Dallas, TX short-term rental market report (2026)
Dallas County, Texas. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesLight-touch (2/5)
- Average revenue$40K a year
- 4-BR typical value$418K
- Gross yield9.6%
- FEMA riskVery High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi5
Everything STR HUB holds on Dallas, TX in one place, in the order an investor needs it: whether you can operate, what the numbers are, why and when people come, who can reach it, and what could go wrong.
Every figure comes from a named dataset listed under Sources and method, dated September 21, 2026. Where we do not hold a figure, that part of the report is left out rather than estimated.
Can you operate in Dallas?
What the rating rests on: Relatively STR-friendly. Business registration required. HOA restrictions may apply.
Rules change, and a city rating does not cover HOA or deed restrictions. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before you buy or list.
Which way the rules are moving
Stable. The rules we hold report no recent or pending change.
Classified from the regulation text we publish; a direction is only kept when the sentence it rests on appears word for word in that text.
The numbers
Revenue
Gross market averages from STR HUB market analytics, the same figures shown on the market page. They are before cleaning, management, utilities, taxes and financing, and an individual property can earn more or less.
Home values in Dallas County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Dallas County, not list prices. A specific property can sit well above or below them.
Gross yield
Gross yield is before every operating cost and before financing. It is a screening ratio, not a cash-on-cash return.
What it costs to own
Screening figures, not a bill or a quote. The tax rate is a county-wide median for owner-occupied homes (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022); second homes and rentals are often taxed more heavily, and a purchase usually resets the assessed value. Expected annual loss is from the FEMA National Risk Index.
Housing market momentum
County-level, for-sale housing market: it says nothing directly about STR bookings. A relative ranking among tracked markets, not a forecast. Sources: Realtor.com Economic Research, U.S. Census Bureau, Zillow Home Value Index.
Why people come
5 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Dallas, 1 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- State Fair of Texas
- When
- Late September through mid-October, 24 days
- Attendance
- 2,020,064 (2,020,064 visitors (2025, per Wikipedia) - a 15.3% year-over-year decline and the lowest attendance in eight years.)
- STR angle
- A 24-day event (the longest-running driver in this dataset) that sustains elevated Dallas Fair Park-area lodging demand across nearly a full month each fall, though recent attendance has trended down.
Attractions
- Meow Wolf Grapevine (The Real Unreal)
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- Part of a broadening North Texas attraction cluster (alongside Universal Kids Resort and DFW's existing draws) that supports multi-stop, multi-night family trips through the Metroplex.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Meow Wolf
- Universal Kids Resort emerging: newly opened
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- First Universal park built from scratch for young families in a market (North DFW) with almost no prior destination-park lodging base; expect 2-4 night family stays with young kids driving demand for 3-4BR homes with pools within 15-20 minutes of the gate.
Landmarks
- Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
- When
- Year-round; summer and the November anniversary peak.
- Attendance
- 400,000 (Wikipedia infobox: 400,000 visitors (undated).)
- STR angle
- The Kennedy assassination site is a fixed stop for out-of-town visitors already in Dallas for conventions, games and concerts. It supports downtown-adjacent stays but does not set the calendar; Dallas's rental ordinance has been contested in court, so regulatory risk is the main issue.
- Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District
- When
- Year-round, with daily cattle drives; the January–February stock show and spring and fall weekends peak.
- STR angle
- Honky-tonks, rodeo and cattle drives draw bachelor and bachelorette groups, families and international tourists wanting the cowboy side of Dallas–Fort Worth. Fort Worth bars short-term rentals in residential zoning, so investors are limited to mixed-use and commercial parcels near the district.
When they come
Winter-sun climate: at least three comfortable months fall between November and March, and summer highs top 95°F, so winter is the pleasant season. 6 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: August (average high 96°F). Coldest: February (average low 38°F).
