Elizabethton, Tennessee Short-Term Rental Market
Elizabethton, TN STRs averaged $165/night at 49.6% occupancy in April 2026 with revenue up 2.3% year-over-year.
Quick Answer: Elizabethton, Tennessee is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 56%. average monthly revenue is $3,325. average daily rate is $218. the top operator is Evolve with 408 listings. market score is 73/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Tennessee Area regional market, which includes Elizabethton. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Elizabethton.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Elizabethton is a small Appalachian city in Carter County, northeastern Tennessee, with a population of 14,442. The area is marketed as Tennessee’s Mountain Playground and draws outdoor recreation visitors to Watauga Lake, the Doe and Watauga rivers, and surrounding Cherokee National Forest, along with Revolutionary War heritage travelers. The STR market is considerably larger than the city alone suggests, with approximately 12,510 active listings across the broader market area.
In April 2026, the market posted an average daily rate of $165 and occupancy of 49.6%, generating a RevPAR of $82. Year-over-year, April 2026 showed modest but positive momentum: occupancy increased 0.9%, ADR rose 0.6%, and revenue grew 2.3% compared to April 2025. The 2025 full-year average occupancy was 49.4% at an ADR of $175 and monthly revenue of $2,466, both stable versus 2024 averages of 49.2% occupancy, $174 ADR, and $2,429 monthly revenue.
The listing mix is heavily entire-place focused. Of the 12,510 active listings, 11,881 are entire-place (95%), 612 are private rooms, and 17 are shared rooms. By bedroom count, 1-bedroom properties are the most common at 4,078 listings, followed by 2-bedroom (3,352), 3-bedroom (3,027), 4-bedroom (1,217), and 5-bedroom (807) units. Channel distribution shows balanced multi-platform presence: 5,688 listings are Airbnb-only, 5,652 appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, and 1,170 are VRBO-only. The overall market score is 73.12, with investability the strongest dimension at 92.79.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35% | $132 | $1,477 |
| Feb | 45% | $130 | $1,462 |
| Mar | 53% | $147 | $2,014 |
| Apr | 49% | $152 | $2,015 |
| May | 52% | $169 | $2,243 |
| Jun | 59% | $203 | $3,156 |
| Jul | 61% | $204 | $3,446 |
| Aug | 51% | $189 | $2,654 |
| Sep | 46% | $171 | $2,178 |
| Oct | 53% | $164 | $2,461 |
| Nov | 47% | $159 | $2,040 |
| Dec | 45% | $157 | $2,042 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Elizabethton
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 408 | 14,027 | ★ 4.73 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 106 | 2,376 | ★ 4.59 |
| 3 | Byers & Harvey | 74 | 2,303 | ★ 4.85 |
| 4 | RedAwning | 64 | 848 | ★ 4.62 |
| 5 | RETREAT VACATIONS | 62 | 3,050 | ★ 4.82 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Elizabethton?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 4,078 |
| 2 bed | 3,352 |
| 3 bed | 3,027 |
| 4 bed | 1,217 |
| 5 bed | 807 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $222 |
| Luxury | $371 |
| Professionally Managed | $285 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,057 |
| Entire Place | $3,411 |
| House | $3,732 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 45.5% |
| vrbo | 9.4% |
| both | 45.2% |
Investment Analysis
Elizabethton scores 92.79 on investability, the highest single-dimension score for this market, with rental demand at 67.92, regulation at 67.57, and revenue growth at 57.98. The stable year-over-year trajectory in 2025 and the positive April 2026 data suggest a market that is holding its position rather than declining.
In April 2026, the average listing generated $2,239 in monthly revenue. Entire-place listings averaged $2,291 and houses specifically averaged $2,408. Apartment-type units averaged $1,806. Annualized from the April figure, the market average projects to approximately $26,900 in gross annual revenue. Using the 2025 full-year annual average of $2,466 per month, the annualized figure is approximately $29,600.
