Military Pay Raises - 2004 to 2025

At the end of every year the federal government determines if, and by how much, the basic pay tables will increase. The increase is calculated based on the annual increase in the Employment Cost Index (ECI). Our current estimate of the upcoming 2026 military pay raise is % (see below for details).

This table lists the yearly across-the-board military basic pay raises since 2004. You can also calculate the effective income with our powerful Military Pay Calculator.

Year	Raise	Example Basic Pay Change	View Pay Table
2024	-1.5%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $-56.70	View 2024 Basic Pay Table
2023	4.6%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $160.80	View 2023 Basic Pay Table
2022	2.7%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $92.10	View 2022 Basic Pay Table
2021	3.0%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $99.30	View 2021 Basic Pay Table
2020	3.1%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $99.30	View 2020 Basic Pay Table
2019	2.6%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $81.30	View 2019 Basic Pay Table
2018	2.4%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $73.20	View 2018 Basic Pay Table
2017	2.1%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $62.70	View 2017 Basic Pay Table
2016	1.3%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $38.40	View 2016 Basic Pay Table
2015	1.0%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $29.10	View 2015 Basic Pay Table
2014	1.0%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $28.80	View 2014 Basic Pay Table
2013	1.7%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $48.30	View 2013 Basic Pay Table
2012	1.6%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $44.70	View 2012 Basic Pay Table
2011	1.4%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $38.70	View 2011 Basic Pay Table
2010	3.4%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $90.90	View 2010 Basic Pay Table
2009	3.9%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $100.20	View 2009 Basic Pay Table
2008	4.7%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $115.80	View 2008 Basic Pay Table
2007, January	-1.2%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $-28.80
2007, April	3.4%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $81.60	View 2007, April Basic Pay Table
2006	3.1%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $72.30	View 2006 Basic Pay Table
2005	3.5%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $78.90	View 2005 Basic Pay Table
2004	4.6%	An E-5 member with over 8 years of service would receive a monthly raise of $99.00	View 2004 Basic Pay Table
2003	n/a	n/a	View 2003 Basic Pay Table

When will military compensation be raised next?

The military basic pay raise for 2025 will be finalized and approved by December 2024, and go into effect in January 2025. We will add the updated 2025 pay tables to FederalPay.org as soon as they become available.

FederalPay's 2026 Pay Increase Predication is %

Our best predictor of amount of the military pay raise that will be passed for 2026 is the the Quarter increase in the wages and salaries for private industry workers (12-month percent change, not seasonally adjusted).

The current value of this indicator, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is %. This means that the upcoming military pay raise will likely be in the area of %. You can check this page next quarter, as we update our estimate as each new quarterly reports is released.

The Bureau of Labor's ECI is not the final say, however. The U.S. President may adjust the pay raise because of "because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare," according to §602 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2004. The President must submit the adjustment to Congress before September 1st of the preceding year, along with his or her reasons for adjustment.

In the President's evaluation of the economic condition affecting the general welfare, economic measures such as:

The Indexes of Leading Economic Indicators
The Gross Domestic Product
The unemployment rate
The budget deficit
The Consumer Price Index
The Producer Price Index
The Employment Cost Index
The Implicit Price Deflator for Personal Consumption Expenditures

Congress can also vote to change the President's proposed increase, as they did for fiscal year 2010. Military pay has raised every year, including under Presidents Obama, Bush, and Clinton.

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