Alexandria, Minnesota Short-Term Rental Market
Alexandria, MN STRs averaged $184/night at 43.9% occupancy in April 2026, with a market investability score of 88.6 out of 100.
Quick Answer: Alexandria, Minnesota is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 44%. average monthly revenue is $2,119. average daily rate is $184. the top operator is Evolve with 337 listings. market score is 71/100 (grade B).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Alexandria, Minnesota sits in the heart of Minnesota’s lakes country, drawing visitors to more than 200 lakes across Douglas County. The short-term rental market here reflects that lakeside focus: entire-place listings dominate at 93% of the tracked inventory (9,675 of 10,408 listing observations), while private rooms account for roughly 7%. Two-bedroom properties represent the largest bedroom segment, followed closely by one-bedroom and three-bedroom units, with four- and five-bedroom lakefront homes rounding out the supply.
In April 2026, the most recent data month, Alexandria STRs posted an average daily rate of $184 and occupancy of 43.9%, yielding RevPAR of $81. Average monthly gross revenue for that month was $2,119 per listing. Occupancy rose 2.7 percentage points year over year, and ADR improved 6.2% compared to April 2025. Revenue for the month was 3.3% below the prior-year April figure, reflecting the mix of a modestly lower occupancy base versus the prior cycle’s post-pandemic surge period.
On a channel basis, a substantial share of listings (4,753) appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, indicating operators here maintain multi-channel distribution. Airbnb-only listings number 4,169 versus 1,486 VRBO-only, confirming Airbnb as the primary booking platform but VRBO as a meaningful secondary source given the property type mix.
The market’s composite investment score is 71.3 out of 100, with investability scoring particularly high at 88.6 and revenue growth at 80.6. Seasonality (58.4) and regulation (57.9) scores are mid-range, reflecting the pronounced summer peaks and the county’s licensing requirements. Rental demand scores 69.6.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40% | $180 | $2,076 |
| Feb | 45% | $181 | $2,063 |
| Mar | 46% | $171 | $2,213 |
| Apr | 47% | $158 | $1,915 |
| May | 55% | $190 | $2,257 |
| Jun | 66% | $247 | $3,902 |
| Jul | 71% | $255 | $4,769 |
| Aug | 66% | $251 | $4,457 |
| Sep | 50% | $214 | $2,966 |
| Oct | 50% | $196 | $2,740 |
| Nov | 41% | $164 | $1,983 |
| Dec | 47% | $180 | $2,161 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Alexandria
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 337 | 13,110 | ★ 4.77 |
| 2 | Cascade Vacation Rentals | 182 | 3,861 | ★ 4.76 |
| 3 | Heirloom | 112 | 7,458 | ★ 4.82 |
| 4 | Sota Lake Home Rentals | 61 | 1,310 | ★ 4.50 |
| 5 | Woods To Water Vacation Homes | 48 | 939 | ★ 4.95 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Alexandria?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 2,551 |
| 2 bed | 3,013 |
| 3 bed | 2,537 |
| 4 bed | 1,420 |
| 5 bed | 876 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $196 |
| Luxury | $376 |
| Professionally Managed | $222 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $1,923 |
| Entire Place | $2,228 |
| House | $2,221 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 40.1% |
| vrbo | 14.3% |
| both | 45.7% |
Investment Analysis
Alexandria’s STR economics offer a clear summer-driven income profile. The April 2026 all-listings average daily rate was $184, but that figure reflects the off-peak shoulder period. Entire-home ADR for April came in at $196, the professional management tier averaged $222, and the luxury tier reached $376.
Entry cost matters here: Zillow’s typical home value for the Alexandria market is $295,875, with active listings carrying a median list price of $336,100. Inventory is thin at 40 active homes for sale, and the median days-to-pending is 47, indicating a measured but not frenzied buying environment.
