Army Pay Chart 2025 (Salary & Benefits)

Let’s take a look at what you need to know about the Army Pay Chart in 2025. We will do this by discussing the following:

• Army Pay Chart 2025
• Army Pay timing
• The pay raise
• Inflation
• The pay table
• Expectations for enlisted and officer
• Enlistment bonuses
• Retirement

If you join the service for the money, you will be doing yourself a disservice. But if you do it to serve, then it might be a good idea to know what to expect and how it works.

Enlisted Army Base Pay Chart (Under 2 to Over 6 Years of Service)

Enlisted Army Pay Chart (Over 8 to Over 16 Years of Service)

Enlisted Army Pay Chart (Over 18 to Over 26 Years of Service)

Enlisted Army Base Pay Chart (Over 30 Years of Service)

Army Officer Pay Chart (Under 2 to Over 6 Years of Service)

Army Officer Base Pay Chart (Over 8 to Over 16 Years of Service)

Army Officer Pay Chart (Over 18 to Over 26 Years of Service)

Army Officer Base Pay Chart (Over 30 Years of Service)

Army Warrant Officer Pay Chart (Under 2 to Over 6 Years of Service)

Army Warrant Officer Base Pay Chart (Over 8 to Over 16 Years of Service)

Army Warrant Officer Pay Chart (Over 18 to Over 26 Years of Service)

Army Warrant Officer Base Pay Chart (Over 30 Years of Service)

Army Commissioned Officer Base Pay Chart (Over 4 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer)

Army Commissioned Officer Pay Chart (Over 8 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer)

Army Commissioned Officer Pay Chart (Over 18 Years of Active Service as an Enlisted Member or Warrant Officer)

Army Base Pay Timing and Defense Budget

The Department of Defense budget is programmed annually, not with the calendar year but with the fiscal year.

The fiscal year is from the 1st of October until the 31st of September.

Theoretically, if our government operates as intended, funds should be available on October 1st and fully expended or committed by September 30th.

Interestingly, army pay chart tables and raises are implemented on the first day of the calendar year, January 1st.

Military members are paid via electronic funds transfer, or EFT, which they can set up once or twice a month.

I always recommend getting paid once a month. It makes it much easier to budget and plan. In 2023, the US government raised 4.39 trillion dollars in taxes.

Army Pay Rise 2025 (Increase Inflation)

The DOD budget for fiscal year 2025 is around $834 billion. The average salary of active-duty service members went up by 5.2%. This sounds like a good deal, and it’s definitely better than nothing.

But if you factor in that inflation in the United States in 2022 was 8.3%, then a 4.6% army pay raise has 3.7% less buying power.

So it actually feels like a pay cut. Thanks again, government leaders, greedy banks, stupid people who can’t budget, and, of course, the Fed. The rest of us appreciate your incompetence.

The Army Pay Table 2025

The US government publishes Army pay tables every December or January for the new calendar year.

This Army pay chart table explains your monthly pay rate as a function of pay grade and years of service. This table works for officers, enlisted officers, and warrant officers in most situations.

Let’s do a test run.

Army Enlisted Pay Expectations

• An E1 fresh into basic training will make $2,017 a month
  • I want to point out that this is more money than I made as a second Lieutenant. I’m happy that army pay has significantly improved over the last decade or two.
• Within a year, they’re an E3, making $2,377 a month.
• An E4 with three years of service makes $2,918 a month.
• An E5 with four years of service makes $3,3 a month.
  • This is over $38,000 annually, not including bonuses, specialty pay, or housing allowances.
  • Let’s jump to the end of an enlisted man’s career. According to the new army pay chart
• An E7 with 20 years in service will be making $5,473 a month
• An E8 with 20 years of service will be making $6,130 a month
• An E9 with 22 years of service will be making $7,381 a month
  • That’s a lot of money, and if you plan it correctly and make good decisions, you can really have an excellent quality of life. Now, let’s do the same for Officer Pay.

