Chincoteague Island, Virginia Short-Term Rental Market
Chincoteague Island STRs averaged $249/night at 42.3% occupancy in April 2026 across approximately 2,258 active listings.
Quick Answer: Chincoteague Island, Virginia is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Cambridge/Salisbury market area is 64%. average monthly revenue in the Cambridge/Salisbury market area is $5,574. average daily rate in the Cambridge/Salisbury market area is $345. the top operator in the Cambridge/Salisbury market area is Seaside vacation rentals with 210 listings. market score is 65/100 (grade C).
Market data reflects the Cambridge/Salisbury regional market, which includes Chincoteague Island. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Chincoteague Island.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Chincoteague Island, Virginia is a small barrier-island market of approximately 2,258 active short-term rental listings, built almost entirely around access to the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and Assateague Island. The market reported an average daily rate of $248.50 and occupancy of 42.3% in April 2026, a shoulder month, producing monthly revenue of $2,563 per listing and a RevPAR of $105.10.
Year over year, occupancy declined 6.2 percentage points while ADR rose 5.0%, resulting in a modest revenue decline of 1.7%. This occupancy softening in early 2026 reflects April’s position as a pre-season month and should be read alongside the full seasonal picture rather than treated as a trend signal on its own.
The listing mix is overwhelmingly entire-place units: 2,130 of the approximately 2,258 active listings (94.3%) are entire-place rentals. Private rooms account for 127 listings and shared rooms just 1. By bedroom count, three-bedroom properties are the largest segment at 810, followed by two-bedrooms (495), one-bedrooms (399), four-bedrooms (352), and five-bedroom-plus (198). The dual-listed segment is notable: 1,250 listings appear on both Airbnb and VRBO, compared to 748 Airbnb-only and 260 VRBO-only properties, reflecting the market’s appeal to both urban short-trip and extended beach-vacation bookers.
The market score of 64.65 out of 100 is anchored by an outstanding investability score of 93.42 and a strong revenue growth score of 81.92, offset by a low seasonality score of 46.76 that reflects the market’s pronounced summer concentration.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 30% |
| Feb | 38% |
| Mar | 44% |
| Apr | 47% |
| May | 51% |
| Jun | 65% |
| Jul | 73% |
| Aug | 69% |
| Sep | 48% |
| Oct | 37% |
| Nov | 33% |
| Dec | 33% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Chincoteague Island are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Cambridge/Salisbury market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Cambridge/Salisbury market as a whole, which includes Chincoteague Island, so these counts are not Chincoteague Island-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Seaside vacation rentals | 210 | 6,224 | ★ 4.73 |
| 2 | Coastal Shore Vacations | 201 | 2,204 | ★ 4.60 |
| 3 | Island Getaways | 123 | 3,129 | ★ 4.80 |
| 4 | Harbour Rentals | 84 | 1,764 | ★ 4.52 |
| 5 | Evolve | 72 | 2,082 | ★ 4.76 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Chincoteague Island?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Chincoteague Island 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 | 33.1% |
| vrbo | 11.5% |
| both | 55.4% |
Booking Insights
Booking-window and length-of-stay analysis for Chincoteague Island — 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
Chincoteague Island explicitly permits short-term rentals and recognizes them as integral to the tourism economy. Approximately 800 of the island’s roughly 3,500 residences operate as STRs, representing about 23% of the housing stock. Operators must obtain a Town of Chincoteague business license, with each rental property registered separately. The initial business license fee is $50, and the annual renewal tax is $0.13 per $100 of prior-year gross receipts, with a minimum of $50 and a maximum of $500. Renewal notices are mailed in January, gross receipts are due by March 1, and licenses must be purchased by April 30 annually.
The combined lodging tax rate is approximately 12% of gross rental receipts, composed of a 5% Town of Chincoteague transient occupancy tax, a 5% Virginia state transient occupancy tax, and a 2% Accomack County transient occupancy tax. There is no owner-occupancy, primary-residence, or maximum-nights requirement under current rules.
A significant regulatory development is pending: a proposed ordinance with a public hearing scheduled for June 1, 2026, would remove short-term rentals from the list of uses permitted by right in the R-1 low-density residential district. Affected neighborhoods include Sunnywood Manor, Oyster Bay 1 and 2, Piney Island, Wildcat, Richardson’s Landing, Highland Park Drive, Chester Park Drive, Demarco Lane, and Smuggler’s Cove. Existing licensed STRs in R-1 zones would be grandfathered and would remain transferable to new owners as long as the license is maintained without lapse. Investors targeting R-1 properties should verify the current licensing status of any property before closing. Enforcement is rated moderate.
Market Comparison
Chincoteague Island’s April 2026 occupancy of 42.3% falls below the U.S. STR median of approximately 55%, but April is a shoulder month in a market that peaks sharply in summer. The 2025 full-year average occupancy of 46.7% is more representative, and even that figure is pulled down by the extended off-season. The ADR of $248.50 is above the approximate U.S. median of $220, reflecting the premium pricing that beach and wildlife destination markets command even in shoulder periods.
The market’s standout metric is its investability score of 93.42 out of 100, the highest of the five markets in this batch. Revenue growth at 81.92 is also strong, consistent with the annual revenue trend from $3,060 in 2023 to $3,272 in 2024 to $3,459 in 2025.
Professional management is well-established for a market of this size. Seaside Vacation Rentals leads with 210 listings, 6,224 reviews, and a 4.726 rating. Coastal Shore Vacations operates 201 listings (rating 4.595), and Island Getaways manages 123 listings with the highest rating of the top five at 4.800. The top five operators collectively manage 690 listings, representing approximately 30.6% of the market, a notably high consolidation rate that reflects the maturity of vacation rental management on the island.
Frequently Asked Questions About Chincoteague Island, Virginia
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Do I need a permit to rent on Chincoteague Island?
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