Armed Forces News

Image: 3d imagination/Shutterstock.com

Service members living in the New York City area, San Francisco and Nantucket, Massachusetts, will receive the highest CONUS COLA (Continental U.S. Cost-of-Living Allowance) increases in 2022. For New York City, the rate is 6 percent; Long Island and San Francisco residents will receive 3-percent increases. Nantucket residents will see a 2-percent hike.

Service members in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, will see their CONUS COLA rates drop to 0 percent from 4 percent.

Service members qualify for CONUS COLA if they live in an area where the costs for non-housing goods and services are 8 percent higher than average CONUS costs.

Overall, six military housing areas (MHAs) will see CONUS COLA decreases, with 21 losing the benefit altogether. Another 20 non-metropolitan counties will receive the index.

The amount of money each service member would receive is based on duty location, time in service, pay grade and dependency status. An estimated 6,000 service members collect CONUS COLA.