Sturgis, South Dakota Short-Term Rental Market
Sturgis, SD STRs averaged $279/night at 73.9% occupancy in June 2026, though ADR fell 9.0% year over year.
Quick Answer: Sturgis, South Dakota is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy is 74%. average monthly revenue is $5,549. average daily rate is $279. the top operator is Evolve with 72 listings. market score is 50/100 (grade D).
Market data reflects the Rapid City regional market, which includes Sturgis. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Sturgis.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions Apivex evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Sturgis, a small Black Hills city whose economy is anchored by the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, posted a $279.43 average daily rate at 73.9% occupancy for June 2026, the latest tracked month, with average revenue per listing of $5,549. Occupancy was roughly flat year over year, up 0.5%, ADR fell 9.0%, and revenue still rose 3.3%. The market’s rental demand score is a strong 80.64 out of 100, with an investability score of 78.59, though the total score of 50.14 is held down by a 50.11 seasonality score and 47.93 revenue growth score.
Entire-place listings dominate at 92.8% of the roughly 2,459 tracked units, with private rooms at 7.0% and shared rooms just 0.3%. Bedroom mix skews small: one-bedroom units are the largest segment at 37.7% of the 2,453 bedroom-tagged listings, followed by two-bedrooms at 23.7%, three-bedrooms at 19.6%, four-bedrooms at 11.7%, and five-plus-bedrooms at 7.3%. On booking channel, 44.1% of listings are dual-listed on both Airbnb and VRBO, 42.3% are Airbnb-only, and 13.6% are VRBO-only.
Sturgis has a population of approximately 7,086, and the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, roughly 10 days beginning the first Friday of August, typically draws around 500,000 attendees, with peak years exceeding 700,000 and record crowds reported in 2025-2026. The rally alone has accounted for roughly 21% of the city’s annual income and generated an estimated $784 million-plus in statewide economic impact per a 2022 Texas A&M study. Outside the rally, Sturgis serves as a base for broader Black Hills tourism, including Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial, and Custer State Park.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy | ADR | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 38% | $152 | $1,695 |
| Feb | 47% | $158 | $1,700 |
| Mar | 56% | $160 | $2,147 |
| Apr | 47% | $162 | $1,914 |
| May | 61% | $198 | $2,541 |
| Jun | 75% | $249 | $4,768 |
| Jul | 75% | $248 | $5,044 |
| Aug | 63% | $251 | $4,356 |
| Sep | 58% | $203 | $3,245 |
| Oct | 49% | $173 | $2,377 |
| Nov | 40% | $156 | $1,783 |
| Dec | 45% | $162 | $1,867 |
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Sturgis
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 72 | 5,007 | ★ 4.78 |
| 2 | Stay in the Black Hills | 60 | 4,548 | ★ 4.82 |
| 3 | Soujourn | 40 | 6,573 | ★ 4.67 |
| 4 | Velora Management Group | 28 | 812 | ★ 4.58 |
| 5 | Bear Property Management | 27 | 1,648 | ★ 4.86 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Sturgis?
Revenue and pricing by property type, tier, and bedroom count.
Revenue by Bedroom Count
| 1 bed | 925 |
| 2 bed | 581 |
| 3 bed | 482 |
| 4 bed | 287 |
| 5 bed | 178 |
ADR by Property Tier
| Entire Home | $286 |
| Luxury | $400 |
| Professionally Managed | $332 |
Revenue by Dwelling Type
| Apartment | $3,907 |
| Entire Place | $5,823 |
| House | $6,137 |
Booking Channel Mix
Distribution of bookings across major STR platforms.
| Channel | Share |
|---|---|
| airbnb | 42.3% |
| vrbo | 13.6% |
| both | 44.1% |
Investment Analysis
Sturgis’ typical home value is $378,575, with a median list price of $424,999 and just 34 homes for sale, one of the smaller for-sale inventories in this batch, as of the April 2026 housing snapshot; a median sale price was not available. Using the 2025 full-year average revenue of $3,270 per month, annualized to $39,240, estimated gross rental yield is approximately 10.4% of the typical home value, before taxes and operating costs.
