U.S. service members at Fort Myer-Henderson Hall, Va., rehearse for the upcoming presidential inauguration Jan. 10, 2025. The Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation, a task performed every four years, found that service members are paid better than most of their civilian counterparts, the Defense Department said Jan. 15, 2025. (Joaquin Carlos Dela Torre/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. service members earn more in money and benefits than most civilians in similar demographics, the Defense Department said this week following the release of a military pay review done every four years.
No major changes to the military’s compensation system were called for in Wednesday’s report, officially titled the Quadrennial Review of Military Compensation.
“Our retention is really high, so I’m thinking that the longer members serve, the more fully they understand the value of the total compensation package,” a defense official told reporters Wednesday.
The assessment considered salaries and benefits such as housing and subsistence allowances.
Junior enlisted troops fared especially well when compared with Americans of similar career experience and education levels, ranking in the 93rd percentile. Most officers, meanwhile, were in the 75th percentile for financial compensation, the study found.
The study didn’t account for a salary bump passed by Congress in December that will give junior enlisted troops a 14.5% pay raise and all other service members a 4.5% increase in 2025.
Although DOD compensation is competitive with the civilian labor market, there are some areas for improvement, another senior defense official told reporters Wednesday.
“This may ultimately require us to consider policy and programmatic changes to compensation as well as nonmonetary programs to ensure successful recruitment, retention and readiness of the force moving forward,” the official said.
The report looked at the effect of dual-income households on military retention and how issues such as permanent change of station moves and child care access factored into the life decisions of armed forces personnel.
For military spouses with careers, frequent moves pose challenges to finding employment and advancing their own careers. The circumstances can be a cause for service members to end their military careers.
Offering greater access to child care was one of the improvements the report suggested that the Pentagon make.
The report also recommended that DOD reconsider its current target of paying service members at the 70th percentile of comparable civilian jobs and boost the figure to the 75th percentile.
The military needs to do a better job communicating with service members and recruits about compensation packages and benefits that often get overlooked, such as free dental and health care, the report said.
Defense officials said they would begin implementing the report’s various recommendations.
