STR Occupancy Rates in 2026: What the Live Data Shows
"What's a good occupancy rate for a short-term rental?" is the wrong question. The right one is: what's a good occupancy rate for MY market? A 55% calendar is underperforming on the Emerald Coast but excellent in a big supply-saturated city. This 2026 benchmark pulls live forward-occupancy from public Airbnb listings across eight U.S. markets so you can judge your own numbers against reality, not a blog-post average.
2026 Occupancy Benchmark — 8 U.S. Short-Term Rental Markets
Forward occupancy = the share of the next 90 nights already booked or host-blocked across sampled listings. This is the standard forward-looking proxy used across the STR-analytics industry.
| Market | Forward occupancy | Median ADR | RevPAR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City Beach, FL | 82.2% | $185 | $152 |
| Outer Banks, NC | 73.9% | $178 | $132 |
| Clearwater, FL | 66.1% | $106 | $70 |
| San Diego, CA | 65.0% | $155 | $101 |
| Pigeon Forge, TN | 61.1% | $241 | $148 |
| Gatlinburg, TN | 53.9% | $286 | $154 |
| Sedona, AZ | 52.2% | $355 | $185 |
| Galveston, TX | 26.7% | $146 | $39 |
Across these markets the median forward occupancy is 63.0%. The spread is enormous — from 82.2% in Panama City Beach, FL down to 26.7% in Galveston, TX — which is exactly why a single "good occupancy rate" number is useless for decision-making.
Why Occupancy Rates Vary So Widely in 2026
- Seasonality & supply. Beach and mountain markets (Panama City Beach, FL, Pigeon Forge, Outer Banks) run high forward occupancy because demand is concentrated and repeat. Big metros with heavy supply show lower calendars even when nightly rates hold up.
- ADR trade-off. High occupancy at a low ADR (see the low-ADR beach towns) can out-earn a premium market that sits empty. RevPAR — not occupancy alone — is the true scoreboard.
- Host blocks. Forward occupancy counts host-blocked nights, so treat it as an upper bound; owner-used calendars inflate it in second-home markets.
How to Benchmark YOUR Occupancy Rate
- Find your market's real number — not a national average. Your target is the local forward-occupancy figure above (or a live pull for your specific city).
- Compare on RevPAR, not occupancy. If you're at 73.9% occupancy but your RevPAR beats the market, you're winning on price. If both trail, fix pricing and listing quality first.
- Watch the trend, not the snapshot. A single reading tells you where you stand today; the money is in tracking how your forward calendar moves week over week versus the market.
Key Takeaways for 2026
- There is no universal "good" STR occupancy rate — the 2026 median across these eight markets is 63.0%, but real markets range from 26.7% to 82.2%.
- Panama City Beach, FL leads this sample at 82.2% forward occupancy; high-supply metros sit far lower.
- Judge performance on RevPAR (ADR × occupancy), not occupancy in isolation.
- Benchmark against your local market, refreshed regularly — a stale or national figure will mis-price you.
Every number here is computed from live public Airbnb listings and refreshes daily. To pull current occupancy, ADR, RevPAR, and revenue for any market — or to track it programmatically across a portfolio — the STRmetrics API delivers it on demand.