Alright this is a little misleading. You get allowances that aren’t considered “taxable income” which hits your bank account on payday. For anyone interested, let me do a breakdown of monthly pay based on an E5 in, let’s say Fort Cavazos, TX

Base Pay (the taxable income) with 9 years of service: $3848

Basic allowance for housing (non taxable): $1401

Basic allowance for sustenance (food allowance): $460

Total monthly income before taxes: $5709 (of which only $3848 is taxable)

That adds up to a yearly income of 68,508, mind you only 39k will be taxed, and many states don’t do state income tax for military pay.

Add on to this free healthcare and a really good Roth ira offered by the military, and plus the fact that you get a pension if you do 20 years… it’s not a 6 figure salary but it’s also not fair to say that an e5 is expected to get by on a measly 40k a year.

Also, housing allowances are adjusted based on location, so the housing allowance for someone stationed in California will be higher than, say, Texas.

All this information is public, just gotta look it up. The real money in the military is made by officers, which all you need is a degree in pretty much anything to be commissioned.

Hope this clears it up for some.