Across ADR tiers, the all-listings average of $279.43 compares to $286.40 for entire-home listings, essentially matched, $332.05 for professionally managed listings (up 18.8%), and $400.33 for the luxury tier (up 43.3% over the market-wide average). Revenue by property type: houses averaged $6,137 in June, ahead of entire-place listings at $5,823 (houses running 5.4% higher) and well above apartments at $3,907 (houses running 57.1% higher).
Revenue rose 3.3% year over year despite a 9.0% ADR decline, meaning occupancy and mix shifts more than offset the rate pullback. The 78.59 investability score and 80.64 rental demand score are both solid, while the 47.93 revenue growth score reflects the steep ADR decline. Sturgis carries a permissive regulatory environment: no dedicated city STR ordinance exists, so the 63.98 regulation score reflects primarily state licensing and county-level compliance rather than local caps, though investors should note the extreme concentration of demand around the roughly 10-day August rally window when evaluating cash flow timing.
Revenue Trend (5 yr)
ADR & Occupancy Trends (5 yr)
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Booking Insights
Sturgis’ average booking window runs 80.3 days of lead time, nearly three months, with a 3.59-night average length of stay, one of the shorter average stays in this batch. The long lead time and short stay together point to a market defined by planned, event-driven trips, especially the roughly 10-day August Motorcycle Rally, rather than open-ended vacation stays.
For owners, the 80-day window supports early-bird pricing well ahead of the rally and the broader June-July Black Hills season, when occupancy runs 73% to 75%. Given how concentrated demand is around a roughly 10-day event, owners should consider rally-specific minimum-stay and premium-rate strategies distinct from pricing during the broader June-September tourism season, since a single well-booked rally week can meaningfully move a property’s annual revenue. With occupancy falling below 50% from October through February, owners should also budget for a genuinely quiet off-season stretch that a strong rally week alone cannot fully offset.
Short-Term Rental Regulations
Sturgis has no dedicated short-term rental ordinance, making it one of the more permissive STR markets covered in this data set. There are no city-imposed permit caps, owner-occupancy requirements, primary-residence rules, or annual night limits. The primary compliance obligations sit at the state and county level: operators of vacation homes and similar lodging must obtain a South Dakota lodging establishment license through the Department of Health and register and comply at the Meade County level.
Lodging taxes stack to roughly 8.7% combined: 4.2% state sales tax, 1.5% state tourism tax, 2% Sturgis municipal tax, and 1% additional Sturgis lodging/eating/amusement tax. Enforcement of STR-specific rules is rated minimal, since the city has no STR framework to enforce; the main local land-use tension involves residential ‘yard camping’ during the rally rather than house rentals.
As of March 2026, the Sturgis City Council was debating updated yard-camping rules, not STR-specific regulation. Nearby Rapid City adopted new short-term rental regulations in December 2025, and Meade County has discussed but not enacted a broad STR ordinance of its own. Investors should verify current status directly with the City of Sturgis and Meade County planning given this active policy discussion.
Market Comparison
Sturgis’ 73.9% June occupancy runs well above the roughly 55% national median for short-term rentals, and its $279.43 ADR is also above the roughly $220 national median ADR, reflecting the market’s rally-driven pricing power even outside the peak event window. The professionally managed tier ($332.05 ADR) and luxury tier ($400.33 ADR) both further exceed the national ADR median.
Top property managers in the market include Evolve (72 listings, 5,007 reviews, 4.78 average rating), Stay in the Black Hills (60 listings, 4,548 reviews, 4.82 rating), and Soujourn (40 listings, 6,573 reviews, 4.67 rating). Combined, these top three managers operate 172 listings, about 7% of the roughly 2,459 tracked units, a fragmented market. Bear Property Management (27 listings, 1,648 reviews) posts the highest average rating among the top five at 4.86. Velora Management Group rounds out the top five with 28 listings and 812 reviews. As in most markets in this batch, no single national brand dominates Sturgis, leaving room for regional operators with rally-specific local knowledge.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sturgis, South Dakota
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