U.S. Military Pay History
Beginning with the year 1794, the military pay raise percentages, and associated pay charts, are presented in the table under the President who signed the pay amounts into law.
U.S. Military Pay Raise History, 1794 to Present Day
| Military Pay Raises by President | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| President Washington | |||||
| Year | 1794-1814 Navy Pay | ||||
| Pay Raise | 0% | ||||
| President Madison | President Jackson | President Buchanan | |||
| Year | 1814-1834 | 1835-1859 | 1860-1861 | ||
| Pay Raise | 4.1% | 32.3% | 13% | ||
| President Lincoln | President Grant | President Harrison | |||
| Year | 1862-1869 | 1870 | 1893 CPO | ||
| Pay Raise | 0% | 25% | 0% | ||
| President T. Roosevelt | President Wilson | President Harding | |||
| Year | 1908-1919 | 1920-1921 | 1922-1942 Officer Pay | 1922-1940 Enlisted Pay | |
| Pay Raise | 20% | 4.8% | 0% | 15% | |
| President F.D. Roosevelt | President Truman | ||||
| Year | 1940-1941 | 1941-1942 | 1942-1946 | 1946-1949 | |
| Pay Raise | 28% | 14.4% | 26.4% | 23.7% | |
| President Truman | President Eisenhower | ||||
| Year | 1949-1951 | 1952-1954 | 1955-1957 | 1958-1962 | |
| Pay Raise | 22.9% | 4% | 10% | 8.3% | |
| President Kennedy | President Johnson | ||||
| Year | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | |
| Pay Raise | 12.6% | 2.5% | E:11% O:6% | 3.2% | |
| President Johnson | |||||
| Year | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | ||
| Pay Raise | 5.6% | 6.9% | 12.6% | ||
| President Nixon | |||||
| Year | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 |
| 1971-2 | |||||
| Pay Raise | 8.1% | 7.9% & 11.6% | 7.2% | 6.7% | 6.2% |
| President Ford | President Carter | ||||
| Year | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 |
| Pay Raise | 5.52% | 5% | 3.6% | 6.2% | 5.5% |
| President Carter | President Reagan | ||||
| Year | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 |
| Pay Raise | 7% | 11.7% | 14.3% | 4% | 4% |
| President Reagan | |||||
| Year | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
| Pay Raise | 4% | 3%±* | 3% | 2% | 4.1% |
| President H.W. Bush | President Clinton | ||||
| Year | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 |
| Pay Raise | 3.6% | 4.1% | 4.2% | 3.7% | 2.2% |
| President Clinton | |||||
| Year | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
| Pay Raise | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3% | 2.8% | 3.6% |
| President Clinton | President G.W. Bush | ||||
| Year | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Pay Raise | 4.8%¹ | 3.7%¹ˆ¹ | 6.9% | 4.1% | 4.2% |
| President G.W. Bush | |||||
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
| Pay Raise | 3.5% | 3.1% | 2.7%¹ˆ² | 3.5% | 3.9% |
| President Obama | |||||
| Year | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 |
| Pay Raise | 3.4% | 1.4% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.0% |
| President Obama | President Trump | ||||
| Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Pay Raise | 1.0%¹ˆ³ | 1.3%¹ˆ³ | 2.1% | 2.4% | 2.6% |
| President Trump | President Biden | ||||
| Year | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
| Pay Raise | 3.1% | 3.0% | 2.7% | 4.6% | 5.2% |
| President Biden | To Be Determined (TBD) | ||||
| Year | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 |
| Pay Raise | 4.5% P | 3.8% ECI | TBD | TBD | TBD |
ECI = Employment Cost Index. P = Proposed. E = Enlisted. O = Officer. C = Latest congressional approval.
- ECI:
- Pay raise percentage based on appropriate Employment Cost Index figure per U.S.C. Title 37.
- ±:
- 1986 pay frozen at 1985 levels. The 1986 chart does not display what was paid, but does show the amount per the 3% increase that was passed and would have been paid out if not for being frozen.
- Note ¹:
- Targeted basic pay raises effective July 1, 2000 beyond the approved January 1, 2000 increase of 4.8%.
- Note ¹ˆ¹:
- Targeted increases, effective July 1, 2001, the basic pay amounts for enlisted personnel in grades E-5 through E-7.
- Note ¹ˆ²:
- Additional targeted increase totaling 4.6% for a limited number of pay grades effective April 1, 2007. Added longevity raises at the 30, 34 and 38 year mark for only the most senior enlisted and officer pay grades.
- Note ¹ˆ³:
- Pay raise as indicated for all pay grades except O-7 through O-10 which were frozen at 2014 levels.
How adjustments to military basic pay are made
Each year, Congress and the President has the ability to write and approve new legislation as they deem necessary to change military pay; otherwise, since 1962, Title 37 of the United States Code has dictated how military pay adjustments will be automatically calculated.
Currently, U.S.C. Title 37, Chapter 19, ยง 1009 -- Adjustments of monthly basic pay, reads, "An adjustment made under this section in a year shall provide all eligible members with an increase in the monthly basic pay that is the percentage (rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one percent) by which the Employment Cost Index [wages and salaries, private industry workers] for the base quarter of the year before the preceding year [three-month period ending on September 30 of such year] exceeds the ECI for the base quarter of the second year before the preceding calendar year (if at all)."
Additionally, the Title goes on to say, "If, because of national emergency or serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, the President considers the pay adjustment which would otherwise be required by this section in any year to be inappropriate, the President shall prepare and transmit to Congress before September 1 of the preceding year a plan for such alternative pay adjustments as the President considers appropriate, together with the reasons therefor."
*The Coast Guard is currently a part of the Department of Homeland Security, and it is from that budget the compensation for personnel in the Coast Guard is derived. United States Code Title 14 dictates that the Coast Guard will be a branch of the military at all times. Because of its status as a military branch, even when it previously fell under the Department of Transportation, the pay and allowances have always been in lock-step with that of the Department of Defense (Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Space Force).
Developed by NCCM Thomas Goering USN (RET).
