Friday Harbor, Washington Short-Term Rental Market
Friday Harbor short-term rentals averaged $317 a night at 70.3% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Friday Harbor, Washington is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Puget Sound/Bremerton market area is 70%. average monthly revenue in the Puget Sound/Bremerton market area is $5,762. average daily rate in the Puget Sound/Bremerton market area is $317. the top operator in the Puget Sound/Bremerton market area is Vacasa with 327 listings. market score is 70/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Puget Sound/Bremerton regional market, which includes Friday Harbor. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Friday Harbor.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Friday Harbor, Washington, the gateway town to the San Juan Islands, sits within a wider San Juan Islands short-term rental market that tracks 5,386 listings as of June 2026; the listing-mix figures below reflect that shared regional data set rather than Friday Harbor in isolation. Friday Harbor’s own STR performance averaged $316.72 a night (ADR) at 70.3% occupancy, generating an average of $5,762 in monthly revenue per listing. Occupancy is up 1.5% year over year and revenue is up 6.4%, while ADR is down 3.1%, meaning more nights are booking even at a slightly lower rate.
The listing mix across this regional market is dominated by entire places: 5,066 of the 5,386 listings (94.1%) are whole units, with 318 (5.9%) private rooms and 2 (under 0.1%) shared rooms. Of the 5,375 listings with bedroom data on file, 1-bedroom units are the largest group at 2,160 (40.2%), followed by 2-bedroom units at 1,396 (26.0%) and 3-bedroom units at 1,145 (21.3%). Larger 4-bedroom and 5-bedroom properties account for 481 (8.9%) and 193 (3.6%) of the market.
Channel distribution across the region favors Airbnb-only listing: 2,535 properties (47.1%) are on Airbnb only, 2,442 (45.3%) are marketed on both Airbnb and Vrbo, and 409 (7.6%) are Vrbo only.
Revenue varies by property type in Friday Harbor itself: apartment-style units average $4,225 a month, entire-place units average $5,964, and standalone houses average $6,381, about 51% more than apartments.
Friday Harbor is a small town of about 2,736 residents that serves as the main arrival and lodging hub for the San Juan Islands, which draw an estimated 700,000 visitors a year, mostly for orca whale watching, sailing, and kayaking.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 36% |
| Feb | 47% |
| Mar | 50% |
| Apr | 56% |
| May | 58% |
| Jun | 69% |
| Jul | 79% |
| Aug | 79% |
| Sep | 63% |
| Oct | 50% |
| Nov | 45% |
| Dec | 45% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Friday Harbor are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Puget Sound/Bremerton market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Puget Sound/Bremerton market as a whole, which includes Friday Harbor, so these counts are not Friday Harbor-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vacasa | 327 | 24,080 | ★ 4.52 |
| 2 | Evolve | 144 | 9,100 | ★ 4.83 |
| 3 | San Juan Property Management | 91 | 8,680 | ★ 4.73 |
| 4 | AvantStay | 83 | 6,296 | ★ 4.75 |
| 5 | Brigadoon Vacation Rentals | 58 | 3,491 | ★ 4.81 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Friday Harbor?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Friday Harbor 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 | 47.1% |
| vrbo | 7.6% |
| both | 45.3% |
Home Value Trends (Friday Harbor)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Friday Harbor 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 Friday Harbor — 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
Short-term rentals around Friday Harbor are legal but heavily constrained by two overlapping authorities. San Juan County requires a Vacation Rental Permit for any qualifying single-family residence or accessory dwelling unit, either a Conditional Use Permit (permit cost on file: $2,300) or a Provisional Use Permit, renewed annually. The county caps total permits per island at 337 on San Juan Island and is not currently accepting new applications under an ongoing moratorium, so new county-level entry is effectively closed.
Within the incorporated Town of Friday Harbor itself, the restriction is even more direct: vacation rentals connected to the Town’s municipal water system, which covers most of the town, are prohibited outright. The Town separately adopted a 6-month moratorium on new transient accommodations, timeshares, and vacation rentals effective December 4, 2025.
Operators must collect and remit a 4.0% county lodging excise tax on top of Washington state and local sales tax. No owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement applies, and no statutory annual night cap was found in the data reviewed.
Enforcement is rated strict, and recent regulatory activity, the Town’s December 2025 moratorium plus County Ordinance 10-2025 requiring additional provisional permits in other island communities by June 25, 2026, points toward continued tightening rather than loosening. Investors should treat Friday Harbor and San Juan Island as a market where existing, transferable STR permits carry real scarcity value, while new entry purchases inside the town carry significant regulatory risk.
Market Comparison
Friday Harbor’s 70.3% occupancy runs well above the national short-term rental median of roughly 55%, about 15.3 percentage points higher, and its $316.72 ADR is roughly 44.0% above a national median ADR of about $220. As a ferry-only island destination with a hard cap on new STR permits, Friday Harbor combines high demand with genuinely constrained supply growth, a different dynamic than most mainland metro markets.
Across the wider San Juan Islands market that includes Friday Harbor, national and regional property managers lead. Vacasa holds the top spot with 327 listings (6.1% of the region’s 5,386 tracked listings) and 24,080 reviews at a 4.52 average rating. Evolve is second with 144 listings (2.7% share) and 9,100 reviews at 4.83. San Juan Property Management, a local operator, ranks third with 91 listings (1.7% share) and 8,680 reviews at 4.73. Together, the top three managers control only about 10.4% of tracked listings across this regional market, indicating the San Juan Islands are far less consolidated than many coastal short-term rental destinations, with most inventory likely self-managed or spread across smaller local operators.
Frequently Asked Questions About Friday Harbor, Washington
What is the average Airbnb occupancy rate in Friday Harbor, WA?
What is the average nightly rate for a Friday Harbor vacation rental?
Can I buy a house in Friday Harbor to operate as a new short-term rental?
How much revenue does the average Friday Harbor short-term rental generate per month?
When is peak season for Friday Harbor vacation rentals?
Who are the top property managers operating in the San Juan Islands / Friday Harbor area?
What lodging tax applies to short-term rentals near Friday Harbor?
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