Twentynine Palms, California Short-Term Rental Market
The Morongo Basin area (including Twentynine Palms) STR market averaged $281/night at 46.2% occupancy.
Quick Answer: Twentynine Palms, California is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Joshua Tree market area is 46%. average monthly revenue in the Joshua Tree market area is $3,853. average daily rate in the Joshua Tree market area is $281. the top operator in the Joshua Tree market area is The Cohost Company with 178 listings. market score is 91/100 (grade A).
Market data reflects the Joshua Tree regional market, which includes Twentynine Palms. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Twentynine Palms.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Twentynine Palms is a city of about 27,355 people in San Bernardino County, California, and markets itself as the primary northern gateway to Joshua Tree National Park, which drew roughly 2.99 million recreation visits in 2024, a figure that describes the park, not the city, since no separate city-level visitor count is published. The city hosts the park’s headquarters, north entrance, and a downtown multi-agency visitor center. Visitors are predominantly outdoor-recreation travelers, hikers, rock climbers, campers, and dark-sky stargazers, plus a growing arts and culture segment drawn by the city’s public murals, the Oasis of Murals, and roadside art installations. The nearby Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center also brings substantial military-related visitation. Twentynine Palms’s STR performance data in StaySTRA’s dataset is tracked at a shared Morongo Basin regional level, combined with nearby Yucca Valley and Morongo Valley, rather than reported uniquely for the city, so all performance figures below describe that shared regional STR market rather than Twentynine Palms in isolation. In the most recent tracked month (June 2026), the Morongo Basin area STR market shows an average daily rate of $281 and occupancy of 46.2%, with average revenue of $3,853 per listing for the month. Year over year, occupancy is up 3.8 percentage points and revenue is up 0.5%, even as ADR is down 1.1%. Bedroom mix, channel split, listing-type counts, and top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Twentynine Palms, so this profile omits those figures rather than present a regional total as the city’s own. Housing data is available specifically for Twentynine Palms: the typical home value was $252,184 as of June 2026, with 247 homes for sale.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 52% |
| Feb | 59% |
| Mar | 66% |
| Apr | 67% |
| May | 51% |
| Jun | 48% |
| Jul | 48% |
| Aug | 50% |
| Sep | 47% |
| Oct | 52% |
| Nov | 57% |
| Dec | 56% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Twentynine Palms are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Joshua Tree market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Joshua Tree market as a whole, which includes Twentynine Palms, so these counts are not Twentynine Palms-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Cohost Company | 178 | 22,608 | ★ 4.88 |
| 2 | Hi-Desert Dwellings | 78 | 16,310 | ★ 4.89 |
| 3 | Homestead Modern | 78 | 10,815 | ★ 4.87 |
| 4 | Fieldtrip | 63 | 5,302 | ★ 4.90 |
| 5 | Cocoon | 50 | 10,088 | ★ 4.93 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Twentynine Palms?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Twentynine Palms 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 | 43.2% |
| vrbo | 5.3% |
| both | 51.5% |
Home Value Trends (Twentynine Palms)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Twentynine Palms 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 Twentynine Palms — 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 but tightly regulated in Twentynine Palms under Development Code Chapter 19.41 (Vacation Home Rental). Operators must obtain both a VHR license and a city business license before listing or advertising; a VHR is defined as renting a detached single-family dwelling, or a portion of one, for 2 to 30 consecutive nights. The city enforces a citywide hard cap of 500 permitted units, roughly 8.5% of housing stock; as of the most recent reporting, about 264 permits were active with roughly 122 more pending, so new applications can still be filed but the cap is well into use. Licenses are non-transferable; selling the property terminates the license and the new owner must reapply. A single individual, partnership, or company may hold a maximum of 5 licenses, and the council has discussed cutting that to 3. Applications require a driver’s license, general liability insurance, a VHR safety inspection, septic certification, and a business license, and neighbors within 300 feet are notified; processing can take up to about 90 days. There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement. Guests pay a roughly 9% transient occupancy tax plus a 1.5% Tourism Business Improvement District assessment; the city uses monitoring software to detect unregistered listings and enforces escalating fines starting around $500 for a first violation. Investors should confirm current fees, cap availability, and per-entity limits directly with the city before applying.
Market Comparison
At 46.2% occupancy, the Morongo Basin area STR market, which includes Twentynine Palms, is running below the commonly cited U.S. STR median occupancy of roughly 55%, reflecting both a supply-heavy market and a spring-peaked rather than summer-peaked demand pattern. Its $281 ADR, though, is above the national median of roughly $220, reflecting continued strong pricing power around Joshua Tree National Park despite the softer occupancy. Twentynine Palms’s own permit cap, 500 units citywide with about 386 active and pending as of the most recent reporting, is a meaningful supply constraint that sets this market apart from unregulated small towns, even though the cap has not yet been reached. Top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Twentynine Palms, so this profile omits operator rankings rather than present regional totals as the city’s own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Twentynine Palms, California
What is the average daily rate for short-term rentals in the Twentynine Palms, CA area?
What is the occupancy rate for STRs near Twentynine Palms, CA?
When is peak season for short-term rentals in the Twentynine Palms area?
Is it legal to operate a short-term rental in Twentynine Palms, CA?
Is Twentynine Palms's short-term rental permit cap full?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Twentynine Palms?
What draws visitors to the Twentynine Palms area?
Analyze Twentynine Palms Rentals
Use our free calculator to estimate Airbnb revenue for any property in Twentynine Palms.
Free Twentynine Palms STR Calculator →
