Waldoboro, Maine Short-Term Rental Market
Waldoboro, ME (midcoast Maine) STR data: $312/night at 63.4% occupancy in June 2026, though occupancy is trending down.
Quick Answer: Waldoboro, Maine is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Maine Midcoast market area is 63%. average monthly revenue in the Maine Midcoast market area is $4,204. average daily rate in the Maine Midcoast market area is $312. the top operator in the Maine Midcoast market area is Vacasa with 265 listings. market score is 51/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Maine Midcoast regional market, which includes Waldoboro. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Waldoboro.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Waldoboro is a small coastal town of 5,296 residents in Lincoln County on Maine’s Midcoast, along Route 1 between Damariscotta and Rockland. It draws leisure travelers passing through the Midcoast tourism corridor, including road-trippers, seasonal second-home owners, outdoor recreationists on the Medomak River, and diners stopping at the landmark Moody’s Diner, rather than functioning as a standalone destination.
StaySTRA’s Airbnb/Vrbo performance data for this area is tracked at a shared regional level with Bath, Boothbay Harbor and Brunswick rather than uniquely for Waldoboro; treat the following as the midcoast Maine area STR market. In June 2026, that market averaged 63.4% occupancy and a $312 ADR, producing $4,204 in average monthly revenue per listing. Year over year, occupancy is down 1.7 points and ADR is down 0.8%, even as revenue edged up 0.3%.
StaySTRA does not have listing-type, bedroom-mix, or top-property-manager data broken out at the city level for this area; that data is tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for Waldoboro, so this profile omits it.
Waldoboro has no dedicated short-term-rental ordinance; rentals fall under the town’s general Land Use Ordinance, and Maine applies a flat statewide 9% lodging tax to all short-term stays under 28 consecutive days.
Using StaySTRA’s housing data, Waldoboro’s typical home value is $344,500, with a notably thin for-sale market (26 listings). Longer term, the midcoast Maine market has cooled from a 2021 pandemic-era peak of 63.6% occupancy into the low 50s from 2022 onward, and the 2026 year-to-date figure (48.9% occupancy through June) sits below full-year 2025, a trend worth watching even accounting for the partial-year read.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 37% |
| Feb | 50% |
| Mar | 47% |
| Apr | 51% |
| May | 55% |
| Jun | 66% |
| Jul | 76% |
| Aug | 78% |
| Sep | 55% |
| Oct | 52% |
| Nov | 38% |
| Dec | 47% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Waldoboro are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Maine Midcoast market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Maine Midcoast market as a whole, which includes Waldoboro, so these counts are not Waldoboro-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 265 | 8,460 | ★ 4.61 |
| 2 | Tides To Pines | 189 | 3,158 | ★ 4.56 |
| 3 | Evolve | 61 | 2,488 | ★ 4.76 |
| 4 | Your Island Connection | 51 | 1,073 | ★ 4.77 |
| 5 | On The Water | 49 | 23 | ★ 4.71 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Waldoboro?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Waldoboro 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 | 41.2% |
| vrbo | 14.4% |
| both | 44.4% |
Home Value Trends (Waldoboro)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Waldoboro 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 Waldoboro — 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
Waldoboro, Maine has no short-term-rental-specific ordinance. The town’s published list of ordinances (Land Use, Disorderly Property, Floodplain, and others) contains no STR, vacation-rental, Airbnb, or lodging-registration ordinance, so operating an STR does not require a local permit or license. Short-term rentals are effectively permitted and regulated only under the general Land Use Ordinance’s zoning and use standards.
There is no local occupancy-tax add-on: Maine applies a flat statewide 9% lodging (living-quarters) tax to all short-term stays under 28 consecutive days, which platforms like Airbnb generally collect and remit. A host renting a single property fewer than 15 days per year is exempt from collecting the tax.
No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement, no annual night cap, and no local enforcement regime specific to STRs were found. Enforcement is minimal and handled through general land-use and nuisance (disorderly property) rules rather than a rental registry.
At the state level, 2025-2026 legislative proposals sought to add roughly 3 percentage points to the lodging tax (to an effective ~12%), with revenue earmarked for education; as of mid-2026 the base 9% rate still applied, and hosts should monitor for enactment.
Investors should still verify current requirements with the Waldoboro Code Enforcement Officer and Town Clerk, since the online ordinance list may lag recent town-meeting changes.
Market Comparison
National benchmarks put the median U.S. short-term rental market at roughly 55% occupancy and a $220 ADR. The midcoast Maine area STR market that includes Waldoboro runs above both, at 63.4% occupancy and a $312 ADR in June 2026, consistent with coastal Maine’s strong summer pricing power.
Unlike many of the stronger-growth markets in this batch, midcoast Maine’s trend is softening: occupancy and ADR are both down year over year, and the 2026 year-to-date figures run below full-year 2025, a pattern worth monitoring relative to peer New England coastal markets.
Top property managers in the shared regional market include Vacasa (265 listings), Tides To Pines (189 listings), and Evolve (61 listings), though StaySTRA does not have this data broken out uniquely for Waldoboro; that data is tracked at a shared regional level, so treat these as regional context rather than Waldoboro-specific figures.
Frequently Asked Questions About Waldoboro, Maine
Are short-term rentals legal in Waldoboro, ME?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Waldoboro?
What is the average occupancy for the Waldoboro area STR market?
When is peak season for short-term rentals near Waldoboro?
Is the midcoast Maine STR market growing or shrinking?
What is the typical home value in Waldoboro, ME?
Who are the top short-term rental managers in the midcoast Maine region?
Analyze Waldoboro Rentals
Use our free calculator to estimate Airbnb revenue for any property in Waldoboro.
Free Waldoboro STR Calculator →
