Elizabethton, Tennessee Short-Term Rental Market
Elizabethton, TN STRs averaged $165/night at 49.6% occupancy in April 2026 with revenue up 2.3% year-over-year.
Quick Answer: Elizabethton, Tennessee is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Tennessee Area market area is 56%. average monthly revenue in the Tennessee Area market area is $3,325. average daily rate in the Tennessee Area market area is $218. the top operator in the Tennessee Area market area is Evolve with 408 listings. market score is 73/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Tennessee Area regional market, which includes Elizabethton. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Elizabethton.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Elizabethton is a small Appalachian city in Carter County, northeastern Tennessee, with a population of 14,442. The area is marketed as Tennessee’s Mountain Playground and draws outdoor recreation visitors to Watauga Lake, the Doe and Watauga rivers, and surrounding Cherokee National Forest, along with Revolutionary War heritage travelers. The STR market is considerably larger than the city alone suggests, with approximately 12,510 active listings across the broader market area.
In April 2026, the market posted an average daily rate of $165 and occupancy of 49.6%, generating a RevPAR of $82. Year-over-year, April 2026 showed modest but positive momentum: occupancy increased 0.9%, ADR rose 0.6%, and revenue grew 2.3% compared to April 2025. The 2025 full-year average occupancy was 49.4% at an ADR of $175 and monthly revenue of $2,466, both stable versus 2024 averages of 49.2% occupancy, $174 ADR, and $2,429 monthly revenue.
The listing mix is heavily entire-place focused. Of the 12,510 active listings, 11,881 are entire-place (95%), 612 are private rooms, and 17 are shared rooms. By bedroom count, 1-bedroom properties are the most common at 4,078 listings, followed by 2-bedroom (3,352), 3-bedroom (3,027), 4-bedroom (1,217), and 5-bedroom (807) units. Channel distribution shows balanced multi-platform presence: 5,688 listings are Airbnb-only, 5,652 appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, and 1,170 are VRBO-only. The overall market score is 73.12, with investability the strongest dimension at 92.79.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 35% |
| Feb | 45% |
| Mar | 53% |
| Apr | 49% |
| May | 52% |
| Jun | 59% |
| Jul | 61% |
| Aug | 51% |
| Sep | 46% |
| Oct | 53% |
| Nov | 47% |
| Dec | 45% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Elizabethton are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Tennessee Area market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Tennessee Area market as a whole, which includes Elizabethton, so these counts are not Elizabethton-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 408 | 14,027 | ★ 4.73 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 106 | 2,376 | ★ 4.59 |
| 3 | Byers & Harvey | 74 | 2,303 | ★ 4.85 |
| 4 | RedAwning | 64 | 848 | ★ 4.62 |
| 5 | RETREAT VACATIONS | 62 | 3,050 | ★ 4.82 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Elizabethton?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Elizabethton 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 | 45.5% |
| vrbo | 9.4% |
| both | 45.2% |
Home Value Trends (Elizabethton)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Elizabethton 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 Elizabethton — 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
Elizabethton does not have a city-specific short-term rental ordinance. Research of the city’s Municipal Code Title 14 (Planning and Zoning) found no dedicated STR permit program, owner-occupancy requirement, nightly cap, or density limit. There is no permit required to list a property on Airbnb or VRBO in Elizabethton. No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies.
STRs in Elizabethton operate under Tennessee’s statewide framework: the Short-Term Rental Unit Act (Public Chapter 972, 2018) allows municipalities to create reasonable permit processes and protects operators who were renting before any new local rules, but Elizabethton has not adopted a local program under this authority.
The primary compliance obligation is tax. Elizabethton levies a 5.0% hotel-motel (occupancy) tax on overnight stays, as published on the city’s official finance and rates page. In addition, Tennessee state sales tax of 7% applies to accommodation rentals. Tennessee capped cumulative local occupancy taxes at 8% in incorporated areas effective May 5, 2025; Elizabethton’s 5% city rate remains within that ceiling. Airbnb and VRBO collect and remit applicable state and local taxes automatically for marketplace bookings in Tennessee. A Tennessee business tax or license registration may also apply based on gross receipts.
Enforcement is minimal, handled through general code, zoning, and tax compliance rather than an STR-specific registry. Carter County hotel and motel tax revenue grew approximately 161% from 2019 to 2023, which could prompt future local rulemaking. Investors should confirm current requirements with the Elizabethton Planning Department and the Carter County Clerk before operating.
Market Comparison
Elizabethton’s April 2026 ADR of $165 sits below the national STR median of approximately $220, consistent with the inland Appalachian positioning and the moderate average property size. Occupancy of 49.6% trails the U.S. STR median of approximately 55%, though the year-over-year trend is positive with revenue growing 2.3% in April 2026.
The management landscape is led by national platform operators. Evolve dominates with 408 listings and 14,027 reviews at a 4.73 rating, the largest single-operator presence in this market. Vacasa holds second with 106 listings at a 4.59 rating. Byers and Harvey manages 74 listings with the highest rating among the top five at 4.85. RedAwning operates 64 listings (4.62 rating), and RETREAT VACATIONS rounds out the top five with 62 listings at a 4.82 rating. Together these five operators manage 714 listings, approximately 6% of the 12,510-listing market, making this a highly fragmented, independently operated market overall.
Elizabethton sits within the broader northeastern Tennessee Appalachian STR corridor that includes Johnson City and Kingsport, and the large listing count relative to city population confirms that the measured market area extends well into the surrounding mountain recreation zones. The investability score of 92.79 places this market near the top for the Appalachian region by that measure.
Frequently Asked Questions About Elizabethton, Tennessee
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