3.1% raise for 2020 Military Pay Charts
The 2020 military pay chart was approved on December 17, 2019. President Trump’s $750 billion defense bill includes the largest pay raise in a decade. At 3.1 percent, the cost-of-living pay increase for military members would be a great way to combat inflation. This bill is just a proposal until it gets House and Senate approval, and the president’s signature.
New pay rates will go into effect on January 1, 2020, and will be reflected on the January 15, 2020 paychecks.
Please note: This is an estimate based on adding the proposed 3.1% pay increase to the 2019 military pay chart. However, these numbers should be accurate within $1.00 of the final number
The official pay charts will likely round these numbers up or down accordingly. So the numbers you see here should be within a dollar of the actual numbers the DoD releases.
Here are the pay scales listed in dollars per month for enlistees, officers, and warrant officers:
| PAY GRADE | 2 OR LESS | OVER 2 | OVER 3 | OVER 4 | OVER 6 | OVER 8 | OVER 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 < 4 mos | $1602 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| E-1 > 4 mos | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 |
| E-2 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 |
| E-3 | $2043 | $2171 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 |
| E-4 | $2263 | $2379 | $2507 | $2635 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 |
| E-5 | $2468 | $2634 | $2761 | $2891 | $3095 | $3306 | $3481 |
| E-6 | $2694 | $2694 | $3095 | $3222 | $3355 | $3653 | $3770 |
| E-7 | $3114 | $3399 | $3529 | $3701 | $3836 | $4067 | $4198 |
| E-8 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $4480 | $4678 |
| E-9 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $5473 |
| W-1 | $3213 | $3559 | $3652 | $3848 | $4081 | $4423 | $4583 |
| W-2 | $3661 | $4007 | $4113 | $4186 | $4424 | $4793 | $4976 |
| W-3 | $4137 | $4309 | $4486 | $4544 | $4729 | $5094 | $5473 |
| W-4 | $4530 | $4873 | $5013 | $5150 | $5387 | $5622 | $5859 |
| W-5 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| O-1E | $- | $- | $- | $4136 | $4417 | $4580 | $4747 |
| O-2E | $- | $- | $- | $5136 | $5241 | $5408 | $5690 |
| O-3E | $- | $- | $- | $5847 | $6128 | $6435 | $6634 |
| O-1 | $3287 | $3422 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 |
| O-2 | $3787 | $4313 | $4968 | $5136 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 |
| O-3 | $4383 | $4969 | $5363 | $5847 | $6128 | $6435 | $5634 |
| O-4 | $4985 | $5771 | $6156 | $6242 | $6599 | $6983 | $7460 |
| O-5 | $5778 | $6509 | $6959 | $7044 | $7326 | $7494 | $7864 |
| O-6 | $6931 | $7615 | $8114 | $8114 | $8145 | $8495 | $8541 |
| O-7 | $9140 | $9564 | $9761 | $9917 | $10200 | $10480 | $10803 |
| O-8 | $11000 | $11360 | $11599 | $11666 | $11965 | $12463 | $12579 |
| O-9 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| O-10 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| PAY GRADE | OVER 12 | OVER 14 | OVER 16 | OVER 18 | OVER 20 | OVER 22 | OVER 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 < 4 mos | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| E-1 > 4 mos | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 |
| E-2 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 |
| E-3 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 |
| E-4 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 |
| E-5 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 |
| E-6 | $3995 | $4064 | $4114 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 |
| E-7 | $4429 | $4622 | $4753 | $4893 | $4946 | $5129 | $5226 |
| E-8 | $4801 | $4948 | $5107 | $5395 | $5540 | $5788 | $5926 |
| E-9 | $5597 | $5753 | $5937 | $6123 | $6420 | $6671 | $6935 |
| W-1 | $4807 | $5026 | $5200 | $5359 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 |
| W-2 | $5155 | $5376 | $5548 | $5703 | $5890 | $6013 | $6110 |
| W-3 | $5652 | $5859 | $6072 | $6455 | $6714 | $6868 | $7033 |
| W-4 | $6216 | $6529 | $6827 | $7071 | $7309 | $7658 | $7945 |
| W-5 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $8055 | $8463 | $8767 |
| O-1E | $4911 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 |
| O-2E | $5908 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 |
| O-3E | $6960 | $7236 | $7395 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 |
| O-1 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 |
| O-2 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 |
| O-3 | $6960 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 |
| O-4 | $7832 | $8090 | $8238 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 |
| O-5 | $8136 | $8486 | $9023 | $9277 | $9530 | $9817 | $9817 |
| O-6 | $8541 | $9026 | $9884 | $10388 | $10891 | $11177 | $11468 |
| O-7 | $11125 | $11448 | $12463 | $13320 | $13320 | $13320 | $13320 |
| O-8 | $13052 | $13188 | $13596 | $14186 | $14730 | $15093 | $15093 |
| O-9 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $15546 | $15771 | $16094 |
| O-10 | $- | $- | $- | $- | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 |
| PAY GRADE | OVER 26 | OVER 28 | OVER 30 | OVER 32 | OVER 34 | OVER 36 | OVER 38 | OVER 40 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E-1 < 4 mos | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- | $- |
| E-1 > 4 mos | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 | $1733 |
| E-2 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 | $1942 |
| E-3 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 | $2303 |
| E-4 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 | $2747 |
| E-5 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 | $3502 |
| E-6 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 | $4172 |
| E-7 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 | $5597 |
| E-8 | $6264 | $6264 | $6390 | $6390 | $6390 | $6390 | $6390 | $6390 |
| E-9 | $7340 | $7340 | $7707 | $7707 | $7707 | $7707 | $7707 | $7707 |
| W-1 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 | $5552 |
| W-2 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 | $6110 |
| W-3 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 | $7257 |
| W-4 | $8273 | $8273 | $8438 | $8438 | $8438 | $8438 | $8438 | $8438 |
| W-5 | $9104 | $9104 | $9560 | $9560 | $9560 | $9560 | $9560 | $9560 |
| O-1E | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 | $5136 |
| O-2E | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 | $6070 |
| O-3E | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 | $7611 |
| O-1 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 | $4136 |
| O-2 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 | $5241 |
| O-3 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 | $7131 |
| O-4 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 | $8324 |
| O-5 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 | $9817 |
| O-6 | $12030 | $12030 | $12270 | $12270 | $12270 | $12270 | $12270 | $12270 |
| O-7 | $13388 | $13388 | $13656 | $13656 | $13656 | $13656 | $13656 | $13656 |
| O-8 | $15093 | $15093 | $15471 | $15471 | $15471 | $15471 | $15471 | $15471 |
| O-9 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 |
| O-10 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 | $16290 |
Note: The military pay charts are for all U.S. Armed Forces personnel. Your base pay does not deviate based on the branch of service.
