Nekoosa, Wisconsin Short-Term Rental Market
The Nekoosa area STR market averaged $293 a night at 60.1% occupancy in June 2026.
Quick Answer: Nekoosa, Wisconsin is an active short-term rental market. average occupancy in the Wisconsin Area market area is 60%. average monthly revenue in the Wisconsin Area market area is $4,359. average daily rate in the Wisconsin Area market area is $293. the top operator in the Wisconsin Area market area is Evolve with 553 listings. market score is 80/100 (grade B).
Market data reflects the Wisconsin Area regional market, which includes Nekoosa. Regulations, taxes, and permit details below are specific to Nekoosa.
Market Score Breakdown
Five dimensions StaySTRA evaluates per market.
Market Overview
The Nekoosa area short-term rental market, centered on this small Wisconsin River city in Wood County, sits within a wider central Wisconsin lakes market that tracks 14,852 listings as of June 2026; the listing-mix figures below reflect that shared regional data set rather than Nekoosa alone. The Nekoosa area’s own STR performance averaged $293.06 a night (ADR) at 60.1% occupancy, generating an average of $4,359 in monthly revenue per listing. Revenue is up 3.2% year over year, while occupancy is essentially flat, down 0.1%, and ADR is down 2.4%.
The listing mix across this regional market is dominated by entire places: 14,056 of the 14,852 listings (94.6%) are whole units, with 792 (5.3%) private rooms and 4 shared rooms. Of the 14,824 listings with bedroom data on file, 2-bedroom units are the largest group at 4,277 (28.9%), followed by 3-bedroom units at 4,069 (27.4%) and 1-bedroom units at 2,983 (20.1%). Larger 4-bedroom and 5-bedroom properties account for 2,156 (14.5%) and 1,339 (9.0%) of the market.
Channel distribution across the region favors dual listing: 7,059 properties (47.5%) are marketed on both Airbnb and Vrbo, 5,664 (38.1%) are Airbnb only, and 2,129 (14.3%) are Vrbo only.
Revenue varies by property type in the Nekoosa area itself: apartment-style units average $2,773 a month, entire-place units average $4,495, and standalone houses average $4,715, the highest of the three.
Nekoosa has a population of about 2,420 and draws Midwest road-trippers, anglers, and golf travelers, with Ho-Chunk Gaming Nekoosa as the main in-town attraction and the nationally ranked Sand Valley Golf Resort just outside town.
Seasonal Patterns
| Month | Occupancy |
|---|---|
| Jan | 36% |
| Feb | 41% |
| Mar | 35% |
| Apr | 41% |
| May | 50% |
| Jun | 62% |
| Jul | 70% |
| Aug | 62% |
| Sep | 47% |
| Oct | 43% |
| Nov | 38% |
| Dec | 41% |
Month-by-month nightly rates and revenue figures for Nekoosa are available to StaySTRA Pro members. Unlock with StaySTRA Pro or analyze a specific address free.
Top Short-Term Rental Operators in Wisconsin Area market area
Ranked by total active listings. Useful for understanding the competitive landscape. Operator data is published for the Wisconsin Area market as a whole, which includes Nekoosa, so these counts are not Nekoosa-only figures.
| # | Operator | Listings | Reviews | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Evolve | 553 | 19,950 | ★ 4.74 |
| 2 | Vacasa | 421 | 11,122 | ★ 4.62 |
| 3 | Hiller Vacation Homes | 95 | 1,825 | ★ 4.46 |
| 4 | Northwoods Property Managment | 63 | 445 | ★ 4.71 |
| 5 | Wild Eagle Lodge | 59 | 18 | ★ 4.50 |
What Kind of STR Should I Buy in Nekoosa?
Revenue and nightly-rate breakdowns by bedroom count, property tier, and dwelling type for Nekoosa 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 | 38.1% |
| vrbo | 14.3% |
| both | 47.5% |
Home Value Trends (Nekoosa)
Typical home values, median sale prices, and the 10-year price trend for Nekoosa 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 Nekoosa — 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 are legal in and around Nekoosa, governed primarily by Wisconsin state law rather than a dedicated city ordinance. Under Wisconsin’s right to rent statutes, the city cannot ban rentals of 7 or more consecutive days; it may regulate shorter stays and cap rentals at up to 180 nights a year, though no Nekoosa-specific limit was confirmed.
Anyone renting a residential dwelling to transients for more than 10 nights a year must obtain a state Tourist Rooming House (TRH) license through the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. In this area the license is administered locally by Wood County environmental health, which also serves as the agent for Adams County properties; the license renews annually and costs roughly $296 a year for a single unit, plus a one time pre-inspection fee.
Operators must also register with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and collect 5.5% state and county sales tax. A municipal room tax may apply in nearby communities (the Town of Rome levies 8%), but no City of Nekoosa room tax ordinance was located, so the current city rate should be confirmed with the city clerk. There is no owner-occupancy or primary-residence requirement.
Enforcement at the city level appears minimal given the absence of a dedicated STR ordinance, but the state TRH licensing and inspection requirements are mandatory regardless.
Market Comparison
The Nekoosa area’s 60.1% occupancy runs above the national short-term rental median of roughly 55%, about 5.1 percentage points higher, while its $293.06 ADR is roughly 33.2% above a national median ADR of about $220. This combination of solid occupancy and a healthy rate premium is consistent with a Midwest lakes and golf-recreation market with concentrated summer demand.
Top property manager data for this market area could not be confirmed as specific to the Nekoosa area: the operators appearing in the region’s tracked data include names associated with a different part of Wisconsin’s lake country well north of Wood County, so no property manager breakdown is presented here. Buyers researching management options should verify any specific operator’s actual service area directly rather than relying on regional rollup data. Nekoosa’s own housing and regulatory profile, covered elsewhere in this report, remain reliable at the city level regardless of this PM data limitation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nekoosa, Wisconsin
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What is the average nightly rate for a vacation rental near Nekoosa, WI?
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How much revenue does the average Nekoosa area short-term rental generate per month?
When is peak season for vacation rentals near Nekoosa?
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