2026 Air Force Pay Chart
Monthly basic pay for every Air Force rank by years of service — plus calculate your total pay with BAH, BAS, and COLA.
Air Force Basic Pay by Rank & Years of Service
Monthly basic pay for every Air Force rank, from the most junior enlisted grade through O-7, by years of service. Effective January 1, 2026 (a 3.8% increase). Basic pay is set by DoD and is identical across every branch for a given grade and years of service — what changes between the branches is the rank title, shown here for the Air Force.
| Grade | Air Force Rank | < 2 yrs | 4 yrs | 8 yrs | 12 yrs | 16 yrs | 20 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enlisted | |||||||
| E-1 | Airman Basic (AB) | $2,407 | $2,407 | $2,407 | $2,407 | $2,407 | $2,407 |
| E-2 | Airman (Amn) | $2,699 | $2,699 | $2,699 | $2,699 | $2,699 | $2,699 |
| E-3 | Airman First Class (A1C) | $2,839 | $3,201 | $3,201 | $3,201 | $3,201 | $3,201 |
| E-4 | Senior Airman (SrA) | $3,145 | $3,632 | $3,795 | $3,795 | $3,795 | $3,795 |
| E-5 | Staff Sergeant (SSgt) | $3,431 | $3,994 | $4,549 | $4,969 | $4,969 | $4,969 |
| E-6 | Technical Sergeant (TSgt) | $3,745 | $4,459 | $4,955 | $5,283 | $5,603 | $5,759 |
| E-7 | Master Sergeant (MSgt) | $4,328 | $5,144 | $5,709 | $6,124 | $6,538 | $6,809 |
| E-8 | Senior Master Sergeant (SMSgt) | $4,940 | $5,740 | $6,326 | $6,754 | $7,099 | $7,518 |
| E-9 | Chief Master Sergeant (CMSgt) | $6,036 | $6,720 | $7,330 | $7,771 | $8,211 | $8,728 |
| Commissioned Officer | |||||||
| O-1 | Second Lieutenant (2d Lt) | $4,150 | $5,225 | $5,225 | $5,225 | $5,225 | $5,225 |
| O-2 | First Lieutenant (1st Lt) | $4,783 | $6,480 | $6,613 | $6,613 | $6,613 | $6,613 |
| O-3 | Captain (Capt) | $5,534 | $7,386 | $8,130 | $8,886 | $9,339 | $9,339 |
| O-4 | Major (Maj) | $6,291 | $7,871 | $8,811 | $9,896 | $10,603 | $11,136 |
| O-5 | Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) | $7,296 | $8,898 | $9,464 | $10,434 | $11,270 | $12,224 |
| O-6 | Colonel (Col) | $8,756 | $10,283 | $10,776 | $10,837 | $12,159 | $13,328 |
| O-7 | Brigadier General (Brig Gen) | $10,311 | $11,178 | $11,831 | $12,568 | $14,097 | $14,097 |
Calculate Your Total Air Force Pay
Basic pay is only part of the picture. Add your duty station and dependent status to see your full monthly compensation — Basic Pay plus BAH, BAS, and any COLA — and the civilian salary you’d need to match it after taxes.
Pay charts for other branches
By Ryan Guina • Source: DFAS basic pay tables, effective January 1, 2026. Last updated January 2026.