Air Force Bases in California: A Complete PCS Guide

If you have orders to the Golden State, start by figuring out which of the air force bases in California you are actually headed to. There are fewer than most people expect, they are spread across almost 500 miles of the state, and two of the best known ones do not belong to the Air Force anymore. A PCS, short for Permanent Change of Station, is hard enough without a base changing services on you.

This guide lists every Air Force and Space Force installation in the state, explains what each one does, and then gets to the part that shapes your daily life: what housing costs nearby. For the picture across every branch, see our overview of what military bases are in California, and for the ground side, our guide to Army bases in California.

Every Air Force and Space Force Base in California

California has three active-duty Air Force bases, one Air Force Reserve base, and two installations that were Air Force and are now run by the Space Force. AFB is the common shorthand for Air Force Base. SFB means Space Force Base.

California's six Air Force and Space Force installations, grouped by mission. Sources: official fact sheets on travis.af.mil, edwards.af.mil, beale.af.mil, vandenberg.spaceforce.mil, losangeles.spaceforce.mil and march.afrc.af.mil.

What Each Base Does

Travis Air Force Base

Travis sits in Fairfield, between San Francisco and Sacramento. The host unit is the 60th Air Mobility Wing, the largest air mobility organization in the Air Force by personnel. It flies the C-5M Super Galaxy, the C-17 Globemaster III and the KC-46A Pegasus, and it handles more cargo and passengers than any other military air terminal in the United States.

Travis also hosts David Grant USAF Medical Center and is the West Coast terminal for aeromedical evacuation flights returning patients from the Pacific. The base covers 7,035 acres and includes about 1,270 military family housing units. Our PCS to Travis AFB guide covers neighborhoods and commute times.

Edwards Air Force Base

Edwards is out in the Mojave Desert in Kern County, and it is where the Air Force tests things before anyone else flies them. The 412th Test Wing plans and runs flight and ground testing of aircraft, weapons, software and components. The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School is part of the wing.

Edwards is also the headquarters of the Air Force Test Center, which directs test work at Eglin AFB in Florida and Arnold AFB in Tennessee. The installation covers 482 square miles and supports more than 10,000 people, including NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center and 54 tenant units.

For families, the big thing to know is distance. Edwards is genuinely remote, and most off-base housing sits in Lancaster, Palmdale, Rosamond or California City. Our PCS to Edwards AFB guide walks through those trade-offs.

Beale Air Force Base

Beale is in Yuba County, near Marysville and Yuba City, about 40 miles north of Sacramento. It is home to the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, which flies the U-2 Dragon Lady and the T-38 Talon under Air Combat Command.

The wing's job is high-altitude reconnaissance, and it has been doing it from Beale since 1966, first with the SR-71 Blackbird and then with the U-2. This is a smaller, quieter posting than Travis, set in farm country rather than a metro area. Our PCS to Beale AFB guide has the local detail.

Vandenberg Space Force Base

Vandenberg is on the coast near Lompoc, in Santa Barbara County. The host unit is Space Launch Delta 30, and the mission is the Western Launch and Test Range. Vandenberg supports West Coast launches for the Space Force, the Department of Defense, NASA, national programs and commercial companies, and it also supports test launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The base covers more than 99,000 acres with 42 miles of coastline. Major tenants include Space Operations Command, the 576th Flight Test Squadron, the 381st Training Group, the Missile Defense Agency and the National Reconnaissance Office. Our PCS to Vandenberg SFB guide covers what living on the Central Coast is like.

Los Angeles Air Force Base

Los Angeles AFB is in El Segundo, about two miles south of Los Angeles International Airport. It is the only active-duty military installation in the greater Los Angeles metro area, and it is not a flying base at all. There is no runway.

The host unit is Space Base Delta 3. The main tenant is Space Systems Command, the Space Force field command that develops, buys and sustains military satellites, launch services and ground systems. More than 7,000 people are assigned there, mostly civilians and contractors rather than uniformed members.

March Air Reserve Base

March is in Riverside County, between Riverside, Moreno Valley and Perris. The 452nd Air Mobility Wing runs it under Air Force Reserve Command and flies the C-17 Globemaster III and the KC-135R Stratotanker. It is the largest air mobility wing in Fourth Air Force.

March was active duty for 78 years before becoming a Reserve installation on April 1, 1996. That matters for your move: a Reserve base has a smaller on-base support footprint than Travis or Edwards, and most members live in the area full time.

A Note on Vandenberg and Los Angeles

This trips people up constantly, so here it is plainly.

Vandenberg Air Force Base was renamed Vandenberg Space Force Base on May 14, 2021, and its host wing became Space Launch Delta 30. Los Angeles AFB is also a Space Force installation today, home to Space Base Delta 3 and Space Systems Command, but it kept the words "Air Force Base" in its name. So one of them changed its name and the other did not.

