Winston Salem, North Carolina Short-Term Rental Market
The Piedmont Triad area (including Winston-Salem) STR market averaged $162/night at 61.5% occupancy.
Quick Answer: Winston Salem, North Carolina is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro market area is 62%. average monthly revenue in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro market area is $2,703. average daily rate in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro market area is $162. the top operator in the Winston-Salem/Greensboro market area is Evolve with 128 listings. market score is 76/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Winston-Salem/Greensboro regional market, which includes Winston Salem. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Winston Salem.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Winston-Salem is a city of about 258,880 people in Forsyth County, North Carolina, drawing more than 7 million visitors a year. Tourism is a major economic driver: visitor spending topped $1.05 billion in Forsyth County in 2023, up 6.9%, generating $72.6 million in state and local taxes and supporting roughly 6,753 jobs. The city blends heritage tourism, Moravian history at Old Salem and American art at Reynolda House, arts and culture in the Downtown Arts District, and growing convention, sports, and group business at the Benton Convention Center. Visitors are a mix of leisure and heritage travelers, arts and culinary tourists, Wake Forest University-connected visitors, and business and convention attendees drawn from the broader Piedmont Triad region and beyond. Hotel revenue rose roughly 11% since mid-2024, leading Southeast destinations. Winston-Salem’s STR performance data in StaySTRA’s dataset is tracked at a shared Piedmont Triad regional level, combined with nearby Greensboro and High Point, rather than reported uniquely for the city, so all performance figures below describe that shared regional STR market rather than Winston-Salem in isolation. In the most recent tracked month (June 2026), the Piedmont Triad area STR market shows an average daily rate of $162 and occupancy of 61.5%, with average revenue of $2,703 per listing for the month. Year over year, occupancy is up 2.2 percentage points, ADR is up 2.3%, and revenue is up 4.9%. Bedroom mix, channel split, listing-type counts, and top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Winston-Salem, so this profile omits those figures rather than present a regional total as the city’s own. Housing data is available specifically for Winston-Salem: the typical home value was $267,668 as of June 2026, with 1,016 homes for sale.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 47% |
| Feb | 57% |
| Mar | 60% |
| Apr | 63% |
| May | 57% |
| Jun | 63% |
| Jul | 65% |
| Aug | 61% |
| Sep | 58% |
| Oct | 62% |
| Nov | 51% |
| Dec | 52% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Winston Salem are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Winston-Salem/Greensboro market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Winston-Salem/Greensboro market as a whole, which includes Winston Salem, so these counts are not Winston Salem-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 128 | 3,605 | ★ 4.62 |
| 2 | Whatever it Takes Solutions, LLC | 55 | 444 | ★ 4.49 |
| 3 | Morenito | 40 | 1,733 | ★ 4.74 |
| 4 | Blue Skies Property Management | 36 | 1,296 | ★ 4.96 |
| 5 | Bruins Properties | 31 | 1,176 | ★ 4.89 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Winston Salem?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Winston Salem 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 | 61.1% |
| vrbo | 3.7% |
| both | 35.2% |
Home Value Trends (Winston Salem)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Winston Salem 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 Winston Salem — 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
Winston-Salem does not operate a dedicated short-term rental license or registration program. Under North Carolina state law, cities are largely barred from requiring permits or registration as a precondition to renting residential property short-term, so the city instead relies on its Unified Development Ordinance zoning, administered jointly with Forsyth County, to determine where STRs are a permitted use, on a district-by-district basis, plus general building, housing, and safety code compliance covering items like smoke and CO detectors, fire extinguishers, and egress. There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence mandate. Hosts must still handle taxes: North Carolina state sales and use tax, 6.75% in Forsyth County, plus a 6% Forsyth County room occupancy tax. Airbnb collects and remits state sales tax on hosts’ behalf, but hosts are generally responsible for registering with the county and remitting the 6% occupancy tax themselves. Enforcement is rated minimal and complaint- and zoning-driven rather than run through an active STR-specific registry. Because permissibility hinges on the underlying zoning district, prospective operators should confirm a specific property’s zoning with the Winston-Salem Planning and Development Services Department before purchasing or listing. City and county officials in Winston-Salem and neighboring Greensboro have been debating accessory dwelling units and STR growth amid housing-affordability concerns; North Carolina’s 2023 statewide ADU mandate (SL 2023-108) allows by-right ADUs in single-family districts, which affects STR supply, though no dedicated STR licensing ordinance had been adopted as of mid-2026.
Market Comparison
At 61.5% occupancy, the Piedmont Triad area STR market, which includes Winston-Salem, is running above the commonly cited U.S. STR median occupancy of roughly 55%. Its $162 ADR sits below the national median of roughly $220, reflecting a Piedmont business and heritage-tourism market rather than a premium coastal or resort destination. That combination of above-average occupancy and below-average ADR is typical of accessible mid-size metro markets with steady demand but limited leisure pricing power. Winston-Salem’s own light-touch regulatory environment, no dedicated STR permit program, governed through zoning instead, sets it apart from more heavily regulated markets in this dataset. Top property manager rosters are tracked at the same shared regional level rather than uniquely for Winston-Salem, so this profile omits operator rankings rather than present regional totals as the city’s own.
Frequently Asked Questions About Winston Salem, North Carolina
What is the average daily rate for short-term rentals in the Winston-Salem, NC area?
What is the occupancy rate for STRs near Winston-Salem, NC?
When is peak season for short-term rentals in the Winston-Salem area?
Is it legal to operate a short-term rental in Winston-Salem, NC?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Winston-Salem?
How is the Piedmont Triad area STR market trending year over year?
What draws visitors to the Winston-Salem area?
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