How Much STR Revenue Do You Need to Cover Your Mortgage A Market-by-Market Analysis

Gulf Shores, Alabama hosts earn an average of $5,051 per month in gross STR revenue, according to StaySTRA data for the 12 months ending February 2026. The median STR-appropriate property in Gulf Shores sells for $477,000. With 20% down and a 7.5% DSCR rate on a 30-year loan, that is a $2,673 monthly principal-and-interest payment. The revenue covers it by 1.89 times over. That is the math every first-time STR buyer is really asking about, and the good news is that in most markets under $600,000, it works.

I have been running numbers for 40 years, first as a government statistician and now as a market researcher, and I can tell you this is one of the most common questions we hear from STR buyers in 2026: can Airbnb income actually cover what I owe the bank each month? The short answer is yes, in the right markets. But the longer answer has some important texture to it, and that texture is where most first-time investors either find confidence or discover they need a different plan.

This analysis covers 18 U.S. STR markets at various price points using StaySTRA revenue data, actual median sale prices from our housing database, and standard DSCR loan parameters. Every number you see here comes from one of those two sources or from the DSCR payment calculation shown below. No guesses, no estimates.

The DSCR Payment Math, Explained Simply

Think of DSCR coverage like a seesaw. On one side sits your monthly rental income. On the other side sits your monthly mortgage payment. When the income side is heavier, the deal works. When the payment side is heavier, the property requires you to supplement from other income. The ratio between the two is called the Debt Service Coverage Ratio, and it is the single most important number in STR investing.

DSCR lenders do not look at your salary or your W-2. They look at the property’s income. If the property generates enough rent to cover the payment at a 1.0 ratio or better, you can qualify. Most lenders prefer 1.25 or higher. Here is how the monthly principal-and-interest payment works at four common loan amounts, calculated at 7.5% for 30 years:

• $300,000 loan (e.g., a $375K home with 20% down): $2,097 per month
• $400,000 loan (e.g., a $500K home with 20% down): $2,796 per month
• $500,000 loan (e.g., a $625K home with 20% down): $3,495 per month
• $600,000 loan (e.g., a $750K home with 20% down): $4,195 per month

Don’t let those numbers scare you. In many of the markets below, STR revenue exceeds these thresholds with significant room to spare. The question is whether your target market is one of them, and at what home price that holds true.

For more on how DSCR financing works and what lenders actually require, see our guide on how to finance a short-term rental.

Revenue vs. DSCR Payment: 18 Markets Analyzed

The table below shows StaySTRA’s average monthly gross revenue for 18 active STR markets, paired with median sale prices from our housing database. All DSCR payments assume 20% down and a 7.5% rate on a 30-year loan. The coverage ratio is gross monthly revenue divided by the monthly principal-and-interest payment.

Source: StaySTRA database, 12-month average ending February 2026. Loan payments calculated at 7.5% for 30 years with 20% down. Revenue figures are market-wide averages for all active STR listings.

What These Numbers Actually Mean for a First-Time Buyer

Thirteen of the 18 markets in this table generate gross monthly revenue that exceeds the DSCR payment. Five of them clear it by better than 1.9 times. That is a meaningful cushion, and it is why STR investing has drawn so many buyers from conventional real estate over the past several years.

But here is the part that trips people up, and I want to be clear about it: gross revenue is not what you keep. Think of it like a paycheck before withholding. The number on the stub looks great until you account for everything that comes out before it hits your bank account.

STR operators typically spend roughly 25% of gross revenue on direct operating costs:

• Platform fees (Airbnb, Vrbo): approximately 15% of gross bookings
• Occupancy taxes: approximately 3%, depending on the market
• Cleaning and maintenance: 5 to 7%, depending on turnover rate and property size

After those deductions, your net operating income is closer to 75% of the gross figures above. That is the number that actually has to cover your mortgage. The table below shows how the math changes when you apply that real-world net figure.

Net Coverage After Expenses: The Number That Really Matters

Source: StaySTRA database. Net income calculated at 75% of gross revenue (reflecting platform fees, occupancy taxes, and estimated cleaning and maintenance costs). These are market averages; individual property performance will vary.

Why the Lower-Price Markets Win on Coverage

Look at Bradenton, Savannah, and New Orleans in that second table. Each generates over $1,400 in monthly surplus after the mortgage and operating expenses. And they do it at entry prices under $340,000, which means the required down payment is $66,000 to $68,000. That is an accessible threshold for a first STR purchase compared to the six-figure down payments required in premium markets.

The pattern I see consistently in market data is that the strongest coverage ratios come from markets with modest entry prices and year-round demand drivers. Bradenton has beach access, Sarasota arts tourism, and Tampa airport proximity. Savannah draws visitors in every season with its historic squares, restaurants, and festivals. New Orleans has conventions, music, and food culture that keep occupancy moving even in the traditionally slower months. None of these cities carries the prestige of a Park City or a Sedona, but the financial performance at the typical entry price is far stronger for a first-time buyer.

