Is Airbnb Still Profitable in 2026? What 1,065,000 Listings Tell Us
"Is Airbnb still worth it?"
We hear this question constantly. And most of the answers out there are either blindly optimistic ("Airbnb is a money machine") or fear-mongering ("The bubble is bursting"). Neither is useful if you are trying to make a real investment decision.
So we pulled the data. All of it. 1,065,055 verified listings across 3,864 US markets. Not estimates. Not projections. Actual performance data from properties with at least 9 months of booking history.
Here is what we found.
The Short Answer: It Depends on Where
That is not a cop-out. It is the most important insight in the data.
The national weighted average revenue for an STR listing is $37,925 per year. At first glance, that seems healthy. But zoom into the distribution and the picture gets more nuanced:
- 53.7% of markets produce less than $30,000 per year in median revenue
- 39.2% of markets fall between $30,000 and $50,000
- Only 7.0% of markets generate more than $50,000 per year
- Just 15 markets in the entire US cross $100,000 in median revenue
The majority of US STR markets produce enough revenue to cover a mortgage on a moderately priced property, but not enough to build serious wealth. The markets where Airbnb is genuinely profitable for investors are in the top quartile, and finding them requires looking beyond marketing headlines.
This is the real profitability question: not "Is Airbnb profitable?" but "Which markets actually produce numbers worth underwriting?"
The Occupancy Story
National weighted average occupancy sits at 56.2%. That means the typical STR listing is booked a little more than half the year.
But that number hides enormous variation. Some markets maintain 80%+ occupancy year-round:
| Market | Occupancy | Revenue | Listings |
|--------|-----------|---------|----------|
| Abilene, TX | 83% | $35,456 | 328 |
| New York, NY | 79% | $38,894 | 3,404 |
| Brighton, MA | 79% | $56,133 | 87 |
| Irvine, CA | 79% | $42,653 | 129 |
| Kailua, HI | 78% | $44,622 | 91 |
Meanwhile, some high-revenue seasonal markets dip below 50%:
| Market | Occupancy | Revenue | Listings |
|--------|-----------|---------|----------|
| East Hampton, NY | 48% | $110,846 | 80 |
| Nantucket, MA | 51% | $107,751 | 73 |
| Southampton, NY | 44% | $103,937 | 80 |
Both strategies can work. High-occupancy markets give you predictable monthly cash flow. Seasonal markets can generate six figures in four to five months. The question is which model fits your financial plan and risk tolerance.
What $230 Per Night Actually Means
The weighted average ADR across all US markets is $229 per night. That sounds high, but it is heavily influenced by luxury vacation markets.
Strip out the top 5% and the typical ADR for most markets sits between $120 and $200 per night. At $150 per night and 56% occupancy, a listing generates roughly $30,700 per year. At $200 per night and 65% occupancy, you are looking at $47,450.
The math works when two conditions are met: your purchase price is low enough that $30,000-$50,000 in gross revenue covers your operating costs and debt service, or you are in a premium market where ADR and occupancy combine to push revenue well above that range.
The Supply Problem
This is where things get uncomfortable for some investors. Supply is growing. AirDNA's latest US market report (February 2026) puts the total US listing count at 1.61 million, up 2.9% year over year. Demand grew only 0.9% over the same period.
When supply grows faster than demand, occupancy drops and pricing power erodes. We are already seeing this nationally: occupancy is down 0.7% year over year.
But supply growth is not evenly distributed. Some markets are adding listings at double-digit rates while others are relatively stable. The markets with strict regulations, like permit caps and owner-occupancy requirements, tend to have more constrained supply, which protects existing operators.
This is why market-level analysis matters more than national trends. A rising tide does not lift all boats when some markets are flooding.
Revenue trends tell you whether a market is strengthening or quietly rolling over.
Profitability gets squeezed fast when supply rises and saturation moves from healthy to crowded.
Three Signals That a Market Is Still Profitable
Based on our data, here is what separates profitable markets from the rest:
1. Revenue above $40,000 with occupancy above 60%
This combination means the market has enough demand to support current pricing. Only about 25% of US markets hit both thresholds, but those are the ones where the unit economics actually pencil out after expenses.
2. Supply growth under 5% year over year
Markets where listings are being added faster than demand is growing will see margin compression. Check the active listings growth trend before committing.
3. Multiple demand drivers
Markets dependent on a single demand source, one ski resort, one beach, or one event venue, carry concentration risk. The most resilient markets have a mix: tourism, business travel, relocations, medical facilities, universities.
So Is It Still Profitable?
Yes. In the right markets, with the right property, at the right price point.
No, if you buy in a random market based on a TikTok recommendation and assume the averages will hold.
The data is clear: roughly 7% of US STR markets produce more than $50,000 per year in median revenue. Another 39% produce $30,000-$50,000, which can be profitable if your acquisition cost is right. The remaining 54% are difficult to make work as investment properties unless you have a specific edge, like a below-market purchase, very low expenses, or a niche demand driver.
The investors who are still building wealth with STRs in 2026 are doing two things differently:
- They are picking markets based on data, not hype. They look at actual revenue from verified listings, not estimates from platforms that include every dead listing on Airbnb.
- They are running the numbers at the property level. Market averages get you to a shortlist. Property-specific analysis, including revenue by bedroom count, comparable performance, expense projections, cap rate, and cash-on-cash return, gets you to a decision.
Run Your Own Numbers
STRProfitMap covers 3,864 US markets with data from 1,065,055 reliable listings. You can explore market-level data for free. For property-level analysis with full financial projections, upgrade to Pro.
Profitability is not a vibe. It is a set of numbers: NOI, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and DSCR on a real property at a real purchase price.
Data: STRProfitMap analysis of a cleaned dataset of 1,065,055 reliable listings across 3,864 US markets after deduping repeated city keys. "Reliable" = verified booking history of 9+ months. Revenue figures are median annual for the trailing 12 months. Markets with fewer than 20 reliable listings excluded. April 2026
