E-5 Pay 2026: Monthly Basic Pay by Years of Service

DFAS 2026 rates effective January 1, 2026. Years of service are cumulative, as DFAS lists them; years with the same pay are shown as one row. Annual pay is monthly × 12, assuming a full year at that years-of-service step.

• E-5 pay stops rising at the "Over 12" column (over 12 years of service) and stays at $4,421.70 a month from there.
• From the first listed column ("2 or less", $3,342.90 a month) to the last ($4,421.70 a month), E-5 pay grows $1,078.80 a month, $12,945.60 a year, or 32.3%.

Monthly basic pay at the same years of service, with the difference from E-5 in 2026.

See E-4 pay 2026 and E-6 pay 2026.

Rank is not pay grade: pay grades such as E-5 are administrative classifications used mainly to standardize compensation across the services.

Leadership responsibility significantly increases in the midlevel enlisted ranks, recognized by the terms noncommissioned officer and petty officer. An Army sergeant, an Air Force staff sergeant and a Marine corporal are considered NCO ranks; the Navy equivalent, petty officer, is achieved at petty officer third class.

Source: U.S. military rank insignia (defense.gov), read from an archived copy on October 26, 2026.

E-5s are paid the enlisted BAS rate of Basic Allowance for Subsistence: $476.95 a month, $5,723.40 a year, at the 2026 rate. BAS is on top of basic pay and does not change with years of service. See BAS rates 2026 for every category.

Monthly BAH for E-5 at five large duty locations, 2026 rates from DoD's BAH files (checked October 25, 2026). BAH depends on grade, location and whether you have dependents; members in government housing generally do not receive it. Having dependents adds $165 to $828 a month across these five locations.

Other locations are on the BAH rates 2026 by location pages; look up your own ZIP code in the BAH calculator.

One drill period is 1/30 of monthly basic pay, and a usual weekend is four drills. For E-5 that is $111.43 to $147.39 for one drill and $445.72 to $589.56 for four, depending on years of service.

See the drill pay chart 2026 for every grade.

Not final as of October 18, 2026. The President's tiered plan (7% for E-1 to E-5, 6% for E-6 to O-3, 5% for O-4 and above) takes effect January 1, 2027 unless Congress sets a different raise; the Senate Armed Services Committee's bill would set 3.6% for every grade. Neither is an official DFAS table.

• 2027 (7-6-5 tiered raise): $3,576.90 to $4,731.30 a month. The plan's raise for E-5 is 7%.
• 2027 (3.6% raise): $3,463.20 to $4,581.00 a month.

Every column under both scenarios is on the 2027 military pay chart.