Kamas, Utah Short-Term Rental Market
Kamas, UT STRs averaged $210/night at 46.9% occupancy in April 2026, but new residential STRs are banned citywide.
Quick Answer: Kamas, Utah is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 56%. average monthly revenue is $3,975. average daily rate is $276. the top operator is Evolve with 341 listings. market score is 52/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Utah Area regional market, which includes Kamas. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Kamas.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Kamas is a small ranching and gateway town of roughly 2,145 residents in Summit County, Utah, sitting at the entrance to the Mirror Lake Highway and approximately 20 minutes from Park City. As of April 2026, the short-term rental market recorded an average daily rate of $210, occupancy of 46.9%, and RevPAR of $98. Average monthly revenue across all listing types reached $2,778.
The listing composition is dominated by entire-place rentals, which account for 7,561 of approximately 8,001 tracked listings. Private rooms total 431 units, with shared rooms negligible at 9. On the bedroom side, 1-bedroom properties are most common with 2,443 listings, followed by 3-bedroom (1,842), 2-bedroom (1,568), 5-bedroom (1,106), and 4-bedroom (1,017). The relatively high count of 5-bedroom properties reflects the large-group mountain home inventory common in the broader Wasatch Back region.
Channel distribution shows a dual-platform lean: 4,444 listings appear on both Airbnb and VRBO simultaneously, with 3,002 on Airbnb only and 555 on VRBO only.
Year-over-year as of April 2026, occupancy fell 1.1 percentage points while ADR rose 5.1%, and revenue declined 4.0%. These trends reflect broader post-pandemic normalization in the Wasatch Back market. The market holds a total score of 52.1 and an investability score of 70.7, reflecting high property values relative to rental income potential and the materially restrictive regulatory environment.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38% | $266 | $2,983 |
| Feb | 47% | $282 | $3,213 |
| Mar | 50% | $238 | $3,277 |
| Apr | 46% | $186 | $2,465 |
| May | 55% | $189 | $2,669 |
| Jun | 59% | $238 | $3,492 |
| Jul | 60% | $264 | $4,202 |
| Aug | 50% | $240 | $3,330 |
| Sep | 49% | $196 | $2,638 |
| Oct | 49% | $183 | $2,582 |
| Nov | 41% | $178 | $1,944 |
| Dec | 46% | $264 | $2,964 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Kamas
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 341 | 18,745 | ★ 4.75 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 163 | 4,223 | ★ 4.47 |
| 3 | Family Time Vacation Rentals | 124 | 3,957 | ★ 4.47 |
| 4 | Stay Midway | 97 | 845 | ★ 4.17 |
| 5 | Midway Vacation Properties | 87 | 2,019 | ★ 4.53 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Kamas?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 2,443 |
| 2 bed | 1,568 |
| 3 bed | 1,842 |
| 4 bed | 1,017 |
| 5 bed | 1,106 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $284 |
| Luxury | $537 |
| Professionally Managed | $371 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,563 |
| Entire Place | $4,089 |
| House | $4,760 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 37.5% |
| vrbo | 6.9% |
| both | 55.5% |
Investment Analysis
The investment picture in Kamas is dominated by one critical fact: the city effectively banned new short-term rentals in all residential zones in March 2025 via Ordinance 2025-04. New STR registrations are not accepted for residential dwellings. Only operators who registered before April 10, 2025 can continue legally. Investors looking at Kamas residential properties should not assume STR operation is possible without first verifying whether a specific property holds a grandfathered registration.
Setting regulatory constraints aside, the financial profile reflects a high-cost market. The typical Kamas home value is approximately $1.2 million, with active listings at a median list price of $1,464,150. At average monthly revenue of $2,778, projected annual gross revenue is approximately $33,340, implying a gross yield of roughly 2.8% against the typical home value. This is below typical STR return thresholds for most investors, and is consistent with a high-appreciation luxury mountain market where capital gains have historically been the primary return driver rather than current income.
For the limited pool of grandfathered properties, tier differentiation is substantial. Entire-home listings averaged $2,847 per month and houses averaged $3,285, compared to $1,749 for apartment-style units. The professionally managed tier averaged $277 in ADR versus the all-listings average of $210. Luxury-tier ADR reached $422, reflecting the Park City adjacency premium. Annual average revenue has grown from $2,103 in 2017 to $3,361 in 2025, with ADR rising from $194 to $258 over the same period.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Kamas guests book an average of 51 days in advance as of April 2026, the longest lead time of any of the five markets covered, and the average length of stay is 3.1 nights. The 51-day lead time reflects the planning behavior of travelers booking Park City-adjacent ski trips and Uinta Mountain summer adventures, both of which require advance logistics. This gives operators approximately seven weeks of forward booking visibility at any given time.
The 3.1-night average stay is moderate, shorter than rural recreation markets with multi-day fishing or camping itineraries. Mountain gateway visitors often structure 3- to 4-night trips around a primary activity like skiing or a specific trailhead. Hosts who set minimum stays in the 2- to 3-night range for shoulder periods and 3- to 4-night minimums for peak weekends are well aligned with actual guest behavior. The longer lead time also means that dynamic pricing should be applied at least 6 to 8 weeks ahead of target dates to capture demand before the booking window closes.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Kamas effectively prohibits new short-term rentals in residential zones. On March 11, 2025, the City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-04, adding Section 15.39 to the municipal code and placing a moratorium on new STR registrations. Short-term rentals (defined as stays under 30 consecutive days) were already excluded from the city’s permitted-use table for residential zones and had never appeared as an allowed use. The ordinance codified this prohibition and imposed a $500 fine per violation, with each continued rental potentially treated as a separate offense.
Grandfathered operators, meaning those who had been operating and who registered with the city by April 10, 2025 and obtained a Kamas business license, may continue legally. No new registrations are accepted. The High Star Ranch development operates under a separate development agreement with the city and is exempt from the residential ban.
On the tax side, Kamas guests pay a combined transient room tax of approximately 5.07%, which includes the Utah state transient room tax plus the 1% municipal transient room tax adopted simultaneously with Ordinance 2025-04. General sales tax also applies to lodging. Enforcement is complaint-driven and is aided by Utah HB256 (effective May 2025), which allows online listing evidence for enforcement actions.
Bottom line for an investor: new STR operation in a Kamas residential property is prohibited and actively enforced. Verify whether any specific property holds a grandfathered registration before proceeding.
Market Comparison
Kamas’s April 2026 occupancy of 46.9% is below the U.S. STR median of approximately 55%, reflecting both the shoulder-season April timing and post-2021 normalization. The ADR of $210 is close to the national median of roughly $220, appropriate for a Wasatch Back mountain market with Park City proximity and high-end inventory.
The operator landscape is anchored by Evolve, which holds 341 listings and a 4.75-star average across 18,745 reviews, by far the largest operator presence. Vacasa is second with 163 listings and a 4.47 average rating. Family Time Vacation Rentals holds 124 listings at a 4.47 average. Stay Midway (97 listings, 4.17 average) and Midway Vacation Properties (87 listings, 4.53 average) round out the top five. The top five managers collectively operate 812 listings, representing roughly 10% of the 8,001-plus tracked market, a higher professional management concentration than some comparable mountain markets.
The total market score of 52.1 and revenue growth score of 52.7 are below median, reflecting the combination of high entry costs and constrained new-supply growth driven by the STR ban. The investability score of 70.7 accounts for this regulatory constraint. Investors considering the broader Park City and Wasatch Back region should evaluate nearby markets such as Midway or Coalville where regulatory conditions differ.
Frequently Asked Questions About Kamas, Utah
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