Nothing physically moved at either place. Same gates, same commissary, same neighborhoods, same schools. Only the service that owns the installation changed. Airmen still serve at both in joint and support roles.

For your move, the practical point is that none of this changes the mechanics. Your housing allowance, your household goods shipment, your dependent enrollment and your base access all work the same way. The military housing area did not change because the sign did. If you find an older base guide that says "Vandenberg AFB," it is describing the same place.

Air National Guard and Reserve Sites

Two more California sites fly Air Force aircraft but are Air National Guard rather than active duty. They are units of the California Air National Guard, staffed mostly by part-time members plus a full-time core.

Fresno Air National Guard Base hosts the 144th Fighter Wing, which has flown the F-15C/D Eagle and was selected to receive the F-15EX Eagle II. Channel Islands Air National Guard Station, in Port Hueneme on the Ventura County coast, hosts the 146th Airlift Wing and its C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, including planes fitted with the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System that drop retardant on California wildfires.

Guard sites generally will not be your PCS destination on active-duty orders, but they matter if you are transitioning or looking at a Guard slot after a move.

What Housing Costs at Each Base

BAH stands for Basic Allowance for Housing. It is the monthly amount the military pays you toward rent or a mortgage when you live off base. The rate depends on your pay grade, whether you have dependents, and the ZIP code of your duty station, not on the actual house you pick.

These six installations sit in six different housing areas, and the spread between them is large. Here are the 2026 with-dependents rates from the official DTMO BAH rate lookup.

2026 Basic Allowance for Housing, with dependents, at California's Air Force and Space Force installations. Source: DoD DTMO BAH rate lookup, rates effective January 1, 2026.

One detail worth knowing: the DTMO lookup still lists Vandenberg's rate area under its old name, "Vandenberg AFB." If you search for "Vandenberg SFB" and get nothing, that is why. Type the ZIP code instead.

Rates reset every January, so check your own pay grade and dependent status in the lookup before you build a budget. The numbers above are with dependents only, and the without-dependents rates run several hundred dollars lower at every one of these bases.

If you want a second set of eyes on the numbers before you commit to a neighborhood, you can talk with a California agent who has made this move. There is no cost and no obligation.

Rent or Buy in Six Very Different Markets

These are not one market. The high desert around Edwards, the farm towns around Beale, the Central Coast at Vandenberg, the Bay Area edge at Travis, the Inland Empire at March and coastal Los Angeles behave nothing alike. Advice that works at one of them can be wrong at another.

A few things hold everywhere in the state. California property taxes are based on purchase price rather than periodic reassessment, so two neighbors can pay very different amounts on similar homes. Homeowners insurance has gotten harder to place in wildfire-exposed areas, so get real quotes before you go under contract instead of after. Veterans who buy should also check the state's exemptions. Our guide to California veteran property tax exemptions walks through who qualifies.

Rent first if your tour is short, if you have not seen the commute in real traffic, or if you are arriving without time to inspect a home properly. Buy if you expect three years or more, you understand the insurance cost, and the payment still fits comfortably under your allowance with room for taxes and utilities. Your BAH is a ceiling, not a target.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Air Force bases are in California?

Three active-duty Air Force bases: Travis, Edwards and Beale. Add March Air Reserve Base and you get four Air Force installations. Two more, Vandenberg and Los Angeles, were Air Force bases and are Space Force installations today. Fresno Air National Guard Base and Channel Islands Air National Guard Station are Guard sites, not active-duty bases.

Is Vandenberg still an Air Force base?

No. Vandenberg Air Force Base became Vandenberg Space Force Base on May 14, 2021, and its host unit became Space Launch Delta 30. Air Force members still serve there. Older guides and the DTMO housing allowance lookup still use the "Vandenberg AFB" name for the location.

Which California Air Force base has the highest BAH?

Los Angeles AFB, by a clear margin. The 2026 with-dependents rate in the Los Angeles housing area is $3,882 for an E-5, $4,311 for an E-7 and $4,524 for an O-3. Edwards AFB, in the Palmdale housing area, is the lowest of the six.

What is the largest Air Force base in California?

Edwards Air Force Base, at 482 square miles. Vandenberg Space Force Base is the largest of the state's Space Force installations at more than 99,000 acres. Travis is the busiest by cargo and passenger volume.

Is March Air Reserve Base an active-duty base?

No. March became a Reserve installation on April 1, 1996, and is run by the 452nd Air Mobility Wing of Air Force Reserve Command. It has a real flying mission with C-17s and KC-135s, but its on-base services and housing options differ from an active-duty base.

Heidi Randles
Fontana, CA
Veteran
eXp Realty

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