Gold Bar, Washington Short-Term Rental Market
Gold Bar, WA STRs averaged $275/night at 40.9% occupancy in April 2026 across approximately 2,650 active listings.
Quick Answer: Gold Bar, Washington is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 60%. average monthly revenue is $6,388. average daily rate is $404. the top operator is Vacasa with 177 listings. market score is 57/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the Leavenworth/Cascade Mtns regional market, which includes Gold Bar. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Gold Bar.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Gold Bar, Washington sits in the Cascade foothills on US Route 2 in Snohomish County, drawing visitors primarily to Wallace Falls State Park and the broader Stevens Pass corridor. The short-term rental market here is large relative to the town’s population of 2,478, reflecting its role as a regional outdoor-recreation gateway rather than a standalone destination.
As of April 2026, the market recorded an average daily rate of $275.39 and occupancy of 40.9%, yielding a RevPAR of $112.73. Year-over-year, ADR improved by 7.1% but occupancy slipped 3.7%, producing a net revenue decline of 4.1% compared to the same month in 2025. In 2025 as a whole, operators averaged $340/night with 50.2% occupancy and roughly $4,843/month in revenue, compared to $324/night and 50.6% occupancy in 2024.
Listing type is heavily skewed toward entire-place rentals: approximately 2,545 entire-place listings against only 105 private-room listings. Bedroom distribution is fairly even across 1- and 2-bedroom units (767 and 794 listings respectively), with 3-bedroom (560), 4-bedroom (350), and 5-bedroom (176) completing the supply. On channel mix, 1,513 listings appear on both Airbnb and Vrbo, 893 on Airbnb only, and 244 on Vrbo only, indicating broad dual-platform distribution across most of the active supply.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41% | $290 | $3,380 |
| Feb | 43% | $275 | $3,056 |
| Mar | 37% | $243 | $2,595 |
| Apr | 46% | $250 | $2,890 |
| May | 48% | $290 | $3,335 |
| Jun | 60% | $336 | $5,169 |
| Jul | 70% | $344 | $6,383 |
| Aug | 71% | $341 | $6,491 |
| Sep | 50% | $295 | $3,967 |
| Oct | 41% | $277 | $3,262 |
| Nov | 41% | $275 | $3,023 |
| Dec | 61% | $333 | $5,258 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Gold Bar
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 177 | 15,010 | ★ 4.40 |
| 2 | Chelan Lookout Rentals | 155 | 3,534 | ★ 4.79 |
| 3 | Love Leavenworth Vacation Rentals | 142 | 20,892 | ★ 4.81 |
| 4 | Windermere Vacation Rentals Lake Chelan | 139 | 4,271 | ★ 4.52 |
| 5 | NW Comfy Cabins | 62 | 7,466 | ★ 4.81 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Gold Bar?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 767 |
| 2 bed | 794 |
| 3 bed | 560 |
| 4 bed | 350 |
| 5 bed | 176 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $412 |
| Luxury | $641 |
| Professionally Managed | $475 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $5,101 |
| Entire Place | $6,550 |
| House | $7,107 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 33.7% |
| vrbo | 9.2% |
| both | 57.1% |
Investment Analysis
Gold Bar’s investability score of 70.6 out of 100 and revenue-growth score of 73.1 reflect a market with meaningful upside potential, though investors should weigh the 2025-to-2026 occupancy softening. The April 2026 average monthly revenue of $2,871 across all listing types annualizes to approximately $34,454, providing a baseline for return modeling.
Property-type differentiation is notable. Houses generate the highest revenue at $3,305/month versus $2,911 for entire-place units overall and $1,937 for apartment-style rentals. The luxury tier commands an ADR of $450.49, versus $281 for standard entire-home listings, a premium of roughly 60%. Professionally managed properties average $314.41/night, about 14% above the market-wide ADR, suggesting professional management adds measurable rate uplift.
No housing price data is available for Gold Bar in this dataset, so an entry-cost or yield calculation cannot be stated. Prospective investors should source local comparable sales independently before modeling returns. The regulatory environment scored 72.2 out of 100, reflecting real barriers: Gold Bar requires a City Council-approved Conditional Use Permit plus an annual business license, enforces a 250-foot separation between STRs, and caps total STR density at 6% of permitted residential housing stock. These conditions limit new-entrant supply, which may support pricing for existing permitted operators over time.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Gold Bar guests book an average of 43.5 days in advance, and stays average 3.0 nights per booking. The 43-day lead window means operators benefit from pricing at least six weeks ahead of peak summer weekends and holiday ski-season dates in November and December.
The 3-night average stay is consistent with a weekend-plus-one-night pattern typical of outdoor-recreation markets. This relatively short stay translates to frequent turnover, which has both cost and revenue implications: cleaning and restocking costs stack up more quickly than in markets with longer stays, but operators can reprice frequently in response to demand signals. For peak summer weekends and holiday windows, applying minimum 2-night stays can help protect against single-night low-value bookings while the 3-night average shows most guests are willing to extend beyond a standard two-night minimum.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Gold Bar permits short-term rentals but imposes meaningful structural constraints. Operators must obtain both a city business license under Snohomish County Municipal Code Chapter 5.09 and a Conditional Use Permit approved by the City Council through a public hearing process. STR-specific standards are codified in Gold Bar Municipal Code Title 5.20 and Title 17, established by Ordinances 757 (2022) and 776 (2024).
Key operating conditions include: only one STR per parcel; a minimum 250-foot building-to-building separation between any two STRs; and a hard density cap preventing new STR approvals once STRs reach 6% of total permitted residential housing stock in residential zones. Permit costs are set by city resolution and are not published online. Prospective operators must contact City Hall at 107 Fifth Street for the current fee schedule.
No annual night cap and no explicit owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement appear in the available ordinance text. The city’s enforcement posture is rated moderate. Washington state lodging tax applies to short-term rentals; a specific Goldendale city hotel/motel surcharge rate was not confirmed in available data and should be verified directly with the city.
Market Comparison
Gold Bar’s April 2026 occupancy of 40.9% sits below the approximate US STR median of 55%, reflecting the town’s niche positioning as a secondary hiking and ski-corridor gateway rather than a top-tier resort destination. Its ADR of $275.39 exceeds the US STR median of roughly $220, supported by the region’s relative scarcity of hotel alternatives and the high-demand Wallace Falls and Stevens Pass corridor draws.
The management landscape is dominated by regional and national operators. Vacasa leads with 177 listings and 15,010 reviews (rating 4.40). Chelan Lookout Rentals holds 155 listings with a 4.79 rating across 3,534 reviews. Love Leavenworth Vacation Rentals manages 142 listings and has accumulated 20,892 reviews at 4.81, the highest volume in the market. Windermere Vacation Rentals Lake Chelan operates 139 listings. NW Comfy Cabins rounds out the top five with 62 listings and a 4.81 rating across 7,466 reviews. The top five collectively account for a substantial share of professionally managed inventory. The market’s revenue-growth score of 73.1 and investability score of 70.6 compare favorably against many comparable small Cascade-foothills markets.
Frequently Asked Questions About Gold Bar, Washington
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