Eielson Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force Base supporting flight operations, aircrew training, and the full range of Air Force combat and support missions.
Data sources: BAH figures are official 2026 DoD (DTMO) rates for the housing area covering this station. Stations outside the 50 states draw OHA and overseas COLA rather than BAH. Population, income, age, veteran share, home value, and rent are U.S. Census ACS 2023 county-level figures. Cost of living is the U.S. BEA Regional Price Parities 2023 index (US = 100), metro-area level where available, statewide otherwise. District enrollment, school counts, and grade spans are NCES Common Core of Data 2023-24. Where a figure is not published for a site, the guide says so instead of showing a rate that does not apply. Community home prices are ACS 2023 city medians; community descriptions and drive times are editorial. Stations without a community guide yet say so rather than showing samples.
Who lives around the installation, so you know the community you're joining.
This station sits outside the 50 states, so the pay, schooling, and paperwork all work differently from a stateside move. Here is what changes and where the official answers live.
A Military Relocation Specialist in this area can answer what a website can't.
Route lines are road routes and the drive times are free-flow, computed with OSRM over OpenStreetMap data. Rush hour and gate queues at 0600 to 0730 add real time; a local pro can tell you which neighborhoods beat the rush.
The star marks the installation, not a gate. Gates differ by ID card and some close nights and weekends, so confirm which gate you are cleared to use with your sponsor before you arrive.
The communities service members actually choose, with typical prices and drive times to the gate.
Every district around the installation, with enrollment links. Military-connected students may also qualify for DoDEA and school liaison support.
Typical weekday morning drive times from each community to the main gate.
Pro tip: gate traffic peaks 0600 to 0730. A local pro can tell you which neighborhoods beat the rush.
In crisis, right now: dial 988, then press 1, or text 838255. The Veterans & Military Crisis Line is free, confidential, and 24/7 for service members, veterans, and the people who support them.
Your unit chaplain is a confidential first stop in every branch. Military OneSource serves every branch, 24/7: (800) 342-9647.
All support programs by branchWhere you and your dependents can be seen on TRICARE. The military hospitals below are the ones CMS certifies; outpatient clinics are listed on TRICARE's own locator.
The closest VA medical centers, clinics, and Vet Centers, with driving directions. Useful whether you are still serving or already out.
The closest non-military hospitals with an emergency department. Worth knowing before you need one, especially if your family arrives ahead of you.
On the installation: every Child Development Center and school-age care program takes its waitlist through the official DoD system. Waitlists at busy installations run months, and you can join before you arrive, so get on it the day orders are cut, not the week you land.
MilitaryChildCare.com, the official waitlistThis station's Child and Youth Services office: contacts and hours are on the official installation directory.
Off the installation: find state-licensed providers through childcare.gov, the federal finder that routes to your state's licensing search. If the CDC waitlist is long, most branches offer fee assistance for licensed off-base care through Child Care Aware, a program many people never hear about.
Licensing and quality checks belong to your state and the DoD systems above, which is why this page points there rather than listing providers itself.
Tax-free shopping and the morale, welfare, and recreation programs you have earned. These go to the official service for each branch at this installation.
Links go to each branch's own exchange and MWR organization. Hours, on-base store lists, and program offerings are set locally, so check the installation's page for what is open near you.
Bookmark the local National Weather Service office for watches and warnings around this station.
Local NWS forecast
Six printable checklists and four calculators, rebuilt around this station and your report date.
Markets, eats, and the things that make the area feel like home between duty days.
The nearest location of each everyday anchor, so you can tell what is actually in reach.
100 = U.S. average. Anything under 100 means your money goes further here.
| Rank | With dependents | Without dependents |
|---|
With BAH at $—/mo and typical rents near $—, many E-5 and above can build equity instead of paying a landlord. A local pro can run your exact numbers with a VA loan, $0 down.
Where to spend the 96-hour pass. The best of the outdoors within reach of this station.
For 2026, Basic Allowance for Housing at Eielson Air Force Base is $2,436 a month for an E-5 with dependents and $1,827 without dependents. Eielson Air Force Base sits in the Fairbanks, AK military housing area. Rates are set by the Department of Defense and vary by rank, so check your own pay grade on the station guide.
In Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, the median home value is $282,500 according to U.S. Census American Community Survey figures. Median rent is $1,424 a month. Compare that against your BAH to see what buying or renting looks like on your pay grade.
The cost of living index near Eielson Air Force Base (Fairbanks-College, AK) is 101, where the national average is 100, so costs run above the U.S. average. This comes from Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities.
Eielson Air Force Base is served by Fairbanks North Star Borough School District. Enrollment, school counts, and grade spans come from the National Center for Education Statistics. District boundaries decide school assignment, so confirm the boundary for any specific address before you sign anything.
The nearest military hospital is Bassett Army Community Hospital (Fort Wainwright), about 19.4 miles away, phone (907) 361-4000. The nearest civilian hospital with an emergency department is Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, about 22.2 miles away, phone (907) 452-8181. Military hospital data comes from the CMS Hospital General Information file. Outpatient clinics are listed on the TRICARE locator.
Yes. The closest VA facility is Fairbanks VA Clinic (Primary Care Outpatient Clinic), about 20.1 miles from the installation at 4076 Neeley Road, Fort Wainwright, AK 99703. Facility data comes from the VA's own VAST database. Check va.gov for current phone and hours.
Communities near Eielson Air Force Base include Eielson AFB, North Pole, Badger, Fairbanks, Steele Creek. The station guide lists typical home prices and drive times for each. We give you the figures rather than telling you which area suits you.
Get real answers from a Military Relocation Specialist who lives and works here. Housing, BAH strategy, timing your search around your report date.
2026 BAH at E-5 is $2,436 a month with dependents and $1,827 without, for the Fairbanks, AK military housing area. In Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska the median home value is $282,500 and median rent is $1,424. Cost of living runs 101 against a national average of 100 (Fairbanks-College, AK).
