Waveland, Mississippi Short-Term Rental Market
The Mississippi Gulf Coast area (including Waveland) STR market averaged $251/night at 58.4% occupancy.
Quick Answer: Waveland, Mississippi is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Gulfport/Biloxi market area is 58%. average monthly revenue in the Gulfport/Biloxi market area is $4,040. average daily rate in the Gulfport/Biloxi market area is $251. the top operator in the Gulfport/Biloxi market area is Evolve with 170 listings. market score is 81/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Gulfport/Biloxi regional market, which includes Waveland. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Waveland.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Waveland brands itself ‘America’s Small Beach Town,’ a city of about 7,043 people on the Mississippi Gulf Coast in Hancock County, roughly 18 miles west of Gulfport and 55 miles east of New Orleans. Tourism here is overwhelmingly a regional drive market: day-trippers and weekenders from New Orleans, the broader Gulf Coast, and inland Mississippi and Louisiana come for free, uncommercialized public beaches, fishing and boating, and Buccaneer State Park, with its waterpark and more than 300 campsites. The nearby Silver Slipper Casino draws gaming visitors, and Katrina heritage tourism centers on the Ground Zero Hurricane Museum. Hancock County tourism generated about $460.5 million in total spending and roughly 2,692 jobs, though no visitor count specific to Waveland itself is published. Waveland’s STR performance data in StaySTRA’s dataset is tracked at a shared Mississippi Gulf Coast regional level, combined with nearby Bay Saint Louis and, notably, the much larger casino-resort city of Biloxi roughly 40 miles east, rather than reported uniquely for Waveland, so all performance figures below describe that broader coastal STR market rather than Waveland’s small-town character specifically. In the most recent tracked month (June 2026), the shared Mississippi Gulf Coast area STR market shows an average daily rate of $251 and occupancy of 58.4%, with average revenue of $4,040 per listing for the month. Year over year, occupancy is up 0.4 percentage point and revenue is up 1.5%, even as ADR is down 1.6%. Bedroom mix, channel split, listing-type counts, and top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Waveland, so this profile omits those figures rather than present a regional total as the city’s own. Housing data is available specifically for Waveland: the typical home value was $218,820 as of June 2026, with 58 homes for sale.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40% | $148 | $1,698 |
| Feb | 59% | $160 | $2,133 |
| Mar | 63% | $181 | $2,957 |
| Apr | 50% | $190 | $2,498 |
| May | 52% | $196 | $2,640 |
| Jun | 66% | $226 | $3,733 |
| Jul | 66% | $219 | $3,986 |
| Aug | 44% | $191 | $2,435 |
| Sep | 44% | $183 | $2,158 |
| Oct | 45% | $196 | $2,296 |
| Nov | 40% | $169 | $1,824 |
| Dec | 41% | $164 | $1,803 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Gulfport/Biloxi market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Gulfport/Biloxi market as a whole, which includes Waveland, so these counts are not Waveland-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 170 | 8,780 | ★ 4.67 |
| 2 | Biloxi Beach Resort Rentals | 142 | 1,936 | ★ 4.39 |
| 3 | Dunn Deal Properties & Vacations Rentals | 136 | 286 | ★ 4.61 |
| 4 | Gulf Coast Resort Rentals | 75 | 332 | ★ 4.77 |
| 5 | Busch Realty Group | 56 | 2,093 | ★ 4.85 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Waveland?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 870 |
| 2 bed | 1,380 |
| 3 bed | 1,385 |
| 4 bed | 323 |
| 5 bed | 172 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $254 |
| Luxury | $429 |
| Professionally Managed | $316 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $3,359 |
| Entire Place | $4,093 |
| House | $4,421 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 29.6% |
| vrbo | 8.9% |
| both | 61.4% |
Investment Analysis
