How Much Can You Make on Airbnb in 2026? Real Income Data by Market

Hosts in Key West, Florida earned a median $103,680 in annual gross revenue last year, according to StaySTRA data. In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, that number falls below $32,000. Both are beachfront markets. Both attract genuine leisure demand. The difference comes down to supply pressure, permitting constraints, and nightly rate dynamics that vary city by city.

After four decades working with data, first as a government statistician and later as a market researcher focused on real estate and short-term rentals, I have learned that the question “how much can you make on Airbnb?” never has one answer. It has several hundred, organized by market. This guide pulls together what StaySTRA data actually shows for 2026, broken down by market type, property size, and occupancy profile, so you can stop working from national averages and start projecting with real numbers.

If you want to go deeper on whether the underlying investment case makes sense right now, our companion piece Is Buying an Airbnb Still Worth It in 2026? covers that ground in full.

The Spread Is Wider Than Most Investors Expect

The national average for Airbnb host income is a bit like the average temperature across the United States in October. Technically a real number, practically useless for anyone trying to decide what to wear. Markets at opposite ends of the revenue spectrum share almost nothing in common except the platform their guests book through.

StaySTRA tracks active STR data across 55 U.S. markets. When broken down by market category, median annual gross revenue looks like this:

Think of those medians the way you might think about the sticker price on a car. The number exists, and it gives you a starting point, but the actual transaction price depends on features, condition, and what other buyers are willing to pay in that specific lot at that specific time. The coastal median of $71,000 includes Key West at $103,680 and Myrtle Beach below $32,000 in the same bucket.

The methodology behind this analysis is drawn from StaySTRA’s tracked market database, and the detailed investment framework is covered in Short-Term Rental Investing in 2026: What the Numbers Actually Look Like.

Income by Market Type: Where the Money Is Actually Made

Mountain and Ski Markets: The Consistent Revenue Leaders

Mountain markets lead the revenue charts for a structural reason. High average daily rates combined with limited permit supply create conditions where well-positioned properties earn more per booked night, and competition stays constrained by zoning and permitting caps.

In Breckenridge, Colorado, StaySTRA data shows hosts averaging $87,000 annually, with an average daily rate of $486 and 53.5 percent annual occupancy. That ADR is more than twice what most urban markets produce per night. Park City, Utah sits higher still: $621 average daily rate, 45 percent average annual occupancy. Winter peaks in Park City push occupancy to 66 percent at approximately $812 per night, according to StaySTRA location data. The market-level annual gross runs approximately $94,000, with larger properties performing considerably above that figure.

The trade-off in mountain markets is revenue concentration. Think of it like a retail store that does 60 percent of its annual sales in a single quarter. Breckenridge and Park City generate the majority of their annual income between December and March. A soft January hurts. A January with a bad snow year or regional event cancellation hurts more. Investors in ski markets need operating reserves that coastal and urban investors may not require in the same way.

Coastal Markets: The Highest Ceiling and the Widest Floor

Coastal markets have the widest internal variance of any category in StaySTRA data. Key West, Florida is the clearest illustration of what a supply-constrained coastal market with high barriers to entry produces: $529 ADR, 59.3 percent annual occupancy, and $8,640 in average monthly revenue, which annualizes to approximately $103,680. Key West has a longtime moratorium on new STR licenses, which means the supply side cannot respond to demand the way it can in less regulated markets.

Don’t let the Myrtle Beach figure discourage you from coastal investing altogether. The gap between Key West and Myrtle Beach reflects a structural difference, not a demand problem. Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach together carry more than 26,000 active STR listings tracked by StaySTRA, supply that grew roughly 79 percent since 2021. When that many properties compete for the same summer demand pool, nightly rates fall and vacancies accumulate. The result is an ADR around $198 and annual gross revenue below $32,000 for a typical listing.

Miami offers a useful case study in urban coastal dynamics. Despite a healthy $325 ADR, Miami averages only 49 percent annual occupancy across 8,743 tracked listings, producing $3,148 per month in median revenue, or roughly $37,776 per year, according to StaySTRA data. High ADR, suppressed by low occupancy, lands in the middle of the range.

The data lesson from coastal markets: supply constraint predicts revenue more reliably than demand volume. A coastal market with hard limits on new permits will outperform one with unconstrained supply, even if the less regulated market draws more visitors overall.