- Jan57°39°Cool
- Feb58°38°Cool
- Mar69°50°Comfortable
- Apr75°56°Comfortable
- May82°65°Comfortable
- Jun90°73°Hot
- Jul95°78°Hot
- Aug96°78°Hot
- Sep90°72°HotEvent
- Oct78°59°ComfortableEvent
- Nov66°48°Comfortable
- Dec62°44°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 57 | 58 | 69 | 75 | 82 | 90 | 95 | 96 | 90 | 78 | 66 | 62 |
| Average low (°F) | 39 | 38 | 50 | 56 | 65 | 73 | 78 | 78 | 72 | 59 | 48 | 44 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.9 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 8.8 | 4.9 | 3.0 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 7.0 | 4.3 | 2.7 |
| Snowfall (in) | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 6.9 | 6.9 | 8.2 | 9.4 | 9.3 | 11.2 | 12.1 | 12.0 | 10.8 | 9.2 | 7.8 | 7.3 |
| Event month | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- September: State Fair of Texas
- October: State Fair of Texas
This is climate and events, not booking data. Monthly normals are 2019-2023 averages from the Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (ERA5 reanalysis) at the market pin. Event months come from the demand drivers listed above. We do not hold monthly occupancy or rate data for this market.
Who can reach it
Largest counties within 150 miles
| County | Population |
|---|---|
| Dallas County, TX | 2,604,053 |
| Tarrant County, TX | 2,113,854 |
| Collin County, TX | 1,079,153 |
County populations (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2018-2022) summed for every county whose centre lies within each straight-line radius. Straight lines are shorter than roads, so read these as generous upper bounds, not drive-time counts.
What could go wrong
| Hazard | FEMA rating | Score (0-100) |
|---|---|---|
| Hail | Very High | 100.0 |
| Tornado | Very High | 99.8 |
| River flooding | Very High | 99.6 |
| Winter weather | Very High | 98.7 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 91.3 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 80.3 |
| Hurricane | Relatively Low | 73.6 |
This is a county-level index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination. A coastal or wildfire-fringe rental can carry far more exposure than its county average suggests. FEMA does not model coastal flooding for this county, which is not the same as zero risk. Get property-level flood, wind and wildfire quotes before you buy.
Market context
Housing and jobs in Dallas County
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2018-2022. Vacation-home share is housing units held for seasonal, recreational or occasional use. All three describe the whole county, not one town or neighbourhood.
What is within 15 km of the Dallas pin
Counts of features mapped in OpenStreetMap within 15 km of the market pin. A fixed radius favours dense metros, and map coverage varies by area.
Similar markets
The 4 tracked markets whose numbers sit closest to Dallas's. Each links to its own report.
Closest by normalised distance across the figures both markets hold (typical 4BR value, revenue, occupancy, regulation rating, vacation-home share, tourism job share, 4+ bedroom share, amenity score, population within 300 miles, comfortable months and FEMA risk score). At most 2 of the 4 come from Texas, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Dallas on the map
Open Dallas on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Dallas STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Dallas?
STR HUB rates Dallas's short-term rental rules 2/5 (Light-touch) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does an Airbnb make in Dallas?
The average short-term rental in Dallas, TX grosses $40,000 a year, on a $185 average nightly rate and 60% occupancy. That ranks #82 of the 88 tracked markets with revenue data. It is a gross market average before cleaning, management, taxes and financing, and an individual property can earn more or less.
How much does a 4-bedroom home cost in Dallas?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Dallas County is valued at $418,101 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $306,649, with all-home values down 1.9% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Dallas?
9.6%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $40,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $418,101. It is before every operating cost and before financing, so treat it as a screening ratio, not a cash-on-cash return.
What brings visitors to Dallas?
5 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Dallas, including State Fair of Texas (2,020,064 published attendance), Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (400,000 published attendance) and Fort Worth Stockyards National Historic District. Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research.
- Revenue, nightly rate and occupancy: STR Agent HUB market analytics.
- Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), county level. Data provided by Zillow Group.
- Housing, employment and population figures: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, 2018-2022.
- Natural hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, county level.
- Amenity counts: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
- Climate normals: Open-Meteo Historical Weather API (CC BY 4.0), 2019-2023 averages.
- Demand drivers: each entry links its own published source in the list above.
Figures come from the STR HUB national dataset dated September 21, 2026 and this page is regenerated whenever that dataset is rebuilt. County-level figures describe Dallas County as a whole, not one street or neighbourhood. The Opportunity Score (0-100) is a screening heuristic that weighs revenue (35%), regulatory climate (25%), tourism employment (15%), nearby amenities (15%) and large-home supply (10%) relative to the other tracked markets.
Confirm before you act. Short-term rental rules change. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction, and work with a licensed local agent who knows which properties can legally operate. This report is screening data, not investment, legal or tax advice.
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