Joshua Tree, California Short-Term Rental Market
Joshua Tree STRs averaged $341 per night at 63.1% occupancy in April 2026 across approximately 3,990 active listings.
Quick Answer: Joshua Tree, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 63%. average monthly revenue is $5,826. average daily rate is $341. the top operator is The Cohost Company with 176 listings. market score is 91/100 (grade A).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Joshua Tree is a high-performing desert destination STR market driven almost entirely by proximity to Joshua Tree National Park, which recorded 2,991,874 visitors in 2024. The permanent population of the town is approximately 6,489, making the visitor-to-resident ratio exceptionally high. The STR market has approximately 3,987 active listings in the latest snapshot, with 3,885 (97.4%) being entire-place units. Private rooms account for just 105 listings.
Bedroom distribution skews toward 1- and 2-bedroom properties, consistent with the desert cabin and retreat aesthetic: 1-bedroom units lead at 907 listings, followed by 2-bedroom at 1,311, 3-bedroom at 1,173, 4-bedroom at 441, and 5-bedroom at 155.
In April 2026, which falls in the market’s spring peak season, occupancy was 63.1%, the average daily rate was $340.96, and average monthly revenue was $5,826. RevPAR stood at $215.18. Year-over-year, occupancy was essentially flat (+0.19 percentage points) and revenue increased 0.5%, while ADR declined 3.5%. Channel distribution shows Airbnb dominance: 1,723 listings are Airbnb-only, 2,053 appear on both platforms, and 217 are Vrbo-only. The market’s overall score is 91.1 out of 100, with an investability sub-score of 96.3.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 52% | $241 | $3,511 |
| Feb | 59% | $253 | $3,762 |
| Mar | 66% | $269 | $5,032 |
| Apr | 67% | $279 | $4,915 |
| May | 52% | $260 | $3,650 |
| Jun | 48% | $245 | $3,314 |
| Jul | 48% | $230 | $3,118 |
| Aug | 50% | $229 | $3,060 |
| Sep | 47% | $237 | $2,928 |
| Oct | 52% | $249 | $3,494 |
| Nov | 57% | $260 | $3,940 |
| Dec | 56% | $267 | $4,091 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Joshua Tree
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cohost Company | 176 | 22,718 | ★ 4.88 |
| 2 | Homestead Modern | 80 | 10,926 | ★ 4.87 |
| 3 | Hi-Desert Dwellings | 78 | 16,355 | ★ 4.89 |
| 4 | Fieldtrip | 63 | 5,323 | ★ 4.90 |
| 5 | Cocoon | 50 | 10,107 | ★ 4.93 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Joshua Tree?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 907 |
| 2 bed | 1,311 |
| 3 bed | 1,173 |
| 4 bed | 441 |
| 5 bed | 155 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Professionally Managed | $466 |
| Entire Home | $346 |
| Luxury | $589 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Entire Place | $5,922 |
| Apartment | $2,079 |
| House | $5,953 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 43.2% |
| vrbo | 5.4% |
| both | 51.4% |
Investment Analysis
Joshua Tree is one of the strongest-performing STR markets in California by gross yield. At a typical home value of $345,770 and using the 2025 annual average revenue of $4,431 per month, the annualized revenue of $53,172 implies a gross yield of approximately 15.4%. That figure does not account for operating expenses, the $1,144 annual permit fee, vacancy, or management costs; actual net yields will be substantially lower.
April 2026, being the spring peak month, produced $5,826 in average monthly revenue. Applying that single month annualized would imply $69,917, a misleading figure for underwriting purposes. The 2025 annual average of $4,431 is more representative.
By listing type, houses averaged $5,953 per month in April 2026 and entire-place listings $5,922, while apartment-style units averaged $2,079. The apartment category is a very small fraction of supply. Luxury ADR reached $588.52 versus $340.96 for the market average. Professionally managed listings averaged $466.05, a 36.7% premium over the all-listings ADR, the largest PM premium among the markets in this analysis and a signal that professional curation and positioning drives meaningful rate upside in Joshua Tree.
The housing market shows only 183 homes for sale, indicating extremely limited supply. The median list price was $489,333 in April 2026; no median sale price data was available for this period. The investability score of 96.3 is the second-highest possible in this scoring model.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Joshua Tree guests book an average of 53 days in advance (53.11-day lead time) and stay an average of 2.93 nights. The 53-day lead time is one of the longer booking windows for a domestic leisure market, reflecting the destination’s strong demand and the planning behavior of visitors securing spring-peak and fall-peak availability well in advance.
The 2.93-night average stay is consistent with weekend trips from Los Angeles (roughly a 2-hour drive). High turnover frequency is a key operational consideration. With typical cleaning costs and a short average stay, operators who optimize cleaning efficiency and pricing around minimum-stay requirements tend to outperform. Operators should focus pricing attention on the 30-to-60-day booking window for spring peak weekends, where late-booking demand remains strong at elevated rates.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Joshua Tree is an unincorporated community in San Bernardino County. All STR regulation flows from county ordinance rather than a city government. STRs are legal and require a mandatory county Short-Term Rental Permit before advertising or operating.
As of July 1, 2025, the new application fee is $1,144 (application $600, permit $285, neighbor notification $259). Annual renewal without changes costs $550. Processing typically takes 6 to 12 weeks, including a physical property inspection. Permits are valid for one year, must be renewed annually with re-inspection, and are non-transferable when a property sells.
Guests pay a combined 9% in local taxes: 7% Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) plus a 2% Tourism Business Improvement District assessment, both remitted to the county. Note: Measure K, which would have raised the TOT from 7% to 11%, was defeated by voters in November 2024 (56.8% no). No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies.
Occupancy limits: 4 guests for a studio or 1-bedroom, plus 2 per additional bedroom, capped at 12 total. Quiet hours run 10 PM to 7 AM; on-street parking is prohibited. Operators must post the permit and a Good Neighbor brochure visibly inside the unit and display the permit number on listing platforms. Liability insurance of at least $500,000 per occurrence is required.
Parcel density cap: maximum 1 STR permit on parcels under 2 acres, maximum 2 on parcels 2 acres or larger. Per-owner cap: maximum 2 permits per individual, corporation, trust, LLC, or LLP. Enforcement is strict; fines escalate from $1,000 (first violation), $2,000 (second), to $5,000 (third), with possible permit revocation.
Market Comparison
Joshua Tree’s April 2026 ADR of $340.96 is well above the US national STR median of approximately $220, and its 63.1% occupancy during the spring peak significantly exceeds the national median of roughly 55%. The market’s 96.3 investability score places it among the highest-ranked STR markets nationally.
The operator landscape is dominated entirely by boutique specialists rather than national chains, with notably high guest-satisfaction ratings across all five top operators. The Cohost Company leads with 176 listings and a 4.88 average rating (22,718 reviews). Hi-Desert Dwellings manages 78 listings at 4.89 (16,355 reviews). Homestead Modern has 80 listings at 4.87 (10,926 reviews). Fieldtrip manages 63 listings at 4.90 (5,323 reviews), and Cocoon rounds out the top five with 50 listings at 4.93 (10,107 reviews).
All five top operators maintain average ratings above 4.86, which is unusually high at scale. The largest operator (Cohost Company) holds only 4.4% of the market’s estimated 3,987 listings, indicating a highly decentralized professional market. The high PM ADR premium (36.7% above market average) further signals that specialized local curation is rewarded in this market.
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