Military Bases in Arkansas: 2 Guides, 2026 BAH vs Rent

2 guides in Arkansas: 1 Air Force and 1 Army installations. At E-5 with dependents, 2026 BAH is $1,848 a month at both, which share one housing area, set against HUD's fair market rent for a 3-bedroom home near each.

Rates last verified August 2026 against the published source tables.

Installations in Arkansas

2 guides · Military pay exempt from AR income tax · TRICARE West (TriWest), split by ZIP code · E-5 with dependents: $1,848 BAH in one housing area

Where BAH goes furthest in Arkansas

At E-5 with dependents, 2026 BAH is the same $1,848 at every installation in Arkansas, against the same $1,504 rent for a 3-bedroom, so it goes as far at each: it covers a 3-bedroom with $344 to spare.

HUD's FY2027 fair market rent is the 40th-percentile gross rent for the area, utilities included, which is what BAH is meant to cover; it is a benchmark, not a listing. Source: HUD.

State tax and TRICARE in Arkansas

Arkansas. Arkansas exempts active-duty military pay from state income tax.

SCRA. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act your military pay is taxed by the state you are domiciled in, not by the one your duty station sits in. Being assigned to an installation in Arkansas does not by itself change which state may tax you, and it does not create a filing obligation where you are stationed.

Arkansas is split between two regions. Some Arkansas ZIP codes fall in TRICARE East, administered by Humana Military, and the rest in TRICARE West, administered by TriWest Healthcare Alliance. Which one covers you follows your home address rather than the installation, so check your ZIP at https://www.tricare.mil/About/Regions before you enroll.

Sources and updates

Maintained by PCS Calculator, an independent site run by an active-duty service member. BAH checked against DTMO's 2026 table on 19 August 2026; rents from HUD's FY2027 fair market rents, fetched 28 September 2026; state tax treatment of military pay checked 19 August 2026; TRICARE regions checked 27 August 2026. This page was last updated 4 November 2026. How every figure on this site is checked

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