Higden, Arkansas Short-Term Rental Market
Higden, AR STRs averaged $159/night at 44.0% occupancy in April 2026, with a top investability score of 96.5 on Greers Ferry Lake.
Quick Answer: Higden, Arkansas is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Arkansas Area market area is 55%. average monthly revenue in the Arkansas Area market area is $2,842. average daily rate in the Arkansas Area market area is $186. the top operator in the Arkansas Area market area is Evolve with 434 listings. market score is 85/100 (grade A).
Market data reflects the Arkansas Area regional market, which includes Higden. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Higden.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Higden is a small lakeside town of approximately 114 residents in Cleburne County, Arkansas, situated on Greers Ferry Lake, a 40,000-acre Corps of Engineers reservoir. The local economy is driven almost entirely by lake tourism and waterfront second-home rentals. Greers Ferry Lake draws an estimated several million visitors annually lake-wide for boating, swimming, camping, and watersports, while the Little Red River below Greers Ferry Dam offers some of Arkansas’s best cold-water rainbow and brown trout fishing.
In April 2026, the market posted a 44.0% occupancy rate and a $159 average daily rate, generating an average monthly revenue of $1,961 per active listing. Revenue was up 4.6% year-over-year and occupancy gained 5.1 percentage points, while ADR declined 1.8% year-over-year.
Entire-place listings dominate at 6,660 units (96.8% of the market), with private rooms at 219 units and shared rooms at 1. By bedroom count, the distribution is even across the 1 to 3 bedroom range: 2-bedroom units lead at 2,014, followed by 1-bedroom (1,997), 3-bedroom (1,921), 4-bedroom (647), and 5-bedroom (296). Both Airbnb and dual-channel listings are well represented: 3,238 listings appear on both platforms, 3,041 are Airbnb-only, and 601 are VRBO-only.
The market’s total score is 85.1 out of 100. Its standout dimension is an investability score of 96.5, the highest of the five markets in this batch. Revenue growth (67.7) and regulation (68.5) are mid-range, while rental demand (60.2) is the weakest dimension.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 32% |
| Feb | 40% |
| Mar | 51% |
| Apr | 43% |
| May | 49% |
| Jun | 56% |
| Jul | 57% |
| Aug | 44% |
| Sep | 42% |
| Oct | 50% |
| Nov | 45% |
| Dec | 38% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Higden are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Arkansas Area market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Arkansas Area market as a whole, which includes Higden, so these counts are not Higden-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 434 | 17,398 | ★ 4.78 |
| 2 | Arkansas Vacation | 38 | 768 | ★ 4.74 |
| 3 | King Rhodes | 32 | 413 | ★ 4.75 |
| 4 | Buffalo Outdoor Center | 27 | 308 | ★ 4.91 |
| 5 | Ivy Vacations | 25 | 3,144 | ★ 4.90 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Higden?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Higden are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 44.2% |
| vrbo | 8.7% |
| both | 47.1% |
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Higden — how far ahead guests book and how to price around it — is available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Higden and Cleburne County operate with no short-term-rental-specific permit, registration, or zoning requirement. Arkansas Act 1072 (2019) bars municipalities and counties from prohibiting STRs outright while permitting reasonable health-and-safety regulation; no such local regulation was found for Higden or Cleburne County. STRs are clearly permitted, and no owner-occupancy, primary-residence, or annual night-cap rules apply.
On the tax side, Arkansas applies a combined state lodging tax stack to STRs: a 6.5% state sales tax, a 1% short-term rental tax, and a 2% statewide tourism tax, totaling approximately 9.5% before any applicable local or county sales taxes. Operators who book entirely through marketplace platforms such as Airbnb or VRBO do not need to register separately, as those platforms collect and remit Arkansas state lodging taxes on the host’s behalf.
Operators booking outside the major platforms must register with the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Local Advertising and Promotion (A&P) lodging taxes may also apply and should be confirmed with the Cleburne County Quorum Court.
Enforcement is rated minimal, consistent with the absence of any local STR program in this small rural jurisdiction.
Market Comparison
Higden’s April 2026 ADR of $159 is below the U.S. STR median ADR of approximately $220, reflecting the rural inland Arkansas positioning and the lower-cost property base on Greers Ferry Lake. Its 44.0% April occupancy is below the U.S. median of approximately 55%, but April is a pre-peak shoulder month; peak months reach above 57%.
The market’s total score of 85.1 places it in the upper tier of tracked markets, led by an investability score of 96.5, suggesting that the cost-to-income ratio is highly favorable for buyers who can acquire lakefront or lake-access properties at rural Arkansas prices.
Among professional operators, Evolve leads with 434 listings and 17,398 reviews at a 4.78 average rating. Arkansas Vacation manages 38 listings with 768 reviews at a 4.74 rating. King Rhodes holds 32 listings with 413 reviews at a 4.75 rating. Buffalo Outdoor Center operates 27 listings with 308 reviews at a 4.91 rating. Ivy Vacations rounds out the top five with 25 listings and 3,144 reviews at a 4.90 rating. The top five operators together manage approximately 556 listings, with Evolve’s 434 representing roughly 6.3% of the total tracked inventory on its own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Higden, Arkansas
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