For those that have been here before welcome back. We are your hosts, BJ 'n Cindy. We own and operate this site as well as the sister sites. The Defense Department released the 2025 Continental United States Cost-of-Living Allowance (CONUS COLA) rates today, and will take effect Jan. 1, 2025. In 2025, $51 million will be paid to approximately 61,000 service members stationed within CONUS.
CONUS COLA is a supplemental allowance designed to help offset higher prices in the highest-cost locations in CONUS that exceed the average costs within the CONUS. Rates can increase, decrease, or remain the same, depending upon the non-housing prices in a duty location as compared to non-housing prices in average CONUS.
By law, a contractor provides the Department civilian cost data from each military housing area (MHA) and non-MHA for the following categories: transportation, goods and services, federal income taxes, sales taxes, and miscellaneous expenses. Data is adjusted to account for Basic Allowance for Subsistence, an allowance meant to offset the costs for a member's meals, day care subsidies, and for cost savings gained from shopping at commissaries and exchanges. This information is compared to the same cost data for average CONUS, which serves as a benchmark; the resulting ratio is called an index.
By law, a CONUS COLA rate is only prescribed when the index meets a certain threshold above the CONUS average. For 2025, the costs for non-housing types of goods and services in a particular location must be at least 7 percent more expensive than average CONUS costs to qualify for a CONUS COLA payment. An index above 107 percent would qualify for CONUS COLA (e.g., a location that is 10 percent more expensive would qualify for a 3 percent COLA index).
This year, 10 MHAs will begin receiving CONUS COLA; 6 MHAs will receive an increase in CONUS COLA; 3 MHAs will receive a decrease in CONUS COLA and 4 MHAs will no longer receive CONUS COLA.
For non-MHA areas (non-metropolitan counties), 25 counties will gain CONUS COLA, 1 county will receive a decrease in CONUS COLA and 51 counties will lose CONUS COLA.
Military housing areas with the highest CONUS COLA rates:
New York City, NY 8%
Humboldt County, CA 5%
San Francisco, CA 5%
Military housing area with the largest decrease:
New York City, NY 13% to 8%
Military housing area with the largest increase:
Humboldt County, CA 0% to 5%
The total amount of CONUS COLA a Service member receives varies based on geographic duty location, pay grade, years of service, and dependency status. Payments per CONUS COLA percentage point range from $35 to $60 per month for members with dependents, and from $27 to $46 per month for members without dependents. Service members can calculate their CONUS COLA rate at https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/CONUS-Cost-of-Living-Allowance/CONUS-COLA-Rate-Lookup/.
Additional information about CONUS COLA can be found on the Defense Travel Management Office website at https://www.travel.dod.mil/Allowances/CONUS-Cost-of-Living-Allowance/.
SOURCE DoD News Release