Corpus Christi, Texas Short-Term Rental Market
Corpus Christi STRs posted a $281 average daily rate at 40.7% occupancy in April 2026 across approximately 9,386 active listings.
Quick Answer: Corpus Christi, Texas is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 41%. average monthly revenue is $3,252. average daily rate is $281. the top operator is Life In Paradise Vacation Rentals with 820 listings. market score is 68/100 (grade C).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Corpus Christi is one of the Texas Gulf Coast’s largest short-term rental markets, with roughly 9,386 active listings as of the latest snapshot. The market posted an average daily rate of $281 in April 2026, with occupancy at 40.7%, reflecting the expected shoulder-season dip following the spring break surge. RevPAR came in at $114 for the month.
Listing-type mix skews heavily toward entire-place rentals: 9,284 of the 9,386 active listings (98.9%) are entire-place properties, with 101 private rooms and 1 shared room. Bedroom distribution is spread across size tiers: 2-bedroom properties are most common at 2,675 listings, followed closely by 1-bedrooms (2,439), 3-bedrooms (2,383), 4-bedrooms (1,250), and 5-bedroom-plus units (614). This broad size range reflects the beach and bay destination nature of the market, where groups traveling together drive demand for larger properties.
Channel distribution shows a cross-platform presence: 6,174 listings appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, while 1,984 are Airbnb-only and 1,228 are VRBO-only. The dual-platform concentration signals that experienced operators in this market actively manage cross-channel visibility.
Year-over-year as of April 2026, occupancy improved 1.45 percentage points compared to April 2025. ADR slipped 0.9%, while revenue per active listing rose 8.81% year over year, suggesting more efficient monetization even as rate competition held ADR flat. Looking at annual averages, 2025 was the strongest year in the data set at $3,940 per month average revenue per listing, versus $3,695 in 2024 and $3,556 in 2023. The market’s total score in the dimension snapshot is 68.3 out of 100, with investability scoring notably higher at 82.9 and revenue growth leading all categories at 93.6.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35% | $191 | $1,780 |
| Feb | 51% | $209 | $2,233 |
| Mar | 54% | $292 | $3,752 |
| Apr | 42% | $270 | $3,019 |
| May | 49% | $317 | $4,016 |
| Jun | 68% | $369 | $6,517 |
| Jul | 70% | $362 | $6,885 |
| Aug | 48% | $331 | $4,588 |
| Sep | 38% | $273 | $2,875 |
| Oct | 38% | $243 | $2,526 |
| Nov | 35% | $225 | $2,103 |
| Dec | 32% | $222 | $1,939 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Corpus Christi
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Life In Paradise Vacation Rentals | 820 | 17,831 | ★ 4.63 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 616 | 29,795 | ★ 4.60 |
| 3 | Cinnamon Shore | 358 | 7,582 | ★ 4.71 |
| 4 | Padre Escapes | 337 | 16,532 | ★ 4.62 |
| 5 | Port A Escapes | 307 | 12,686 | ★ 4.60 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Corpus Christi?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 2,439 |
| 2 bed | 2,675 |
| 3 bed | 2,383 |
| 4 bed | 1,250 |
| 5 bed | 614 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $284 |
| Luxury | $452 |
| Professionally Managed | $339 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,604 |
| Entire Place | $3,273 |
| House | $3,930 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 21.1% |
| vrbo | 13.1% |
| both | 65.8% |
Investment Analysis
Corpus Christi’s investment case rests on a combination of low entry costs and strong summer revenue concentration. The typical home value in the market was $226,494 as of April 2026 (Zillow), well below coastal Texas peers. At the 2025 annual average revenue of $3,940 per month, the gross annualized revenue for an active listing runs approximately $47,280, implying a gross yield of roughly 20.9% against the typical home value. That figure assumes full-year active operation at 2025 average rates. Investors should model actual occupancy costs, including hotel occupancy tax at 15%, the annual permit at $250, platform fees, cleaning, and maintenance, against that top line.
Tier analysis in April 2026 shows a meaningful premium for professional management: the professionally managed tier averaged $339 per night versus $281 for all listings, a 20.6% premium. The luxury tier posted $452 per night. Entire-home ADR was $284, nearly in line with the market average, which reflects the overwhelming share of entire-place listings in the market.