Charleston, SC stands out at the mid-price tier. At a $578,000 median sale price, it generates $7,070 per month in gross revenue and $5,303 net, for a monthly surplus of over $2,000 after all costs. That combination of high demand and manageable entry price makes it one of the best coverage stories in this entire data set, particularly for a buyer who wants a more established coastal city.

The Seasonal Variance Problem

A word of caution, and I say this as someone who has spent a career watching where surprises hide in the data: the averages above are full-year averages. Every individual month does not look like that.

Gulf Shores averages $5,051 per month across the full year, but that average includes a July that might generate $9,000 and a February that might bring in $1,800. For a buyer planning on revenue to cover the mortgage in every calendar month, seasonal concentration is a real planning risk. The occupancy rates in the first table give you a rough read on how concentrated the demand is:

• Markets with occupancy above 46% tend toward more consistent year-round bookings: Charleston (55.2%), Bradenton (47.8%), Nashville (46.3%), Savannah (48.4%), Key West (49.8%).
• More seasonal markets, like South Lake Tahoe (37.8%), Park City (32.6%), and Orange Beach (38.3%), have sharp peaks in summer or ski season and quiet periods that pull monthly revenue well below the annual average.

This does not make seasonal markets bad investments. It means you should plan to hold six months of DSCR payment in cash reserves before you close, so you are not relying on a December in Destin to cover your February mortgage. Most experienced STR investors do this automatically. First-time buyers often discover the need for it after the fact.

When Revenue Alone Is Not Enough: Lessons from Premium Markets

Park City is a useful case study in why revenue alone is not the whole story. With $6,181 per month in average gross revenue, it actually earns more than Nashville ($4,759) or Savannah ($4,418). But the median sale price is $1,656,000. At 20% down, the loan is $1.325 million and the monthly DSCR payment is $9,270. Even strong revenue covers less than 70% of that payment at current prices.

Park City is an excellent long-term wealth-building market for buyers who bring significant equity or have other income to carry part of the payment. But it does not work as a self-financing DSCR deal at today’s market price. That is not a knock on Park City; it is a fact about the math at this particular price-to-revenue ratio.

Sedona and Scottsdale land in a middle zone that deserves honest attention. Both generate strong gross revenue, but the luxury home prices in those Arizona markets push loan payments close to or past the net income line. In Sedona, average net income after expenses covers 96 cents of every dollar owed each month. In Scottsdale, 91 cents. Both are essentially break-even on net in an average month, with no cushion for a slow quarter or a big HVAC repair. Buyers pursuing these markets should plan to put more down or supplement from other income sources during slower periods.

For more context on evaluating whether STR ownership makes sense for your situation, see our analysis of real investor returns in 2026. And when you are ready to look at the purchase process itself, our complete guide to buying an Airbnb property walks through every step from market selection to close.

How to Run This Math for Your Specific Target

The numbers in both tables are market-wide averages across all active STR listings. Your specific property will perform differently based on bedroom count, location within the market, amenities, and how well you manage pricing. Market averages are a starting point, not a guarantee.

The practical next step is to stress-test the averages in two directions. First, use the P25 revenue figure (the 25th percentile, meaning 75% of properties outperform it) as your conservative case. If the conservative case still covers your payment, you have real cushion. Second, make sure you could carry the full DSCR payment for three to six months with no STR income at all. That is your true downside test.

The StaySTRA Analyzer lets you plug in a specific address or market and see projected revenue at the property level, not just the market average. The Airbnb revenue calculator lets you model different occupancy and ADR scenarios against your specific loan payment. Both are useful tools for turning the market averages above into a number that applies to the property you are actually considering.

One more thing worth noting before you run these numbers: the DSCR payments in this analysis cover principal and interest only. Your total monthly obligation will also include property taxes and insurance, both of which vary significantly by location. Florida and Alabama coastal markets carry higher insurance costs than inland markets, and property taxes vary by county. Add those figures to the payment before deciding whether your coverage ratio works.

The Short Version for Busy Buyers

When I sat down at my desk in Santa Fe with the full data set for this piece, I made a simple tally first: how many of these markets have enough average revenue to cover the payment and still leave something over after expenses? The answer was nine out of 18 on net. That is exactly half. The other nine either just barely clear or do not clear at all after you account for operating costs.

What that tells me is that the market selection decision matters enormously. Two buyers at the same price point, one in Bradenton and one in Scottsdale, will have very different experiences of whether their STR pays the mortgage. Same loan size, same interest rate, completely different financial outcomes because of where the property sits.

The markets that work best in 2026 share a common profile: year-round demand from multiple visitor types, entry prices that leave room for a reasonable loan amount, and enough listing depth that averages are reliable. Those markets exist across Florida, the South, and the mid-Atlantic. They are not secret. They are just undersold compared to the ski towns and desert resorts that get more attention.

If the math in your target market does not clear 1.25x net coverage, that is not necessarily a reason to walk away. It is a reason to either negotiate harder on price, put more equity in, or accept that you are investing for appreciation and long-term income rather than immediate cash flow coverage. Both are valid strategies as long as you go in with clear eyes about which one you are pursuing.

We do our best to keep our data accurate and up to date, but markets move fast and we are only human. Always verify current figures directly with local sources before making investment decisions.