Urban Markets: Stable Returns, Predictable Calendars

Urban markets tend to deliver the most consistent income profile of any STR category, even if not the highest absolute returns. Business travelers fill weeknights, event visitors fill weekends, and revenue distributes more evenly across the year than mountain or beach markets.

Nashville, Tennessee leads the urban category in StaySTRA data: $313 ADR, 59.7 percent annual occupancy, and $5,237 in average monthly revenue, for an annual gross of approximately $62,844. Nashville outperforms other urban markets because it has genuine year-round leisure demand from bachelorette tourism, live music visitors, and convention traffic, and because tiered permit rules have kept supply from expanding without constraint.

Scottsdale, Arizona runs at $273 ADR, 59.4 percent occupancy, and $4,642 average monthly revenue per StaySTRA data, for approximately $55,704 annually. Scottsdale operates opposite to northern markets seasonally: October through April are peak months, July and August are the slow stretch.

Austin, Texas tells a more cautionary story in the urban category. With more than 24,600 active listings tracked by StaySTRA, Austin has experienced real supply saturation. The result is $231 ADR and $3,825 in average monthly revenue, or approximately $45,900 annually. Austin hosts were earning measurably more in 2022 and 2023. The market is still functional, but the era of easy returns there is behind it.

Rural and Drive-To Markets: The Cabin Economy

Rural drive-to markets occupy an interesting middle position. They rarely produce the highest absolute returns, but their lower entry costs can generate competitive yields relative to purchase price.

Gatlinburg, Tennessee benefits from proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. StaySTRA data shows $319 ADR and 54.2 percent annual occupancy in a market with more than 23,000 active listings. Mid-range properties in the Gatlinburg corridor typically gross $60,000 to $65,000 annually, with top-tier cabin properties going considerably higher.

Blue Ridge, Georgia runs at a lower price point: $264 ADR, 40.6 percent average occupancy, and $3,097 in average monthly revenue, or roughly $37,164 annually, according to StaySTRA data. Blue Ridge rewards differentiation sharply. Properties with hot tubs, fire pits, and genuine mountain views command 15 to 25 percent ADR premiums and hold stronger occupancy. Generic listings in this market underperform the local average by a meaningful margin.

Income by Property Size: The Bedroom Count Difference

Stay with me here, because the bedroom count data is one of the most practically useful things in this entire article.

Property size has a nonlinear relationship with STR income in beach and mountain markets. Moving from one bedroom to two typically adds 30 to 50 percent in annual revenue. Moving from two bedrooms to four adds another 40 to 70 percent. The economics favor larger units because they tap into a different demand pool: group travel, family reunions, multi-couple vacation trips, and corporate retreats. Group travelers pay for the experience of shared space, not just for beds.

Think of the distinction this way. A one-bedroom unit is selling a night’s sleep with a kitchen. A four-bedroom cabin is selling a group experience with a mountain view, and group experiences command prices that are disproportionate to the square footage involved.

In coastal and mountain markets, StaySTRA data shows three-bedroom-plus properties generating 140 to 170 percent of the median annual gross revenue for their market category. A mountain market with a $64,000 median typically sees three-bedroom properties running $90,000 to $110,000, while one-bedrooms land in the $35,000 to $45,000 range.

The one-bedroom segment is not a poor investment category, it is a different investment category. Lower entry costs and simpler management make single-bedroom units attractive for first-time STR buyers, and a well-run one-bedroom in a tight market like Key West or Nashville can generate solid returns relative to acquisition cost. If maximizing annual gross revenue is the primary goal, however, the data consistently favors larger units in markets where group travel drives demand.

Seasonal Income Variation: When Your Market Makes Its Money

Understanding a market’s seasonal income pattern before you buy is as important as knowing its annual median. A market that earns 65 percent of its annual revenue in a single quarter requires a different financial plan than one that distributes income evenly across the calendar.

Park City, Utah runs at 66 percent occupancy in winter at approximately $812 per night. That same market drops below 40 percent occupancy in August, with ADR falling 30 to 40 percent. An investor who modeled mortgage coverage based on peak-month occupancy will face cash flow pressure in late summer. One who modeled the full annual distribution will have the reserves in place.

Breckenridge has a similar winter-dominant profile. December through March deliver the majority of annual revenue. The summer hiking and mountain biking season has grown in recent years, but the investment case still rests primarily on ski season performance.

Nashville distributes income more evenly. April and May peak with outdoor events and warm-weather visitors. October brings fall foliage traffic. CMA Music Festival in June and New Year’s Eve fill the gaps. No single month dominates, which is part of why Nashville holds above-average annual occupancy for an urban market.

