The most honest military-to-civilian financial comparison available. Includes real civilian costs other calculators ignore: rent, food, health insurance, car, childcare, and your VA disability compensation.
📊 2026 Military Pay Tables🏠 Real Civilian Costs🏥 VA Disability Included👨👩👧 Family Size Matters📈 10-Year Projections
🪖 Your Military Situation
Pay & Grade
Housing, Location & Family
BAH amounts shown for E-5. Your actual BAH is calculated from your grade and family size below.
Dependents (for BAH, VA Comp & Food)
Children 18–23 attending school full-time
Parents who depend on you for financial support
SCRA lets you keep your home state while serving. Many choose no-tax states.
Additional Military Pay
Sea pay, sub pay, flight pay, jump pay, SDAP, hostile fire, dive pay, hazardous duty, foreign language bonus, nuclear pay, etc.
Total bonus amount (spread over contract years)
VA Disability — After You Separate
⚠️ VA disability compensation is NOT collected while on active duty. It counts only on your civilian side — paid after separation. Amounts at 30%+ are calculated from your marital status, children, and dependent parents above.
Household Income While Serving
Spouse employment income while you are active duty
Rental income, side business, spouse GI Bill, etc.
💼 Civilian Side
Your Household Income
Include spouse employment income, business income, etc.
Your state after separation. Impacts your civilian tax estimate significantly.
Rental income, side business, GI Bill BAH, disability not already counted, etc.
Include promotions. Avg 2-4%.
Housing
National avg ~$1,700. HCOL cities: $2,500+
Avg US: $250–350/month
Food (family size pulled from Dependents above)
Enter your family's actual monthly food/grocery spending
Health Insurance After Separation
Avg family plan employee share: $500–700/mo
Amount employer or VA contributes toward your plan
Transportation
Avg used 2026: ~$530/mo. New: ~$735/mo
National avg full coverage: $150–220/mo
Avg US: $1,230/child/mo. $0 if no young kids.
Other
⚖️ Quality of Life Factors (1=Civilian favored, 5=Military favored)
1-Civilian5-Military
1-Deployments hurting family5-Family supports it
1-Done with it5-Fine with it
1-Better ceiling civilian5-Military track better
1-Ready for civilian life5-Want to keep serving
1-Just starting5-Close to 20
💰 Gross vs Net — Income Tax Breakdown
💵 Monthly Cash Flow — What Actually Hits Your Pocket