E-1 (buck private) in Marines makes $1245.90 per month

E-5 (Sargent) with 6 years in makes $2405.10 per month

E-6 (staff sargent) with 12 years – $3105.00 per month

O-1 (starting officer grade) – $2555.70 per month

O-3 (captain) with 4 years in $4545.60 per month

http://www.defenselink.mil/militarypay/pay/bp/paytables/2008%20Basic%20Pay%20Table%20_capped.pdf

If the Marine is living off base they get a food allowance – $202.76/month for officers and $294.43 for enlisted

The housing allowance varies by region and I didn’t find numbers for San Diego county

Perhaps the income numbers above aren’t so bad if your rent or mortgage is also paid by the military

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As far as the Marines supporting the local economy – talk to some business owners and/or landlords in Oceanside about their economy when the Marines are deployed