Vandenberg Space Force Base is a Space Force base in Lompoc, California (formerly Vandenberg AFB). For an E-5 with dependents, the housing allowance comes to $3,333 a month, the 14th-highest of the 119 bases we track, $277 less than the $3,610 HUD fair-market rent for a 3-bedroom in ZIP 93436. Homes in Lompoc have a median value of $472,900 (median rent $1,589), which makes it a higher-cost market among the bases we cover (20th-highest of 114). Normal daily temperatures run from 48°F to 70°F on average, with 13 inches of precipitation a year.
Data: DTMO 2026 BAH for MHA CA026, HUD rents for ZIP 93436, Census ACS for Lompoc city, NOAA normals at Santa Maria Public Airport, CA. Jump to sources · Methodology
What is my BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing) at Vandenberg Space Force Base?
This calculator uses 2026 DTMO (Defense Travel Management Office) rates for selected pay grade and dependent status.
$2,778/mo
Monthly BAH at E-5 pay grade without dependents.
Vandenberg Space Force Base
$2,778
Typical 2-bedroom rent nearby
$2,730/mo
BAH vs that rent
$48/mo left over
Key facts for living at Vandenberg Space Force Base
Key facts for living at Vandenberg Space Force Base
E-5 with-dependents BAH is lower at Altus Air Force Base ($1,254 vs $3,333).
Use the picker above for any other compatible installation. Published PCS pages that include Vandenberg Space Force Base 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.
2-bedroom Fair Market Rent.HUD FY2026 FMR — Santa Barbara County $3,124.
Off-base ZIP rent (HUD Small Area FMR). FY2026 ZIP 2- and 3-bedroom 40th-percentile rents from the HUD Small Area FMR tables: 93436 (Lompoc) $2,730 / $3,610.
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 Lompoc city, California ($472,900, $1,589/mo). Owner-reported values, not transaction prices.
Host-state wage tax. Statewide listed rates for California 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.
Vehicle title tax and new-resident clocks.California motor-vehicle agency (license 10 days, title 20 days; title tax 7.25%). 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 California. 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 California. Backdrop for off-base purchase prices; on-base housing and BAH are separate.