Gulf Shores, AL short-term rental market report (2026)
Baldwin County, Alabama. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesLight-touch (2/5)
- Average revenue$64K a year
- 4-BR typical value$445K
- Gross yield14.4%
- FEMA riskRelatively High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi3
Everything STR HUB holds on Gulf Shores, AL 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 Gulf Shores?
What the rating rests on: Gulf Shores requires all property owners who rent their property within the city's corporate limits or police jurisdiction to obtain a business license.
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 Baldwin County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Baldwin 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
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Gulf Shores. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Hangout Music Festival
- When
- Third weekend of May, 3 days
- Attendance
- 40,000 (40,000 tickets sold (2014, per Wikipedia); no verified more-recent total was found in this pass.)
- STR angle
- A beachfront festival that extends Gulf Shores/Orange Beach's short-term rental season a few weeks past spring break into May.
Attractions
- Gulf Shores & Orange Beach
- When
- March spring break to early August; snowbird long stays in January and February.
- STR angle
- Alabama's 32 miles of Gulf beach are a drive-to family market for the whole mid-South, dominated by high-rise condo rentals. Beachfront condos rent by the week in summer and by the month to snowbirds in winter; hurricane insurance is a major cost line.
Parks and public lands
- Gulf Islands National Seashore
- When
- Year-round; peaks June, July, August (by recreation-visit volume, 2025).
- Attendance
- 7,576,923 (NPS recreation visits, full calendar year 2025)
- STR angle
- A core anchor of the Florida-Alabama-Mississippi Gulf Coast beach-condo/vacation-rental market.
When they come
Year-round climate: at least nine months of the year have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. 12 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: August (average high 87°F). Coldest: January (average low 49°F).
- Jan62°49°Comfortable
- Feb65°53°Comfortable
- Mar70°58°Comfortable
- Apr73°62°Comfortable
- May80°70°ComfortableEvent
- Jun85°76°Comfortable
- Jul86°78°Comfortable
- Aug87°79°Comfortable
- Sep85°75°Comfortable
- Oct78°66°Comfortable
- Nov69°56°Comfortable
- Dec65°53°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 62 | 65 | 70 | 73 | 80 | 85 | 86 | 87 | 85 | 78 | 69 | 65 |
| Average low (°F) | 49 | 53 | 58 | 62 | 70 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 75 | 66 | 56 | 53 |
| Precipitation (in) | 4.3 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 6.1 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 4.3 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 7.7 | 8.1 | 10.0 | 10.2 | 11.6 | 11.7 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 9.5 | 8.7 | 7.7 |
| Event month | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- May: Hangout Music Festival
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 |
|---|---|
| Jefferson Parish, LA | 436,171 |
| Mobile County, AL | 413,878 |
| Orleans Parish, LA | 380,408 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | Very High | 99.2 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 92.8 |
| River flooding | Relatively Moderate | 92.2 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Moderate | 90.8 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 85.8 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 72.4 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 63.2 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 59.3 |
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. Get property-level flood, wind and wildfire quotes before you buy.
Market context
Housing and jobs in Baldwin 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 Gulf Shores 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 Gulf Shores'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 Alabama, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Gulf Shores on the map
Open Gulf Shores on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Gulf Shores STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Gulf Shores?
STR HUB rates Gulf Shores's short-term rental rules 2/5 (Light-touch) 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. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does an Airbnb make in Gulf Shores?
The average short-term rental in Gulf Shores, AL grosses $64,000 a year, on a $265 average nightly rate and 66% occupancy. That ranks #37 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 Gulf Shores?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Baldwin County is valued at $444,765 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $372,122, with all-home values down 0.1% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Gulf Shores?
14.4%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $64,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $444,765. 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 Gulf Shores?
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Gulf Shores: Gulf Islands National Seashore (7,576,923 published attendance), Hangout Music Festival (40,000 published attendance) and Gulf Shores & Orange Beach. 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.
- Park visitation: National Park Service, NPS Visitor Use Statistics.
- 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 Baldwin 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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