Scottsdale operates in reverse of northern mountain markets. October through April are the high-occupancy months. July and August are soft, and hosts who haven’t accounted for that in their cash flow projections find the summer months stressful.

Key West sustains high occupancy across most of the calendar, with peaks in winter and an occasional slow week in late summer during tropical weather season. It is one of the more forgiving markets in the StaySTRA dataset for income consistency.

What Actually Separates High Earners From the Market Average

The same market produces sharply different incomes depending on how a property is managed. StaySTRA data shows that hosts running at 65 percent or higher annual occupancy earn roughly 40 percent more than the market average for their property type. Getting there requires several factors working together consistently.

Pricing discipline. Dynamic pricing is the single highest-leverage tool available to most hosts. Revenue lifts of 15 to 36 percent are documented for hosts who move from manual rate setting to professional dynamic pricing. Property management platforms that integrate dynamic pricing tools, including Guesty, automate rate updates in response to local demand signals, removing the need for daily manual rate adjustments during peak booking windows.

Listing quality compounds over time. Professional photography, detailed house manuals, and consistent five-star reviews produce ADR premiums of 10 to 20 percent over comparable properties with average listings. Those premiums build across 12 to 18 months of operating history and become durable advantages.

Amenity positioning matters differently by market. In rural and mountain markets, the right amenities move a listing into a different demand tier. A hot tub in Blue Ridge, Georgia can add substantially to annual revenue by qualifying the listing for group bookings that would not otherwise consider it. The amenity premium for hot tubs in mountain cabin markets is among the highest of any STR amenity category. In urban markets, fast Wi-Fi and a dedicated workspace matter more than leisure amenities. Match amenity investment to what your specific demand pool values.

Operating cost management is where net income is won or lost. Net income for self-managed hosts typically runs 55 to 65 percent of gross revenue, after platform fees (3 to 15 percent depending on service model), cleaning costs, utilities, routine maintenance, and consumables. Hosts using full-service property managers give up another 20 to 30 percent of gross, leaving 35 to 45 percent as net. Building a net income projection, not a gross revenue projection, into your purchase analysis is essential for accurate return modeling.

World Cup Host Cities: Does the 2026 Event Premium Hold?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup runs through June and July, with matches distributed across 11 U.S. host cities: Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City, Seattle, Boston, San Francisco, and Philadelphia.

Airbnb has projected $210 million in host earnings across World Cup markets during tournament weeks. StaySTRA data tracking advance booking patterns shows fill rates running 100 to 187 percent above normal baseline occupancy for World Cup match weeks in host city markets. Miami, which normally averages 49 percent annual occupancy, is tracking toward 90 to 95 percent fill rates for the heaviest tournament weekends.

For hosts who are already permitted and active in those 11 cities, June and July 2026 represent an above-average revenue event. A Miami host who would typically earn around $3,148 in an ordinary June stands to earn considerably more during a month where the local market is operating near capacity with premium pricing power.

The important caveat is that this is a discrete event, not a structural market improvement. An investor evaluating World Cup host cities primarily for the tournament premium should model the post-event baseline as their actual operating reality. Miami’s underlying metrics, $325 ADR and 49 percent occupancy at the market median, determine the long-term investment case. The World Cup provides one excellent revenue quarter. The other three determine whether the investment makes sense.

How to Project Your Own Income Using the Analyzer

The data in this article gives you benchmarks and medians by market category. What it cannot give you is a projection specific to a particular address, bedroom count, and target occupancy scenario in your target market. That requires market-level modeling applied to your specific situation.

The StaySTRA Analyzer builds that projection for you. Enter a property’s location and configuration, and it returns a revenue estimate using the same underlying market data that powers the benchmarks in this article. It is a more reliable starting point for purchase analysis than any national average or general category median.

For the markets mentioned here specifically, StaySTRA market data pages cover Miami, Nashville, Scottsdale, Austin, Gatlinburg, Key West, Breckenridge, Park City, and dozens of additional markets with current ADR, occupancy distributions, and seasonal revenue patterns. Use those alongside the analyzer to get both the market context and the property-level projection before running your purchase math.

The question “how much can you make on Airbnb?” has a real, data-backed answer. It just requires the right inputs for the right market. Run your numbers before you make an offer.

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.

Get a personalized income projection for your target market at the StaySTRA Analyzer.