Poulsbo, Washington Short-Term Rental Market
Poulsbo, WA area STRs averaged $317/night at 70.3% occupancy in June 2026, the strongest performer in this batch.
Quick Answer: Poulsbo, 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 Poulsbo. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Poulsbo.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
Poulsbo is a waterfront town of 11,975 residents on Liberty Bay at the north end of Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula, branded “Little Norway” and “Viking City” for its Norwegian-immigrant heritage. It functions as a popular day-trip and weekend destination for the Seattle metro, reached via a roughly 25-minute drive from the Bainbridge Island ferry. In the most recent data month (June 2026), the Poulsbo area STR market posted an average daily rate of $316.72 at 70.3% occupancy, producing average monthly revenue of roughly $5,762 per listing, the strongest occupancy, rate, and revenue figures in this comparison batch by a wide margin. As with other StaySTRA markets, this data is tracked at a submarket level shared with nearby communities, so these figures describe the Poulsbo area STR market rather than city-limits data alone.
By tier, entire-home listings averaged $326.20 a night, the professionally managed segment $381.14, and the luxury tier $565.11, roughly 78% above the all-listings ADR.
Year over year, occupancy rose 1.45 percentage points while ADR eased 3.11% and revenue climbed 6.37%. The longer annual-average series shows a clearer cooling trend, however: occupancy peaked near 69.4% in 2021 and has declined steadily to 52.1% through 2026 year to date, even as ADR climbed from $170 in 2017 to a peak of $250 in 2025 before easing slightly to $238 in 2026.
Poulsbo’s visitor base centers on its walkable, Scandinavian-themed waterfront downtown, boaters using its harbor and three marinas, and signature festivals including Viking Fest in May, celebrating Norway’s Constitution Day, and Midtsommer Fest in June. No official annual visitor count is published for the city.
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 Poulsbo 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 Poulsbo, so these counts are not Poulsbo-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 Poulsbo?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Poulsbo 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 (Poulsbo)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Poulsbo 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 Poulsbo — 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
The City of Poulsbo does not currently regulate short-term rentals and imposes no city-level STR-specific permit, license, or fee. STRs, whether whole-home or a room in a primary residence, are effectively permitted with no city-imposed cap on nights and no formal owner-occupancy mandate for the general STR use itself.
The one hard city restriction is on accessory dwelling units: detached ADUs may not be used as short-term rentals and must instead be rented for a minimum of 90 days, meaning an STR must operate in the principal dwelling rather than a detached secondary structure. Operators remain subject to Washington State requirements, including registering with the Department of Revenue for a UBI and collecting and remitting lodging and sales taxes. Poulsbo levies a 4% total city lodging tax under PMC Chapter 3.32 (2% basic, credited against the state sales tax, plus a 2% additional excise charged directly to guests); combined with roughly 9.3% retail sales tax, the total guest-facing lodging tax comes to approximately 11.3%.
Enforcement is described as minimal given the absence of a city STR program. Washington State has moved on broader STR legislation, including registration and tax requirements under HB 1798, with an additional statewide STR tax floated under HB 2559, either of which could affect Poulsbo hosts in future years. No Poulsbo-specific STR ordinance has been adopted as of the current data.
Market Comparison
Poulsbo’s most recent occupancy of 70.3% runs well above the commonly cited US STR median of around 55%, by more than 15 percentage points, and its $316.72 ADR sits well above the national median ADR of roughly $220, by roughly 44%. That combination of high occupancy and a high rate makes Poulsbo the clear top performer among the markets processed in this batch, reflecting genuine destination demand from the Seattle metro rather than a rate-driven or occupancy-driven outlier alone.
Within the market, the luxury tier’s $565.11 ADR and professionally managed tier’s $381.14 both run well above the all-listings average, though the premium (roughly 78% for luxury) is somewhat narrower in percentage terms than in lower-priced markets like Pottsboro, TX, since Poulsbo’s baseline rate is already high. Top-operator and listing-mix data (which companies manage the most local listings, and how the market splits by bedroom count or listing type) is tracked at a shared regional level rather than uniquely for Poulsbo, so this profile omits those specific figures.
Frequently Asked Questions About Poulsbo, Washington
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Can an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) be used as an Airbnb in Poulsbo?
What taxes apply to short-term rentals in Poulsbo?
What is the busiest month for short-term rentals in Poulsbo?
How much does a Poulsbo-area short-term rental cost to buy?
What type of property earns the most in the Poulsbo STR market?
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