Galena, IL short-term rental market report (2026)
Jo Daviess County, Illinois. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesVery strict (5/5)
- 4-BR typical value$402K
- FEMA riskRelatively Low
- Demand drivers within 50 mi3
- People within 300 mi37.2 million
- ClimateSki-plus-summer
Everything STR HUB holds on Galena, IL 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. The Opportunity Score here is partial: it was calculated without revenue data, with the cash-flow component assumed to be below average, so it can understate the market.
Can you operate in Galena?
| Rule | What we hold on file |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | City of Galena (Jo Daviess County); surrounding unincorporated Jo Daviess County is governed by separate county zoning, not city ordinance. |
| Permit or licence | Special Use Permit approval plus a Vacation Rental operating license, administered by the Zoning Administrator under Galena Code of Ordinances §154.015 and §154.406. |
| Cap on rentals | City Council-set cap on total vacation rental licenses; all licenses are currently allocated, with a substantial waitlist for new applicants and no published timeline for new openings. |
| Lodging and sales taxes | Illinois statewide Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax (~6% of 94% of gross receipts) applies since January 6, 2026, plus any City of Galena and Jo Daviess County hotel/lodging tax (local rates not confirmed). |
Rules for Galena last verified September 20, 2026. 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.
The city has capped the number of vacation rental licenses; all available licenses are currently issued and there is a substantial waitlist with no confirmed timeline for new openings, effectively closing the market to new investors.
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
We have not verified revenue figures for this market yet.
Home values in Jo Daviess County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Jo Daviess County, not list prices. A specific property can sit well above or below them.
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
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Galena. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Attractions
- Galena
- When
- May to October, with strong autumn-colour and December weekends.
- Attendance
- 1,000,000 (Wikipedia (Galena, Illinois): "well over one million visitors each year" (archived reference dated 2007).)
- STR angle
- A preserved 19th-century main street three hours from Chicago, popular for couples' weekends, golf and a small ski hill. The Galena Territory resort community supplies most of the rental houses; stays are short and weekend-heavy.
Landmarks
- Field of Dreams Movie Site
- When
- Spring through fall; summer peaks.
- Attendance
- 100,000 (Wikipedia: under new ownership "visitor traffic has increased from 65,000 to 100,000 visitors per year, according to Go the Distance" (owner's figure, undated).)
- STR angle
- A film-set ballfield in a cornfield draws baseball families and fathers-and-sons road trips; Wikipedia notes the owners themselves rent out the farmhouse by the night. Dubuque and Galena are close enough to share guests, which helps a rental that cannot live on the ballfield alone.
- Galena Historic District
- When
- Year-round weekends; fall colour (October) peaks, with summer also busy.
- STR angle
- A preserved 19th-century lead-mining town that is Chicago's classic weekend escape, with couples and friend groups staying two nights. The Galena Territory resort community nearby is essentially a purpose-built vacation-rental market with golf and a lake.
When they come
Ski-plus-summer climate: at least three months bring six inches or more of snowfall, and May to September is comfortable. 5 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F, and 3 months average six inches or more of snow. Warmest month: July (average high 84°F). Coldest: February (average low 12°F).
- Jan29°13°ColdSnow
- Feb32°12°ColdSnow
- Mar47°28°Cool
- Apr57°38°Cool
- May69°50°Comfortable
- Jun81°61°Comfortable
- Jul84°66°Comfortable
- Aug82°63°Comfortable
- Sep75°58°Comfortable
- Oct60°44°Cool
- Nov47°31°Cool
- Dec38°23°ColdSnow
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 29 | 32 | 47 | 57 | 69 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 75 | 60 | 47 | 38 |
| Average low (°F) | 13 | 12 | 28 | 38 | 50 | 61 | 66 | 63 | 58 | 44 | 31 | 23 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.2 | 3.1 | 2.5 | 4.3 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 2.1 |
| Snowfall (in) | 9.9 | 8.0 | 4.5 | 2.9 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 6.4 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 5.1 | 7.1 | 7.5 | 8.6 | 9.8 | 11.5 | 12.2 | 11.6 | 9.4 | 7.4 | 6.6 | 5.4 |
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. We do not hold monthly occupancy or rate data for this market.
Who can reach it
Largest counties within 150 miles
| County | Population |
|---|---|
| Cook County, IL | 5,225,367 |
| Milwaukee County, WI | 933,063 |
| DuPage County, IL | 930,559 |
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 | Relatively Moderate | 84.6 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 68.8 |
| River flooding | Relatively Low | 58.5 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 39.6 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 28.1 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 21.5 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 16.4 |
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 Jo Daviess 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 Galena 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 Galena'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 Illinois, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Galena on the map
Open Galena on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Galena STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Galena?
STR HUB rates Galena's short-term rental rules 5/5 (Very strict) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). That rating was derived from the regulation text we hold and has not yet been reviewed by a person. Permit rule on file: Special Use Permit approval plus a Vacation Rental operating license, administered by the Zoning Administrator under Galena Code of Ordinances §154.015 and §154.406. Cap on file: City Council-set cap on total vacation rental licenses; all licenses are currently allocated, with a substantial waitlist for new applicants and no published timeline for new… Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does a 4-bedroom home cost in Galena?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Jo Daviess County is valued at $401,647 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $250,663, with all-home values up 3.9% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What brings visitors to Galena?
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Galena: Galena (1,000,000 published attendance), Field of Dreams Movie Site (100,000 published attendance) and Galena Historic District. Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
What natural hazards affect Galena?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Jo Daviess County "Relatively Low" overall, with a score of 51.3 out of 100 (a national percentile). The highest-scoring hazards we track there are hail and tornado. It is a county-wide index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination.
When is the weather best in Galena?
5 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F (May, June, July, August and September). Ski-plus-summer climate: at least three months bring six inches or more of snowfall, and May to September is comfortable. These are 2019-2023 climate normals, not booking data.
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research (official source: cityofgalena.org).
- 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 Jo Daviess 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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