The YoY revenue trend supports the investment thesis: revenue per listing grew 8.81% year over year in April 2026, and 2025 marked the strongest full-year performance in the data set. Housing market conditions as of April 2026 show a buyer-favorable environment: median days to pending was 42, the sale-to-list ratio was 0.905 (properties selling at 90.5 cents on the list dollar on average), and for-sale inventory stood at 2,004 units. These indicators give buyers negotiating room not present in tighter coastal markets. The investability dimension score of 82.9 out of 100 reflects these favorable entry economics.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Corpus Christi bookings arrive with a 39-day average lead time as of April 2026. That window gives operators roughly five to six weeks of forward visibility before arrival, which is meaningful for dynamic pricing but shorter than mountain or ski resort markets where advance booking windows often exceed 60 days. The practical implication: pricing adjustments made more than 45 days out have limited direct impact on confirmed bookings; the critical revenue window is the 2-6 week pre-arrival period where most bookings are made.
Average length of stay is 3.4 nights. That is consistent with a beach destination drawing weekend and extended-weekend travelers rather than long-term work or relocation stays. At 40.7% occupancy over a 30-day month, approximately 12 nights are booked per listing. At a 3.4-night average stay, that translates to roughly 3-4 turnovers per month under typical shoulder-season conditions. During peak July (69.8% occupancy), the turnover rate rises to approximately 6 per month, with corresponding increases in cleaning costs and operational overhead. Operators targeting lower-turnover revenue should consider minimum-stay requirements of 4-5 nights during peak summer months, when demand is strong enough to absorb that constraint, while relaxing minimums to 2-3 nights in shoulder and winter months to maintain occupancy.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Corpus Christi STRs are permitted under an ordinance adopted June 28, 2022. All operators must register annually through the city’s MUNIRevs portal at $250 per year (calendar-year permit, renewed each January). The permit fee increased from $50 at the 2022 launch to $250 in 2023 and remains at $250.
Two permit types govern the market. Type 1 applies to owner-occupied primary residences and is permitted citywide, except in single-family zoning districts within the Padre Island and Mustang Island Area Development Plan. Type 2 covers non-owner-occupied properties and is capped at 15% of the block face in single-family residential districts citywide; no cap applies in multi-family or commercial zones. Approximately 1,500 STRs operate in the Padre Island and Flour Bluff areas alone. There is no maximum annual night limit under either permit type.
Operators must display the permit number in all listings, submit a floor plan with sleeping areas and evacuation routes, maintain liability insurance, pass annual fire extinguisher inspections, and designate a 24-hour local contact.
Hotel occupancy tax totals 15%: 9% city local HOT plus 6% Texas state HOT on all STR revenue for stays under 30 consecutive days. As of April 1, 2025, Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit the 6% state HOT on behalf of hosts directly through platform agreements; individual operators remain ultimately responsible for the full 15% remittance. The city HOT is due by the 20th of the following month. Code enforcement has four dedicated officers. Violations carry fines up to $500. Enforcement severity is rated moderate.
Market Comparison
Against U.S. STR benchmarks, Corpus Christi’s April 2026 occupancy of 40.7% is below the national median of approximately 55% for comparable coastal beach markets, which is expected for a mid-spring shoulder month in a summer-peaked destination. The 2025 annual average occupancy of 47.2% positions the market slightly below the national median, while the 2025 annual average ADR of $283 is above the national STR median of roughly $220, reflecting the coastal vacation premium.
The total market score of 68.3 out of 100 reflects a market with strong revenue growth momentum (93.6) and investability (82.9) offset by moderate seasonality risk (43.4) and a regulation score of 66.2.
Among operators, Life In Paradise Vacation Rentals leads the Corpus Christi market with 820 listings and 17,831 reviews at a 4.63 average rating. Vacasa follows with 616 listings and 29,795 reviews at a 4.60 rating. Cinnamon Shore, focused on the Padre Island area, holds 358 listings and 7,582 reviews at a 4.71 rating. The top three operators collectively account for 1,794 listings, representing roughly 19.1% of the approximately 9,386 total active listings. More than 80% of listings are operated by individual hosts or smaller managers outside the top-5 platforms, making this a notably fragmented market.
Frequently Asked Questions About Corpus Christi, Texas
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