NAS Whidbey Island: BAH and housing

NAS Whidbey Island is a naval air station in Oak Harbor, Washington. For an E-5 with dependents, the housing allowance comes to $2,073 a month (63rd-highest of 119 among the bases we track), $177 less than the $2,250 HUD fair-market rent for a 3-bedroom in ZIP 98277. Homes in Oak Harbor have a median value of $461,200 (median rent $1,645), which makes it a higher-cost market among the bases we cover (22nd-highest of 114). Washington does not tax wage income, which can matter for a working spouse; see all bases in no-income-tax states.

Data: DTMO 2026 BAH for MHA WA312, HUD rents for ZIP 98277, Census ACS for Oak Harbor city, NOAA normals at Whidbey Island NAS, WA. Jump to sources · Methodology

What is my BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) at NAS Whidbey Island?

This calculator uses 2026 DTMO (Defense Travel Management Office) rates for selected pay grade and dependent status.

Pay grade

Dependents

$1,905/mo

Monthly BAH at E-5 pay grade without dependents.

NAS Whidbey Island: $1,905

Typical 2-bedroom rent nearby: $1,620/mo
BAH vs that rent: $285/mo left over

Key facts for living at NAS Whidbey Island

Key facts for living at NAS Whidbey Island
Host state	Washington
State income tax	None on wages (bases in no-income-tax states)
Top state income-tax rate	0.0%
Average sales tax (state + local)	9.51%
Average property tax (real estate)	0.75%
Personal property tax (vehicles)	No
Median home value	$609,756
Military housing area	WA312 — WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA
Climate (annual high / low)	59° / 45°F
Annual precipitation	19.9 in
Official site	NAS Whidbey Island

More about living in Washington

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PCS checklist for NAS Whidbey Island

Update DEERS and your page-2 / dependency status before BAH starts at the new MHA (WA312).
Look up your exact BAH for rank and dependents on the DTMO BAH lookup (ZIP 98278).
Off-base 2-bedroom HUD FMR in Island County is $1,671/mo. On-base housing is separate.
Get a WA driver license within 30 days and title the car within 30 days. See Washington.
Confirm reporting instructions on the official NAS Whidbey Island site.

How NAS Whidbey Island compares

E-5 with-dependents BAH is higher at Naval Base San Diego ($3,975 vs $2,073).

Use the picker above for any other compatible installation. Published PCS pages that include NAS Whidbey Island are listed here.

Sources

Housing figures below are for the installation (MHA, HUD rent, climate). Host-state tax rates are statewide averages — not a tax return. County add-ons can differ, and wage tax on military pay follows legal residence, not the duty station.

BAH (with and without dependents). DTMO CY2026 BAH tables for NAS Whidbey Island (WA312). Confirm current rates on the DTMO BAH lookup.
2-bedroom Fair Market Rent. HUD FY2026 FMR — Island County $1,671.
Off-base ZIP rent (HUD Small Area FMR). FY2026 ZIP 2- and 3-bedroom 40th-percentile rents from the HUD Small Area FMR tables: 98277 (Oak Harbor) $1,620 / $2,250.
Off-base city home value and rent. U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year 2020–2024 tables B25077 (median value of owner-occupied homes) and B25064 (median gross rent) for Oak Harbor city, Washington ($461,200, $1,645/mo). Owner-reported values, not transaction prices.
Climate normals (1991–2020). NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals — Whidbey Island NAS, WA (USW00024255).
Host-state wage tax. Statewide listed rates for Washington from the Tax Foundation 2026 individual income-tax tables. On this page they describe the host state, not automatically the tax on a military LES (legal residence can stay put). BAH is untaxed.
Combined sales tax near the installation. Tax Foundation January 2026 state-and-local sales-tax averages for Washington. Used as an off-base shopping stand-in; city and county add-ons vary.
Effective property tax if you buy off-base. Tax Foundation 2026 property taxes by state for Washington. On-base housing is not in this figure.
Vehicle title tax and new-resident clocks. Washington motor-vehicle agency (license 30 days, title 30 days; title tax 6.50%). These are host-state motor-vehicle rules, not BAH.
Vehicle personal-property tax on the host-state snapshot. WalletHub 2026 vehicle property-tax table for Washington. This is a statewide car-tax flag, not real-estate tax and not BAH.
Statewide median home value on the host-state snapshot. Experian / Zillow March 2026 state medians for Washington. Backdrop for off-base purchase prices; on-base housing and BAH are separate.

Data last updated: September 2026. How the data is compiled