Using the 2025 full-year average monthly revenue of $3,335, annualized gross revenue is approximately $40,020 per listing. Against a $295,875 typical home value, that implies a gross yield of roughly 13.5% before expenses. Using only the April 2026 figure of $2,119 per month, annualized is $25,428, a gross yield of approximately 8.6% (April is a shoulder month and understates peak-season potential). Investors should model from the annual revenue series: 2025 was the strongest year on record in ADR ($241 annual average) and produced the highest average monthly revenue in the dataset at $3,335.
Revenue trended upward from $2,046 per month in 2017 to a peak in 2021 ($3,229 per month) driven by pandemic-era demand, dipped slightly through 2022 to 2024, then recovered to a new high in 2025. ADR has grown steadily from $170 in 2017 to $241 in 2025, demonstrating durable pricing power even as occupancy has moderated from its 2021 peak of 60.5%.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Alexandria STR bookings carry an average lead time of 43 days, meaning guests typically reserve just over six weeks before arrival. This reflects the market’s leisure-driven, weekend-and-week-stay demand pattern. Operators planning pricing adjustments should focus the 30-to-60-day window before arrival as the primary revenue management window: that is when the bulk of bookings are landing and rates can be adjusted to reflect remaining availability.
Average length of stay is 3.95 nights, just under four nights. This is longer than the national typical nightly stay of around two nights, consistent with a lakefront destination where guests are booking multi-night getaways rather than single-night lodging. Longer stays reduce turnover frequency, lowering cleaning cost per revenue dollar and reducing wear.
The combination of a 43-day lead time and near-four-night stays suggests a guest base that plans ahead for extended trips. Operators who price dynamically and open their calendars at least 60 to 90 days out will capture a larger share of that advance-booking window.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are permitted in Alexandria and Douglas County under an annual licensing regime administered by Horizon Environmental Health. Both the City of Alexandria (Ordinances 789 and 793) and the Douglas County Lodging Ordinance (adopted March 6, 2018) require a license for any private or vacation home rental. Licenses are non-transferable and run on a calendar-year basis (January 1 through December 31), with renewals due by December 1 each year. Properties applying on or after October 1 receive a pro-rated half-year fee.
The 2025 fee schedule is tiered by bedroom count: $300 for one- to two-bedroom properties, $400 for three-bedroom properties, and $500 for properties with four or more bedrooms. An additional $90 applies if the property uses a private well or septic system. Required documentation includes an aerial property image showing boundaries, parking, and utilities; a septic compliance certificate for private systems; and a current water test (coliform and nitrates) for private wells.
Occupancy is capped at three guests per bedroom, with a hard maximum of 12 overnight guests unless a conditional use permit is obtained. There is no maximum-nights-per-year limit, no owner-occupancy requirement, and no primary-residence restriction.
Tax obligations include Minnesota state sales tax (6.875%), Douglas County general sales tax (0.5%), and Alexandria’s 3% local lodging tax, for a combined effective rate of approximately 10.4%. Enforcement is classified as moderate. No ordinance amendments have been recorded in public documents since 2021 as of May 2026.
Market Comparison
Alexandria’s April 2026 occupancy of 43.9% sits below the U.S. STR median of approximately 55%, which is expected for a shoulder month in a seasonal lake market. July occupancy of 71.5% exceeds the national median by a significant margin, reflecting the intensity of summer lakefront demand. The all-listings ADR of $184 for April is below the U.S. median ADR of approximately $220, though July’s $255 ADR is above it.
The 2025 annual average ADR of $241 for Alexandria matches or slightly exceeds the national median, suggesting the market has priced to reflect its seasonal premium even when averaged across slower winter months.
On the operator landscape, Evolve leads Alexandria with 337 active listings and 13,110 reviews at a 4.77 average rating. Cascade Vacation Rentals holds 182 listings (4.76 rating), and Heirloom manages 112 with high review volume (7,458 reviews) and a 4.82 rating. Together, these three operators represent a significant share of professionally managed inventory and set the competitive benchmark for service standards and pricing. Sota Lake Home Rentals and Woods To Water Vacation Homes are smaller local operators with 61 and 48 listings respectively, with Woods To Water holding the highest average rating in the top five at 4.95.
Frequently Asked Questions About Alexandria, Minnesota
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