Waveland’s STR revenue figures are tracked at a shared Mississippi Gulf Coast regional level that spans a mix of markets, from Waveland’s small-town beach character to nearby Bay Saint Louis to much larger, casino-driven Biloxi, so dividing that blended regional revenue by Waveland’s own home value would misstate the picture; this profile does not compute a gross rental yield figure and cuts that calculation rather than guess. What can be said: summing the 12 calendar-month average-revenue figures for the shared regional series across the full historical dataset (rather than multiplying one month by 12) puts an average single listing at roughly $30,161 a year before expenses, though that figure reflects the broader coastal cluster rather than Waveland alone. Year over year, the shared region shows occupancy up 0.4 point and revenue up 1.5%, even as ADR is down 1.6%. The longer historical arc shows occupancy peaking at 64.4% in 2021 and declining through 2024 to 46.8%, before recovering to 50.8% for 2026 year-to-date, while ADR has climbed nearly every year, from $162 in 2019 to $214 in 2026 year-to-date, the highest in the dataset’s history for this series. Waveland’s own regulatory framework is new but light: a formal STR registration requirement took effect in August 2024, with no evidence yet of a unit cap or owner-occupancy rule, which investors should weigh against the fact that the market’s benchmark numbers reflect a much larger, more casino-oriented coastal cluster than Waveland alone.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Within the shared Mississippi Gulf Coast area series, average booking lead time runs 49.6 days and average length of stay is 4.0 nights, both tracked at the regional level rather than uniquely for Waveland. That roughly seven-week lead time and multi-night stay length fit a regional drive-market beach vacation pattern, consistent with day-trippers and weekenders from New Orleans and inland Mississippi and Louisiana planning ahead for summer beach trips. Operators targeting the June-July peak should expect to set pricing and availability well before the season starts, while the March spring-break bump likely books somewhat further ahead given fixed school-calendar timing. The deep fall and winter trough, especially November and December, likely sees much shorter booking windows and more price-sensitive demand.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Waveland is a newly-regulated but still operator-friendly STR market. Effective August 1, 2024, City Ordinance #383 (Section 415) requires every short-term rental within city limits to file an application and register with the city; existing operators faced a registration deadline of December 15, 2024, the first such compliance regime in Waveland’s history. Registration is paired with a municipal privilege license application, a compliance checklist, and a Restrictive Covenants Affidavit certifying that no subdivision or HOA covenants bar the use. Land use is governed separately by Zoning Ordinance #349. Beyond registration, Waveland is characterized as low-regulation with minimal enforcement activity, and there is no published evidence of a citywide annual-night cap, mandatory owner-occupancy, or primary-residence requirement, though the specific permitted zoning districts are set in ordinance text that was not fully retrievable for this profile and should be confirmed directly with Planning and Zoning. All short-term rental revenue in Mississippi is subject to the state’s 7% sales tax on accommodations, collected and remitted to the Mississippi Department of Revenue; Gulf Coast jurisdictions can also levy local tourism or economic-development taxes, commonly in the 1 to 3% range, so operators should confirm any Hancock County or city-level lodging tax directly with the finance office. Net: entry is straightforward, register, obtain the privilege license, and remit the 7% state tax, but investors should pull the full ordinance text to confirm exact fees, permitted districts, and renewal terms.
Market Comparison
At 58.4% occupancy, the Mississippi Gulf Coast area STR market, which includes Waveland, is running slightly above the commonly cited U.S. STR median occupancy of roughly 55%. Its $251 ADR is also above the national median of roughly $220, reflecting solid regional drive-market demand along the coast. Because this benchmark blends Waveland’s small-town beach character with the much larger casino-resort market of Biloxi within the same tracked series, these figures likely overstate what a small Waveland-only market would show on its own, and should be read as a broader coastal benchmark rather than a Waveland-specific one. Top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Waveland, so this profile omits operator rankings rather than present regional totals as the city’s own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Waveland, Mississippi
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How is the Mississippi Gulf Coast area STR market trending year over year?
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