2020 Military Pay Chart Compared to Inflation
The military pay raise for 2020 is the fifth largest in the last TWO decades (when compared to inflation). There have been many times that service members received a decent pay raise, but after factoring inflation it was actually a net loss.
Take a look at this chart, and you’ll see that the effective pay raise this year was almost 1.5%. That is the largest (effective) pay raise since 2010!
| YEAR | PAY RAISE | INFLATION | ADJUSTED PAY RAISE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 3.1 | 1.605 | 1.495 |
| 2019 | 2.6 | 2.44 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 2.4 | 2.13 | 0.27 |
| 2017 | 2.1 | 1.26 | 0.84 |
| 2016 | 1.3 | 0.12 | 1.18 |
| 2015 | 1 | 1.62 | -0.62 |
| 2014 | 1 | 1.47 | -0.47 |
| 2013 | 1.7 | 2.07 | -0.37 |
| 2012 | 1.6 | 3.16 | -1.56 |
| 2011 | 1.4 | 1.64 | -0.24 |
| 2010 | 3.4 | -0.34 | 3.74 |
| 2009 | 3.9 | 3.85 | 0.05 |
| 2008 | 3.5 | 2.85 | 0.65 |
| 2007 | 2.7 | 3.24 | -0.54 |
| 2006 | 3.1 | 3.39 | -0.29 |
| 2005 | 3.5 | 2.68 | 0.82 |
| 2004 | 4.2 | 2.27 | 1.93 |
| 2003 | 4.7 | 1.59 | 3.11 |
| 2002 | 6.9 | 2.83 | 4.07 |
| 2001 | 4.1 | 3.38 | 0.72 |
| Average | 2.91 | 2.16275 | 0.74725 |
As you can see, this pay raise is more than DOUBLE the average of every pay raise the military has gotten since 2001. It is clear to me, that this pay raise is a big deal for us!
2020 Military Pay Scale pay grade explanation:
- Enlisted personnel are the pay grades from E-1 through E-9,
- Warrant Officers are W-1 through W-5,
- Prior-Enlisted Officers are O-1E through O-3E,
- Commissioned officers are on the pay grades from O-1 through O-10.
Enlisted Pay Notes
The senior enlisted advisors for each branch of the service may be eligible for a higher pay rating than the E-9 scale for their respective years in service.
These positions include:
- Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps,
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy,
- Sergeant Major of the Army,
- Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force,
- Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard,
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau.
These rates will be officially released in 2020 DoD pay charts.
Officer Pay Notes
Prior-enlisted officers may be eligible for a higher pay rate based on time in service and other criteria. The pay scale offers the following note:
*Applicable to O-1 to O-3 with at least four years & one day of active duty or more than 1460 points as a warrant and/or enlisted member. See Department of Defense Financial Management Regulations (DoDFMR) for a more detailed explanation of who is eligible for this special basic pay rate.
2020 Military Pay Chart FAQ
When Do I Get Paid?
Members are generally paid on the 1st and 15th of the month unless that day falls on a weekend or holiday. If so, members are generally paid the preceding business day. The following links will take you to the current military pay dates:
When Will I Get a Raise?
If this bill gets approved you will see a pay increase on your Jan. 15, 2020, check. The Jan. 1, 2020, check will come from the final pay period of 2019 so it won’t include a pay increase.
What About Drill Pay?
This 3.1 percent pay increase applies to members of the Reserves and National Guard as well.
Why a 3.1 Percent Increase?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a 3.1 percent employment cost index across the national workforce, and the Defense spending bill reflects this data. Military pay only increased by 2.6 percent in 2019.
The last time we got a pay increase of this size was in 2010 when we received a 3.4 percent pay increase. We have received pay increases as low as 1 percent over the past decade.
What should I do with this pay raise?
I recommend that you increase your savings by 3.1% when you begin getting paid based on the 2020 military pay chart.
Last year we received a 2.6% pay raise, and I increased my allotment to the Thrift Savings Plan by 2% in order to save more this year. That will result in around a thousand dollars extra I invested this year!
I highly recommend you pretend that you never got this pay raise in order to maximize your savings and investment funds!
Also, read up on military combat pay if you’re looking at a possible deployment!
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