2021 U.S. Military Basic Pay Charts

On, January 1, 2021, the full Senate, by a vote of 81-13, overrode President Trump's veto of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2021. The House did the same on Monday by a vote 322-87. The bill is now law securing the 3.0 percent military pay raise for 2021.

2020 Pay | 2022 Pay |Pay History

On, December 11, 2020, the full Senate approved the final reconciled version of the National Defense Act for 2021 by a vote of 84-13. The full House passed the same with a vote of 355-78 on Tuesday of this week. The bill now moves on to President Trump for signature.

On, July 23, 2020, the United States Senate passed their version of the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 86 to 14. In-line with the President's proposal and the House's version, the Senate's rendition also contains the language to provide for a 3.0 percent pay raise for the military. The House and the Senate must now reconcile their differences contained in each bill to agree on a single version to send to President Trump for final approval.

2021 Active Duty Enlisted Basic Military Pay Chart

Monthly basic pay amounts are rounded to the nearest U.S. dollar and are for the active components of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.

Enlisted pay chart for less than 2 to over 6 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Less than 2Over 2Over 3Over 4Over 6
E-7 3208 3501 3635 3813 3952
E-6 2775 3053 3188 3319 3455
E-5 2542 2713 2844 2978 3187
E-4 2330 2450 2583 2713 2829
E-3 2104 2236 2372 2372 2372
E-2 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001
E-1 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785
E-1

Less than 4 months

1652  
Enlisted pay chart for 8 to over 16 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Over 8Over 10Over 12Over 14Over 16
E-9   5637 5765 5926 6115
E-8 4615 4819 4945 5097 5261
E-7 4190 4324 4562 4760 4895
E-6 3763 3883 4114 4185 4237
E-5 3406 3585 3607 3607 3607
E-4 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829
E-3 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372
E-2 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001
E-1 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785
Enlisted pay chart for 18 to over 26 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Over 18Over 20Over 22Over 24Over 26
E-9 6306 6612 6871 7144 7560
E-8 5557 5706 5962 6103 6452
E-7 5039 5095 5282 5383 5765
E-6 4297 4297 4297 4297 4297
E-5 3607 3607 3607 3607 3607
E-4 2829 2829 2829 2829 2829
E-3 2372 2372 2372 2372 2372
E-2 2001 2001 2001 2001 2001
E-1 1785 1785 1785 1785 1785
Enlisted pay chart for over 30 years of service.
Pay Grade Years of Service
Over 30 Over 34 Over 38 Over 40
E-9 7938 8335 8752 Make room
E-8 6582 6582 6582 Retire!!

2021 Active Duty Officer Basic Military Pay Chart

Monthly basic pay amounts are rounded to the nearest U.S. dollar and are for the active components of the Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard.

Officer pay chart for under 2 years to 6 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Under 2Over 2Over 3Over 4Over 6
O-8 11330 11701 11947 12016 12324
O-7 9414 9852 10054 10215 10506
O-6 7139 7843 8358 8358 8390
O-5 5951 6704 7168 7256 7546
O-4 5135 5944 6341 6429 6797
O-3 4515 5118 5524 6023 6311
O-2 3901 4443 5117 5290 5399
O-1 3386 3524 4260 4260 4260
Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer
O-3E   6023 6311
O-2E   5290 5399
O-1E   4260 4549
Warrant Officers
  Under 2 Over 2 Over 3 Over 4 Over 6
W-4 4666 5019 5163 5305 5549
W-3 4260 4438 4620 4680 4871
W-2 3770 4127 4237 4312 4557
W-1 3309 3665 3761 3964 4203
Officer pay chart for 8 years to 16 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Over 8Over 10Over 12Over 14Over 16
O-8 12837 12957 13444 13583 14004
O-7 10794 11127 11458 11791 12837
O-6 8749 8797 8797 9297 10181
O-5 7719 8100 8379 8740 9293
O-4 7192 7684 8067 8333 8485
O-3 6628 6833 7170 7345 7345
O-2 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399
O-1 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260
Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer
O-3E 6628 6833 7170 7454 7617
O-2E 5571 5861 6085 6252 6252
O-1E 4718 4890 5058 5290 5290
Warrant Officers
  Over 8 Over 10 Over 12 Over 14 Over 16
W-4 5790 6035 6403 6726 7032
W-3 5247 5637 5821 6034 6254
W-2 4937 5125 5311 5537 5714
W-1 4556 4721 4951 5177 5355
Officer pay chart for 18 years to 26 years of service.
Pay GradeYears of Service
Over 18Over 20Over 22Over 24Over 26
O-10

See Note 1

  16608 16608 16608 16608
O-9   15531 15755 16079 16608
O-8 14612 15172 15546 15546 15546
O-7 13720 13720 13720 13720 13789
O-6

See Note 2

10699 11218 11513 11812 12391
O-5 9556 9816 10111 10111 10111
O-4 8574 8574 8574 8574 8574
O-3 7345 7345 7345 7345 7345
O-2 5399 5399 5399 5399 5399
O-1 4260 4260 4260 4260 4260
Commissioned Officer With Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer
O-3E 7839 7839 7839 7839 7839
O-2E 6252 6252 6252 6252 6252
O-1E 5290 5290 5290 5290 5290
Warrant Officers
  Over 18 Over 20 Over 22 Over 24 Over 26
W-5   8296 8717 9031 9377
W-4 7283 7528 7888 8184 8521
W-3 6648 6915 7074 7244 7474
W-2 5875 6067 6193 6293 6293
W-1 5520 5719 5719 5719 5719
Officer pay chart for over 30 years of service.
Pay Grade Years of Service
Over 30 Over 34 Over 38 Over 40
O-10 16608 16608 16608 Time for
O-9 16608 16608 16608 Retirement!
O-8 15935 16333 16333 Retire!!
O-7 14065 14065 14065 Retire!!
O-6 12638 12638 12638 Retire!!
Warrant Officers Over 30 Years of Service
Pay Grade Years of Service
Over 30 Over 34 Over 38 Over 40
W-5 9847 10339 10856 Make room
W-4 8691 8691 8691 you're old!!

NOTE 1. Military basic pay for O-7 through O-10 is limited by the Level II of the Executive Schedule (ES).

NOTE 2. Military basic pay for O-6 and below is limited by level V of the ES.

E pay scale is Enlisted, W scale is Warrant Officer, O scale is Commissioned Officer. Effective January 1, 2021.

2021 Military Pay News Continued

On, July 21, 2020, the House of Representatives passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act by a vote of 295 to 125. The full Senate is projected to vote on their version later this week. Both the House and Senate's versions currently provide for a 3.0 percent military pay raise for 2021.

On February 10, 2020, President Trump released his defense budget proposal for 2021. The proposal includes, as expected, a 3 percent increase for military pay. The increase is in-line with U.S.C. Title 37, Chapter 19, § 1009.

On October 31, 2019 at 0830EST, the United States Employment Cost Index (ECI) was released. The releasing of the ECI by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics is an eagerly awaited quarterly economic indicator for those in the stock market and politics; but what makes this morning’s release important to our military is that it is the first indicator used to determine the actual pay raise amount for 2021. For 2021, unless a separate action is taken by President Trump or Congress, the pay raise will be 3.0 percent based on law indicated in U.S.C. Title 37, Chapter 19, § 1009.

Developed by NCCM Thomas Goering USN (RET).