A significant number of sailors stationed in Coronado are not actually living on land. They’re bunking in the ships docked around San Diego Bay.
It’s a lot tougher living than most people realize – cramped quarters and a lack of privacy, to name a couple of conditions.
James Honea, the former master chief petty officer of the Navy, told Congress in January 2024 that nearly 800 sailors needed to live onboard the USS Carl Vinson upon its return to Coronado due to limited housing availability on base.
On top of this shortage, sailors stationed in Coronado have the added stress of managing the high cost of living.
“Oftentimes, sailors end up living an hour or more away from their duty station just so they can afford housing in a good school district or safe neighborhood,” Honea added.
A year after Honea said this, the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) induced pay and living improvements for Navy servicemembers – but follow through is yet to be seen.
To live off-ship, the Navy now provides a housing allowance to sailors ranked E6 and below. Sailors ranked E4 and below also get a 14% pay raise which, when combined with a housing allowance, offers improved living options for junior sailors choosing to live off base.
And, for the first time in 20 years, Navy sailors in San Diego and Coronado are getting a cost of living allowance to offset high prices on non-housing goods.
For example, a seaman apprentice with dependents now receives $43 a month as a stipend.
But, it’s still not enough to spark a mass migration off ships and into town. For many junior sailors, it’s too expensive to afford living in San Diego, let alone in Coronado.
For example, the base salary of a seaman apprentice (E2) with dependents is $31,188, along with added compensation for things like housing and medical, according to the Navy’s website. With a monthly allowance of $3,666, it makes it very difficult to live off base in Coronado, as renting a two-bedroom apartment in town ranges from $4,000 to $8,000.
Gone are the days when enlisted sailors could afford to live in Coronado. It’s not practical.
Because of the high cost of living in San Diego, along with the challenges and costs of commuting, additional barracks are likely a better option.
Several portions of the NDAA authorize improvements to (and construction of) unaccompanied housing, but it is unclear whether the appropriations – performed by Congress – provide the required funding.
By some measures, construction funding might have gone down from 2024, but it’s hard to tell as line items for Navy Military Construction (which overall went up to over $4 billion for things like hangers, offices, and facilities) don’t have the granularity to show how much went to family housing and unaccompanied housing.
It also becomes more complicated when the government is working under a continuing resolution that allows for spending at the previous year’s level. There were no specified housing barracks construction projects itemized in the appropriations documents for 2025.
The lack of clarity on funding for barracks does not mean that it won’t come or is not being planned – but we want to see progress. Because not addressing these fundamental issues will result in poor recruiting in an era that demands more from our force.
Coronado bases are some of the country’s most costly, so we want to see line items showing construction plans to address the deficiencies.
Higher pay, improved housing options, better quality of life: These are the things we owe to those who volunteer to serve our nation.
