Felton, California Short-Term Rental Market
The San Lorenzo Valley area (including Felton) STR market averaged $455/night at 69.3% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Felton, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Santa Cruz market area is 69%. average monthly revenue in the Santa Cruz market area is $8,258. average daily rate in the Santa Cruz market area is $455.
Market data reflects the Santa Cruz regional market, which includes Felton. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Felton.
Market Overview
Felton is a small unincorporated community of about 4,489 people in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County, California, and the gateway to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and home to Roaring Camp Railroads. The town shifted from a logging economy to nature- and recreation-based tourism after logging was curtailed in the 1970s. Visitors are largely nature and redwood-forest enthusiasts, heritage-railroad fans, and Bay Area day-trippers and weekenders, drawn by old-growth redwoods, hiking, and the seasonal steam-train excursion connecting to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Felton’s STR performance data in StaySTRA’s dataset is tracked at the San Lorenzo Valley regional level, shared with Boulder Creek, rather than reported uniquely for Felton, so all performance figures below describe the San Lorenzo Valley area STR market rather than Felton in isolation. In the most recent tracked month (June 2026), the San Lorenzo Valley area STR market shows an average daily rate of $455 and occupancy of 69.3%, producing RevPAR of $315 and average revenue of $8,258 per listing for the month. Year over year, the market is running hot: occupancy is up 2.1 percentage points, ADR is up 3.2%, and revenue is up 6.7%. Bedroom mix, channel split, listing-type counts, property-manager rosters, and housing-value data are not published for this area at a city-specific level in the current dataset, so this profile omits those figures rather than estimate them.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 41% |
| Feb | 52% |
| Mar | 56% |
| Apr | 60% |
| May | 58% |
| Jun | 71% |
| Jul | 78% |
| Aug | 69% |
| Sep | 58% |
| Oct | 55% |
| Nov | 52% |
| Dec | 47% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Felton are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Felton — 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
Short-term rentals are legal in Felton but tightly regulated and capped. Because Felton is unincorporated, Santa Cruz County’s STR ordinance applies (County Code 13.10.694 for non-hosted rentals, 13.10.690 for hosted rentals). A Non-Hosted Rental Permit covers an entire home; a Hosted Rental Permit covers renting one to two rooms while the owner or long-term resident occupies a bedroom on a property of at least two bedrooms. New non-hosted permits cost $1,757.90 for homes of three bedrooms or fewer and $3,316.45 for four or more bedrooms, with a $1,757.90 annual renewal fee; hosted permits cost $660.95 new and $570.55 to renew. Permits are issued first-applied and first-issued, with capacity reviewed twice a year (January 15 and July 15) and a $145 annual waitlist fee once an area hits its cap. The county charges a 14% transient occupancy tax on vacation rentals, and operators need a TOT certificate from the County Tax Collector. Only one STR permit is allowed per person, entity, or property, a parcel cannot get a non-hosted permit if adjacent to two or more parcels with active non-hosted permits, and STRs are prohibited in mobile home parks, affordable-housing units, apartment buildings, and on parcels with an accessory dwelling unit. No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies to non-hosted rentals. Enforcement is rated strict: an August 2025 ordinance overhaul added a countywide cap on non-hosted permits, a complaint hotline, online-platform reporting requirements, and tenant protections. No explicit maximum-nights-per-year cap was found in county materials.
Market Comparison
At 69.3% occupancy, the San Lorenzo Valley area STR market, which includes Felton, is running well above the commonly cited U.S. STR median occupancy of roughly 55%. Its $455 ADR is also far above the national median of roughly $220, more than double, reflecting proximity to both Silicon Valley demand and the Santa Cruz Mountains’ redwood-forest and heritage-railroad draw. That combination of strong occupancy and premium pricing is one of the stronger profiles in this dataset, and it’s paired with solid year-over-year growth across all three headline metrics. That strength should be weighed against Santa Cruz County’s strict, capped permitting regime, which limits new supply and makes market entry more difficult than in less-regulated areas. Top property manager rosters are not published for this market at a city-specific level in the current dataset, so this profile omits operator rankings rather than estimate them from broader regional totals.
Frequently Asked Questions About Felton, California
What is the average daily rate for short-term rentals in the Felton, CA area?
What is the occupancy rate for STRs near Felton, CA?
When is peak season for short-term rentals in the Felton area?
Is it legal to operate a short-term rental in Felton, CA?
Are short-term rental permits capped in Felton?
How is the San Lorenzo Valley area STR market trending year over year?
What draws visitors to the Felton area?
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