No housing price data was available in the current snapshot for this market area, so a gross yield calculation cannot be computed. Investors should source property valuations independently. Carter County direct visitor spending reached roughly $56.8 million in 2023, and hotel and motel tax revenue grew approximately 161% from 2019 to 2023, indicating meaningful tourism growth that supports the underlying demand base for STRs.
ADR differences across tiers are notable. Luxury-tier properties averaged $279 per night in April versus the market-wide average of $165, a 69% premium. Professionally managed properties averaged $203 per night, a 23% premium over the overall market. Entire-home listings averaged $168 per night, only slightly above the market average, suggesting most inventory is already in the entire-home category.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Guests in Elizabethton book an average of 42.16 days in advance, roughly six weeks out. This reflects a regional drive-market visitor profile: outdoor recreationists, history travelers, and Appalachian adventure visitors who plan ahead for peak summer weeks but book on shorter notice for shoulder and winter visits.
Average length of stay is 3.96 nights, just under four nights. This is slightly shorter than the national STR average and suggests a mix of long-weekend outdoor escape visits (3-4 nights) rather than full-week vacations, which is consistent with the regional drive-market audience. October foliage visits may skew toward slightly shorter stays as well.
For operators, the 42-day booking window means pricing should be actively set by late May for June and July peak dates. Properties in river corridor or lakefront locations may benefit from locking in minimum-night requirements for summer weekends earlier in the year. The nearly 4-night average stay provides reasonable revenue per turnover cycle while keeping nightly rate competitive with nearby destination markets like Johnson City.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Elizabethton does not have a city-specific short-term rental ordinance. Research of the city’s Municipal Code Title 14 (Planning and Zoning) found no dedicated STR permit program, owner-occupancy requirement, nightly cap, or density limit. There is no permit required to list a property on Airbnb or VRBO in Elizabethton. No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies.
STRs in Elizabethton operate under Tennessee’s statewide framework: the Short-Term Rental Unit Act (Public Chapter 972, 2018) allows municipalities to create reasonable permit processes and protects operators who were renting before any new local rules, but Elizabethton has not adopted a local program under this authority.
The primary compliance obligation is tax. Elizabethton levies a 5.0% hotel-motel (occupancy) tax on overnight stays, as published on the city’s official finance and rates page. In addition, Tennessee state sales tax of 7% applies to accommodation rentals. Tennessee capped cumulative local occupancy taxes at 8% in incorporated areas effective May 5, 2025; Elizabethton’s 5% city rate remains within that ceiling. Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit applicable state and local taxes automatically for marketplace bookings in Tennessee. A Tennessee business tax or license registration may also apply based on gross receipts.
Enforcement is minimal, handled through general code, zoning, and tax compliance rather than an STR-specific registry. Carter County hotel and motel tax revenue grew approximately 161% from 2019 to 2023, which could prompt future local rulemaking. Investors should confirm current requirements with the Elizabethton Planning Department and the Carter County Clerk before operating.
Market Comparison
Elizabethton’s April 2026 ADR of $165 sits below the national STR median of approximately $220, consistent with the inland Appalachian positioning and the moderate average property size. Occupancy of 49.6% trails the U.S. STR median of approximately 55%, though the year-over-year trend is positive with revenue growing 2.3% in April 2026.
The management landscape is led by national platform operators. Evolve dominates with 408 listings and 14,027 reviews at a 4.73 rating, the largest single-operator presence in this market. Vacasa holds second with 106 listings at a 4.59 rating. Byers and Harvey manages 74 listings with the highest rating among the top five at 4.85. RedAwning operates 64 listings (4.62 rating), and RETREAT VACATIONS rounds out the top five with 62 listings at a 4.82 rating. Together these five operators manage 714 listings, approximately 6% of the 12,510-listing market, making this a highly fragmented, independently operated market overall.
Elizabethton sits within the broader northeastern Tennessee Appalachian STR corridor that includes Johnson City and Kingsport, and the large listing count relative to city population confirms that the measured market area extends well into the surrounding mountain recreation zones. The investability score of 92.79 places this market near the top for the Appalachian region by that measure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Elizabethton, Tennessee
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