ranks at that base. Not go up for higher ranks and down for lower ranks. Appreciate the comment, SFC.
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MAJ Javier Rivera
MAJ Javier Rivera
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And the formula is not event known to the congressional budget analysts. Also, BAH is grandfathered every year for those whose location receive an allowance decrease.
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