Honolulu County MHA · BAH effective January 1, 2026
You have orders to Oahu. Here's the honest math.
PCS Oahu is an independent field guide for service members and families reporting to Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, Schofield Barracks, MCBH Kaneohe Bay, Camp Smith, Tripler, or Coast Guard Base Honolulu — and for the other half of the cycle, when the orders point back out. No hype, no kitsch. Just what housing actually costs, what your allowance actually covers, and what to decide before wheels-down.
Read the BAH Reality Report Start the PCS checklist Take the pocket-match quiz
The one fact that changes your search
Every Oahu base pays the same BAH. The rents are not the same.
All six installations sit inside one Military Housing Area — Honolulu County. Your allowance changes with rank and dependents, never with your gate. What changes by gate is the rent on the other side of it, and the commute you'll live with for three years. That gap — same allowance, very different pockets — is the whole game, and it's what every page on this site is built to map.
Your base, your pockets
Base-by-base live-on-or-off math: commute-real neighborhoods with dated rent bands next to the allowance they have to fit inside.
The VA loan, Oahu edition
Entitlement math at Oahu price points, the condo VA-approval reality, and the leasehold trap that catches mainland buyers.
PCSing out: sell or rent?
The other half of the cycle. HARPTA facts, the accidental-landlord math, and what a VA seller should know before listing.
First 30 days, mapped
TLA without the panic
How Temporary Lodging Allowance actually works in Hawaii, and how families bridge the gap between wheels-down and keys.
Schools, decoded
Hawaii runs one statewide district — which changes how school choice works. Geographic exceptions, calendars, and enrollment timing.
The math, automated
BAH-vs-rent fit, rent-vs-sell for departing owners, and a payment reality check — free, nothing leaves your phone.
The arrival brief, before you arrive
Join the list and get the current BAH Reality Report, the rent-band refresh for your gaining base, and a heads-up timed to your report window. First access when full service opens. No spam. Leave anytime.