I want to point out that this is more money than I made as a second Lieutenant. I’m happy that military pay has significantly improved over the last decade or two

Army Officer Pay Expectations

• A brand-new O1 Army Officer will make $3,637 a month.
  • That is what I was making as a senior captain. Nonetheless, I’m happy that everyone in the service is making more money these days.
• An O2 Army Officer with two years of service makes $4,772 a month.
  • That’s quite a jump.
• An O3 Army Officer with four years of service makes $6,469 a month.
• A retiring O5 with 20 years of service will be earning $10,544 a month.

Enlistment Bonuses

No one wants to serve their country these days, and recruiting for all branches has been at an all-time low since Vietnam. So this might be an opportunity for those of you on the fence.

The day I made this post, the Army was offering bonuses up to $50,000, the Marines up to $9,000, the Air Force up to $40,000, and the Navy up to $115,000.

I’m not sure how they manage that. It sounds shady, but here it is in black and white, so look into it.

• Army: bonuses up to $50,000
• Marines: bonuses up to $9,000
• Air Force: bonuses up to $40,000
• Navy: bonuses up to $115,000

Military Army Retirement

Let’s finish off with a discussion on retirement.

If you joined the military before the first of January 2006, then you are under the old-school system of retirement that pays you 2.5 % of your base pay per year of service when you retire.

So if you serve 20 years, that would be 2.5 % times 20 years, which equals a check for 50 % of your base pay every month for the rest of your life.

Or if you served 30 years, that would be 2.5 % times 30 years, which equals a check for 75 % of your base pay every month for the rest of your life.

If you join the military after 1 January 2006, then you get the blended retirement, which is one matching thrift savings plan or TSP contributions.

Two, mid-career retention bonuses, and three, a monthly annuity for life after 20 years of service, calculated at 2 % per year of service.

Let’s look at these in greater detail.

Army Blended Retirement System Details

• Thrift Savings Plan (TSP): A government-sponsored 401 where your service will basically match your investment up to 5 %.
  • So if your base pay is $3,000 a month, you can invest $150 a month. The US government will also invest $150 a month.
  • So your $150 investment automatically instantly doubles.
  • This post is not the time to give you investment advice, but I would like to highlight that at this time, the S&P 500 is down 16 %, and the C Fund is also down 17 %.
  • I think that we all agree that the stock market is not a safe investment, and all experts say that in 2023, there will be a recession or a depression.
  • So it might be a good idea to put your TSP into a low-risk fund if one even exists before it disappears or is cut in half.
  • Making the most of your TSP matching up to 5 % is a good idea. But keep your retirement money safe until we have better leaders and better monetary policies.
• Mid-career retention bonuses: These usually go to military occupational specialties where the work is the hardest and retention is low, and they vary from year to year, so it’s not advisable to count on this incentive.
  • Let’s move on to bonuses. Mid-career retention bonuses are not a give-me.
  • They usually go to military occupational specialties where the work is the hardest and retention is low, and they vary from year to year, so it’s not advisable to count on this incentive.
• Retirement annuity cheque: This works the same way as the old system. So if you serve 20 years, that would be 2 % times 20 years, which equals a cheque for 40 % of your base pay every month for the rest of your life.

Thanks for reading. I hope you are now a bit more informed about military and army pay systems and options.

You won’t become rich and famous being in the military, but with a little planning and a good budget, you can certainly have a very high quality of life

• Author
• Recent Posts

George N.

George N. is the founder of ArmyPRT.com. While he never actually served in the United States Army, he has a passion for writing about military-related topics.

Born and raised in Bozeman, Montana, he graduated from George State University with an MBA in Actuarial Science. His hobbies include beach volleyball, hiking, fishing, and lifting weights

George is also a certified nutritionist with a passion for health and fitness.

Latest posts by George N. (see all)

• Essential Tips to Get Military Fit and Combat Ready - February 13, 2025
• APFT Sit-Up Standards 2025 - February 11, 2025
• Prone W Raise Exercise 2025 - February 11, 2025