San Jose, California Short-Term Rental Market
The San Jose/South Bay area STR market averaged $200/night at 83.3% occupancy in June 2026, up 9.9% in revenue.
Quick Answer: San Jose, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the San Jose/Palo Alto market area is 83%. average monthly revenue in the San Jose/Palo Alto market area is $4,205. average daily rate in the San Jose/Palo Alto market area is $200. the top operator in the San Jose/Palo Alto market area is Blueground with 446 listings. market score is 91/100 (grade A).
Market data reflects the San Jose/Palo Alto regional market, which includes San Jose. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to San Jose.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
San Jose’s short-term rental rules require the host to live at the property: under Municipal Code Title 20, Chapter 20.80 Part 2.5 (‘Incidental Transient Occupancy’), a listing must be the host’s primary residence, occupied at least 60 consecutive days a year, and a host may operate only one STR citywide. When the host is present there is no cap on rental nights; when the host is absent, bookings are capped at 180 days per year.
StaySTRA’s Airbnb/Vrbo performance data for this market is tracked at a shared regional level with neighboring Sunnyvale rather than uniquely for San Jose; treat the following as the San Jose/South Bay area STR market, not a city-only figure.
In June 2026, the San Jose/South Bay area STR market averaged 83.3% occupancy and a $200 ADR, producing $4,205 in average monthly revenue per listing. Year over year, revenue is up a strong 9.9%, driven mostly by a 3.9% ADR increase even as occupancy slipped 1.4 percentage points, a sign the market is absorbing higher rates without materially losing bookings.
StaySTRA does not have listing-type, bedroom-mix, or top property-manager data broken out at the city level for this market; that data is tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for San Jose, so this profile omits it.
San Jose itself is Silicon Valley’s largest city, population 989,814, and a major business, technology and convention destination. It drew roughly 21.2 million visitors in 2024 who generated about $2.8 billion in direct spending, with demand skewing toward business and convention travel around the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and tech-company campus tourism, alongside leisure visits to museums and other visitor attractions.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 65% |
| Feb | 70% |
| Mar | 70% |
| Apr | 68% |
| May | 75% |
| Jun | 81% |
| Jul | 80% |
| Aug | 74% |
| Sep | 70% |
| Oct | 70% |
| Nov | 66% |
| Dec | 62% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for San Jose are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in San Jose/Palo Alto market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the San Jose/Palo Alto market as a whole, which includes San Jose, so these counts are not San Jose-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blueground | 446 | 196 | ★ 4.30 |
| 2 | Hosteeva | 117 | 191 | ★ 4.14 |
| 3 | Cloud Living Furnished Rental Spaces | 91 | 2,358 | ★ 4.83 |
| 4 | Global Luxury Suites | 83 | 797 | ★ 4.15 |
| 5 | Host / Serena | 49 | 573 | ★ 4.85 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in San Jose?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for San Jose 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 | 75.8% |
| vrbo | 3.4% |
| both | 20.8% |
Home Value Trends (San Jose)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for San Jose 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 San Jose — 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 San Jose but structurally limited to owner-occupied hosting. Under Municipal Code Title 20 (Zoning), Chapter 20.80, Part 2.5 (‘Incidental Transient Occupancy’), a listing must be the host’s primary residence, occupied at least 60 consecutive days per year. There is no dedicated STR permit or public registry, but hosts must register with the city, obtain a Business Tax Certificate (renewed annually), and collect/remit the city’s 10% Transient Occupancy Tax; Airbnb and Vrbo collect and remit that tax automatically for San Jose bookings.
When the host is physically present, there is no cap on rental nights. When the host is not present, bookings are capped at 180 days per calendar year. Occupancy is limited to roughly two persons per bedroom plus two, with tighter caps for unhosted stays, and a host may operate only one STR citywide.
Hosts must designate a local contact able to respond within one hour, maintain working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, meet fire-safety rules, and keep records for three years. Non-compliance can draw fines and loss of the ability to operate. Enforcement is characterized as moderate.
No major ordinance overhaul was identified for 2025-2026; the city continues to operate under this same primary-residence framework. For an investor, the practical effect is that San Jose structurally limits pure non-owner-occupied investment models, and the market is best approached as an owner-occupied hosting opportunity rather than a standalone rental-property play.
Market Comparison
National benchmarks put the median U.S. short-term rental market at roughly 55% occupancy and a $220 ADR. The San Jose/South Bay area STR market runs well above the occupancy benchmark and close to the ADR benchmark, at 83.3% occupancy and a $200 ADR in June 2026, one of the higher-occupancy readings in StaySTRA’s dataset, reflecting steady business and convention demand rather than pure leisure seasonality.
The market’s 9.9% year-over-year revenue growth and 7.6-night average stay both point to healthy, business-travel-driven demand, though San Jose’s primary-residence requirement is more restrictive on the supply side than in many comparable tech-hub markets.
StaySTRA does not have top property-manager listings, review counts, or ratings on file for this market; that data is tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for San Jose, so this profile omits named-operator comparisons rather than estimate them.
Frequently Asked Questions About San Jose, California
Are short-term rentals legal in San Jose, CA?
How many nights per year can a San Jose STR be rented?
What is the average occupancy for the San Jose area STR market?
When is peak season for short-term rentals in San Jose?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in San Jose?
How much do luxury-tier listings earn compared to the market average in San Jose?
What is the typical home value in San Jose?
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