Salem, Oregon Short-Term Rental Market
Salem, OR STRs averaged $189/night at 69.2% occupancy in June 2026, with revenue up 3.3% year over year.
Quick Answer: Salem, Oregon is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 69%. average monthly revenue is $3,491. average daily rate is $189. the top operator is Red Tail Ridge Rentals with 26 listings. market score is 67/100 (grade C).
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Salem, Oregon’s capital and third-largest city, posted a $188.71 average daily rate at 69.2% occupancy for June 2026, the latest tracked month, with average revenue per listing of $3,491. Occupancy was roughly flat year over year (down 0.2%), while ADR rose 0.7% and revenue rose 3.3%, the strongest revenue growth trend in this batch of Oregon markets. The market’s total score is 66.93 out of 100, driven by a strong 92.17 rental demand score, with a 76.01 seasonality score and 59.22 investability score.
Entire-place listings account for 81.7% of the roughly 1,677 tracked units, with private rooms making up the remaining 18.3%, a higher room-share than the more resort-oriented Oregon coastal markets. Bedroom mix skews small: one-bedroom units are the largest segment at 47.8% of the 1,674 bedroom-tagged listings, followed by two-bedrooms at 21.5%, three-bedrooms at 19.0%, four-bedrooms at 7.5%, and five-plus-bedrooms at 4.2%. On booking channel, 64.6% of listings are Airbnb-only, 31.1% list on both Airbnb and VRBO, and 4.3% are VRBO-only.
Salem’s population is approximately 180,406, and the Salem/Mid-Willamette Valley region (Marion and Polk counties) drew roughly 2.5 million visitors generating over 7 million overnight stays and $782.3 million in visitor spending in 2022, per Travel Salem. Visitation skews toward government and civic travel, wine-country day-trippers, and event-driven visits tied to the Oregon State Fair and Salem Art Fair, making this a more value-oriented, mid-week market than a resort destination.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 48% | $109 | $1,525 |
| Feb | 58% | $112 | $1,602 |
| Mar | 60% | $118 | $1,932 |
| Apr | 61% | $123 | $2,032 |
| May | 62% | $142 | $2,361 |
| Jun | 70% | $153 | $2,770 |
| Jul | 71% | $149 | $2,910 |
| Aug | 69% | $155 | $2,830 |
| Sep | 63% | $143 | $2,455 |
| Oct | 58% | $133 | $2,183 |
| Nov | 55% | $130 | $1,951 |
| Dec | 51% | $120 | $1,775 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Salem
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Tail Ridge Rentals | 26 | 4,871 | ★ 4.83 |
| 2 | Salem Stays | 24 | 955 | ★ 4.86 |
| 3 | Evolve | 23 | 984 | ★ 4.83 |
| 4 | Vacasa | 9 | 137 | ★ 4.83 |
| 5 | T E Experiences | 5 | 155 | ★ 4.91 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Salem?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 800 |
| 2 bed | 360 |
| 3 bed | 318 |
| 4 bed | 125 |
| 5 bed | 71 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $204 |
| Luxury | $319 |
| Professionally Managed | $308 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $2,842 |
| Entire Place | $3,817 |
| House | $3,880 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 64.6% |
| vrbo | 4.3% |
| both | 31.1% |
Investment Analysis
No housing snapshot is currently available for Salem, so gross rental yield cannot be calculated against a typical home value; investors should source local comparable sale prices directly.
Across ADR tiers, the all-listings average of $188.71 compares to $203.62 for entire-home listings (up 7.9%), $307.88 for professionally managed listings (up 63.2%), and $319.17 for the luxury tier (up 69.2% over the market-wide average). Revenue by property type is fairly tight at the top end: houses averaged $3,880 in June and entire-place listings averaged $3,817, both well above apartments at $2,842, a roughly $1,038 gap between houses and apartments.
Revenue rose 3.3% year over year on a 0.7% ADR gain and roughly flat occupancy (down 0.2%), the strongest of the three year-over-year metrics and a signal that rate growth, not occupancy growth, is currently driving Salem’s revenue trend. The market’s revenue growth score of 56.13 is middling, while the 92.17 rental demand score and 76.01 seasonality score point to comparatively steady, less volatile demand than Oregon’s coastal STR markets. The 65.35 regulation score reflects Salem’s moderate STR framework: no owner-occupancy requirement for standard licenses, investor-friendly relative to Portland, though accessory STRs require the operator to reside on-site at least 270 days a year and cap non-hosted stays at 95 nights annually.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Salem’s average booking window runs 74.1 days of lead time, the longest lead time in this Oregon batch, and average length of stay is 4.14 nights. The extended booking window likely reflects Salem’s event-driven demand pattern, travelers reserving well ahead of fixed dates like the Oregon State Fair and Salem Art Fair rather than opportunistic weekend trips.
For owners, a 74-day lead time supports advance-booking discount strategies and early rate-locking for known high-demand event dates, while the 4.14-night average stay, longer than typical weekend-trip markets, suggests owners can reasonably set 3 to 4-night minimum stays without significantly limiting bookings. With occupancy dipping to 48.04% in January and 51.38% in December, the winter months remain the best window for scheduled maintenance or extended personal use. Salem’s 74-day lead time is notably longer than resort-style coastal markets, which tend to see more spontaneous weekend bookings, reinforcing that this market’s demand is shaped more by planned civic and event travel than by impulse leisure trips.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Short-term rentals are legal in Salem under Salem Revised Code Chapter 30, with two license tracks: a Standard Short-Term Rental License and an Accessory Short-Term Rental License. The standard license carries no owner-occupancy requirement, making Salem more investor-friendly than cities like Portland; the accessory license requires the operator to live in the unit at least 270 days per calendar year, and non-hosted accessory rentals (whole home while the owner is away) are capped at roughly 95 nights per year, while hosted stays have no night limit. The initial license fee is approximately $275, with renewal reported around $161; licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed annually.
Operators must carry liability insurance, meet City Housing Code and fire-safety standards including smoke and CO detectors, maintain a guest registry, display the license number on all listings, and limit on-site parking. A conditional use permit may be required in certain zones and can add significant cost. On taxes, the city collects a 9.0% Transient Occupancy Tax, and as of May 1, 2026 a 2% Tourism Promotion Area fee was extended to short-term rentals (previously hotel/motel-only), plus Oregon’s 1.5% state lodging tax, for a combined lodging tax burden of roughly 12.5%.
Enforcement is rated moderate. Salem’s framework is comparatively balanced: investor-owned whole-home rentals are allowed without owner-occupancy under the standard track, while the accessory track exists specifically for owner-occupied hosts, giving the city two distinct paths depending on an operator’s living arrangement.
Market Comparison
Salem’s 69.2% June occupancy runs well above the roughly 55% national median for short-term rentals, while its $188.71 ADR sits below the roughly $220 national median ADR, reflecting Salem’s positioning as a value-oriented, civic-travel market rather than a premium leisure destination. The professionally managed tier ($307.88 ADR) and luxury tier ($319.17 ADR) both exceed the national ADR median, showing top-end Salem properties can still command competitive rates despite the market’s overall value positioning.
Top property managers in the market include Red Tail Ridge Rentals (26 listings, 4,871 reviews, 4.83 average rating), Salem Stays (24 listings, 955 reviews, 4.86 rating), and Evolve (23 listings, 984 reviews, 4.83 rating). Combined, these top three managers operate just 73 listings, a small share of the roughly 1,677 tracked units, indicating Salem’s STR market is considerably more fragmented among independent operators than markets with a dominant national manager like Vacasa, which holds only 9 listings here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Salem, Oregon
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