Imperial Beach, California

Imperial Beach is the southernmost beach town in California, in San Diego County’s South Bay, about five miles north of the Mexican border, and it has a population of 25,458. This page uses the San Diego County STR market as its performance frame, so every revenue, rate, and occupancy figure below describes that regional market rather than a count unique to Imperial Beach. The latest data month is September 2026. In that month the average daily rate across all listings was $303 and occupancy was 62.8%, producing average monthly revenue of $5,181 per listing. Year over year, occupancy is up 10.8%, ADR is up 3.3%, and revenue is up 10.2%. Entire homes earned an ADR of $327 and $5,546 in monthly revenue, while houses reached $5,762 and apartments $4,436. Year to date, 2026 covers nine months and shows 68.0% occupancy, a $321 ADR, and $5,970 in average monthly revenue, ahead of the full 2025 results of 62.7% occupancy, a $305 ADR, and $5,256. Demand is driven by regional beachgoers and day visitors from the San Diego area who come for the roughly 4-mile beach, the historic wooden pier, surfing, and birdwatching at the Tijuana River Estuary, rather than by large numbers of overnight tourists. The town markets itself as an uncrowded, affordable alternative to busier San Diego beaches. Investors should weigh the strong regional numbers against the local zoning rule: short-term rentals are allowed only in specific commercial and mixed-use districts. Bedroom, channel, and listing-type counts are tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for Imperial Beach, so this profile omits it. The typical home value is $835,327 as of the August 31, 2026 housing snapshot.