Pay & Entitlements
CONUS COLA Calculator
FY2026Cost of Living Allowance for stateside high-cost areas — 2026 eligible MHAs + indexes.
2026 eligible MHAs
—
high-cost military housing areas
Top COLA index
—%
—
~Annual payout
$0M
to ~127,000 members
Look up your duty station
Search by base name, city, or state to see if you qualify for CONUS COLA.
2026 CONUS COLA eligible locations
Sorted by COLA index. Click any location to set the chart focus.
What is CONUS COLA?
Compensates members at high-cost CONUS locations where the cost of living significantly exceeds the national average.
Calculated by applying a COLA index percentage to your "spendable income" — based on rank, YOS, and dependency status.
Higher index = more money. San Francisco at the top end is the highest rate in 2026.
Important details
- Taxable: Unlike most military allowances, CONUS COLA IS taxable and appears on your W-2.
- Not automatic: Some locations are newly eligible in 2026 — finance may need to process the update.
- Updated annually: Rates change every Jan 1 based on cost-of-living surveys.
- LES line: Look for "COLA" under entitlements on your LES.
Looking for overseas COLA?
OCONUS COLA is a separate, non-taxable allowance for members stationed overseas. Rates change with every pay period based on exchange rates.
Go to OCONUS COLA CalculatorAbout this entitlement
What you need to know — straight from the regulation
What CONUS COLA is
CONUS Cost-of-Living Allowance (CONUS COLA) is a supplemental payment made to service members assigned to designated high-cost Military Housing Areas (MHAs) within the continental United States. Unlike OCONUS COLA and most military allowances, CONUS COLA is taxable and is reported as wages on the W-2.
CONUS COLA is authorized under 37 U.S.C. § 403b and administered under DoD Financial Management Regulation (FMR), Volume 7A, Chapter 67. Eligible MHAs and rates are published by the Defense Travel Management Office (DTMO) and can be verified on the DTMO CONUS COLA Rate Lookup below.
37 U.S.C. § 403b · DoD FMR Vol. 7A, Chapter 67
How it is computed
CONUS COLA is computed as an index percentage applied to the member's "spendable income" — a portion of pay defined in DoD FMR that varies with grade, years of service, and dependency status. The index percentage for each eligible MHA reflects local costs for goods and services compared to the CONUS average. MHAs whose cost index falls below the trigger threshold lose eligibility.
DoD FMR Vol. 7A, Chapter 67
Tax treatment
CONUS COLA is taxable — it is included on the W-2 and is subject to federal income-tax withholding, FICA, and state income tax where applicable. This is different from OCONUS COLA, OHA, BAH, BAS, and most other military allowances, which are non-taxable.
DoD FMR Vol. 7A, Chapter 67 · IRS Publication 3
Source & references
- Primary source
- DTMO CONUS COLA Rate Lookup (travel.dod.mil) — view official publication
- Regulatory reference
- DoD FMR Vol. 7A, Chapter 67 · 37 U.S.C. § 403b
- Effective date
- January 1, 2026
- DTMO CONUS COLA rate lookup
- https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/CONUS-Cost-of-Living-Allowance/CONUS-COLA-Rate-Lookup/
Military Toolkit is not affiliated with the Department of Defense, DFAS, DTMO, the Department of Veterans Affairs, or any government agency. Rates and rules on this page are pulled directly from the publications cited above. Always verify with your finance office, TMO, or the official rate page before making financial or planning decisions.
Keep going
Cost-of-living math siblings
REF: DoD FMR Vol 7A, Ch 67 · 37 U.S.C. § 403b, effective January 1, 2026
DTMO CONUS COLA Rate Lookup
Results are estimates. Always verify with your finance office.