Riverside, California Short-Term Rental Market
Riverside, CA area STRs averaged $227/night at 62.9% occupancy in June 2026, part of a shared Inland Empire dataset.
Quick Answer: Riverside, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Riverside market area is 63%. average monthly revenue in the Riverside market area is $3,834. average daily rate in the Riverside market area is $227. the top operator in the Riverside market area is Evolve with 88 listings. market score is 53/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the wider Riverside market, which covers 26 areas. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Riverside.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Riverside is a Southern California inland city in the Inland Empire, roughly an hour east of Los Angeles, drawing regional day-trippers, heritage and architecture tourists, university visitors tied to UC Riverside, and seasonal event crowds rather than beach or theme-park tourism. Its signature draw, the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa’s annual “Festival of Lights” (5+ million lights), alone drew an estimated 700,000 visitors downtown in its most recent season and generated an estimated $154 million in regional economic impact.
Important data note: the STR performance figures StaySTRA has for this area come from a series shared across a cluster of nearby Inland Empire cities, Riverside, Corona, Fontana, and Moreno Valley, all within Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Unlike some of StaySTRA’s broader statewide or scattered clusters, this is a genuinely coherent regional grouping, the western Inland Empire, so the figures below are best read as an Inland Empire area benchmark rather than a Riverside-city-limits-only measurement.
In the most recent data month (June 2026), that shared Inland Empire series posted an average daily rate of $227.21 and 62.9% occupancy, with average monthly revenue of roughly $3,834 per listing. Year over year, occupancy rose 3.15 percentage points while ADR eased 1.85% and revenue climbed 2.45%.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 51% |
| Feb | 57% |
| Mar | 58% |
| Apr | 56% |
| May | 56% |
| Jun | 62% |
| Jul | 63% |
| Aug | 57% |
| Sep | 55% |
| Oct | 57% |
| Nov | 54% |
| Dec | 57% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Riverside are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Riverside market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Riverside market as a whole, which includes Riverside, so these counts are not Riverside-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 88 | 1,911 | ★ 4.58 |
| 2 | New Spirit Vacation Homes | 60 | 3,551 | ★ 4.46 |
| 3 | Vacasa | 46 | 2,851 | ★ 4.53 |
| 4 | Host / Eric | 45 | 40 | ★ 4.67 |
| 5 | Holidale | 44 | 11 | ★ 4.57 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Riverside?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Riverside 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 | 69.4% |
| vrbo | 2.7% |
| both | 28% |
Home Value Trends (Riverside)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Riverside 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 Riverside — 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
The City of Riverside (distinct from unincorporated Riverside County, which uses a separate Ordinance 927 and a 10% Transient Occupancy Tax) regulates short-term rentals under Riverside Municipal Code Chapter 5.55, Short-Term Residential Rentals. Before advertising or renting a unit for stays under 30 days, the owner or an authorized agent must obtain a City business tax certificate under Chapter 5.04 and register and remit the City’s Transient Occupancy Tax of 13% of rent, filed monthly with the Business Tax Office.
The ordinance’s stated purpose is to protect neighborhood peace and safety, covering noise, parking, overcrowding, and refuse, and to ensure tax collection; owners must provide renters the City’s “good neighbor” brochure and obtain a signed acknowledgment. Booking platforms and brokers that collect revenue bear primary responsibility for collecting and remitting the tax.
Non-owner-occupied whole-home STRs appear to be permitted, and no citywide primary-residence requirement or annual night cap was found in available sources. Rentals of rooms or whole single-family dwellings to more than two people in R-1, RR, RE, or MU-N zones also require an annually renewed Room Rental Permit under Zoning Chapter 19.895. Enforcement runs through code enforcement citations and business-tax and TOT penalties, with escalating late penalties up to 50% plus interest on unpaid TOT. Specific STR permit fees and any additional occupancy or night limits could not be fully verified from available sources, so investors should confirm current requirements with the city before purchasing.
Market Comparison
The shared Inland Empire series’ 62.9% occupancy runs well above the commonly cited US STR median of around 55%, by nearly 8 percentage points, while its $227.21 ADR sits just above the national median ADR of roughly $220. That combination of high occupancy and a roughly average rate points to strong, steady demand, university, event, and regional day-trip travel, without the premium pricing power of a beach or resort destination.
Within the market, the luxury tier’s $497.60 ADR and professionally managed tier’s $431.71 both run well above the all-listings average, showing real upside for well-positioned properties even in a market with moderate baseline rates. Top-operator and listing-mix data (which companies manage the most local listings, and how the market splits by bedroom count or listing type) is tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for Riverside, so this profile omits those specific figures.
Frequently Asked Questions About Riverside, California
What is the average Airbnb rate in Riverside, CA?
Are short-term rentals legal in Riverside, California?
Why does Riverside's STR data match Corona, Fontana, and Moreno Valley?
Is Riverside City STR regulation the same as Riverside County?
What is the busiest month for short-term rentals in Riverside?
How much does a home cost in Riverside, CA?
What type of property earns the most in the Riverside STR market?
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