US Military Historical Basic Pay Chart Archive
The United States military historical basic pay scales with corresponding raise percentage indicated below the year. Each chart contains the news relevant to the corresponding raise.
Congress and the President have the ability to write new legislation as they deem necessary to effect change in military pay; otherwise, since September 1962, Title 37 of the United States Code has dictated how military pay will be calculated. Currently, Title 37 reads, "An adjustment made under this section in a year shall provide all eligible members with an increase in the monthly basic pay that is the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the Employment Cost Index for the base quarter of the year before the preceding year [three-month period ending on September 30 of such year] exceeds the ECI for the base quarter of the second year before the preceding calendar year (if at all)."
| The 1950's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949-1951 | 1952-1954 | 1955-1957 | 1958-1962 | ||||||
| 0 to 4% | 0 to 9% | 0 to 13% | |||||||
| The 1960's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | |||
| 12.6% | 2.5% to 8.5% | E:11% O:6% | 3.2% | 5.6% | 6.8% | 12.6% | |||
| The 1970's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
| 8.1% | 7.9% | 7.2% | 6.7% | 6.2% | 5.52% | 5% | 3.6% | 6.2% | 5.5% |
| The 1980's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| 7% | 11.7% | 10 to 16.5% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 3% | 3% | 2% | 4.1% |
| The 1990's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 2.2% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3% | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| The 2000's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| 4.8%¹ | 3.7%² | 1 to 12% | 4.7% | 3.7 to 5.7% | 3.5% | 3.1% | 4.6%³ | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| The 2010's Basic Pay Charts | |||||||||
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| 3.4% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.0%P* | 0.5%Es* | 1.0%Es* | 1.5%Es* | ||
Es = Estimated. P = Proposed. E =Enlisted. O = Officer.
Note 1: Targeted basic pay raises effective July 1, 2000 beyond the approved January 1, 2000 increase of 4.8%.
Note 2: Targeted increases, effective July 1, 2001, the basic pay amounts for enlisted personnel in grades E-5 through E-7.
Note 3: Additional targeted increase totalling 4.6% for various paygrades effective April 1, 2007. Added longevity raises at the 30, 34 and 38 year mark for only the most senior enlisted and officer paygrades.
Latest page update was completed on June 14, 2013.
