Houston, TX short-term rental market report (2026)
Harris County, Texas. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesLight-touch (2/5)
- Average revenue$33K a year
- 4-BR typical value$339K
- Gross yield9.7%
- FEMA riskVery High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi5
Everything STR HUB holds on Houston, 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 Houston?
What the rating rests on: STR-friendly city with no citywide permit requirement. Strong workforce demand.
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.
Houston is one of the most STR-friendly major cities in the United States with no city-wide short-term rental regulations.
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 Harris County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Harris 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 Houston, 1 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
- When
- March, roughly 20-23 days
- Attendance
- 2,735,695 (2,735,695 attendees (2025, a new attendance record, per Wikipedia).)
- STR angle
- A three-week event at record attendance that is one of the largest lodging-demand drivers in Texas each March.
Attractions
- Galveston Island (Seawall, Strand, Moody Gardens)
- When
- March to September; Mardi Gras in February and Dickens on the Strand in December.
- Attendance
- 5,400,000 (Wikipedia (Galveston, Texas): 5.4 million visitors in 2007. Moody Gardens alone is listed at 2 million a year. The cruise port is a separate entry in the dataset.)
- STR angle
- Houston's beach, an hour from the country's fourth-largest city, with cruise passengers adding pre- and post-sailing nights. Raised beach houses on the West End and historic homes near the Strand are the two distinct products; windstorm insurance is costly.
- Port of Galveston cruise terminals
- When
- Year-round, peak around sailing days
- Attendance
- 1,966,178 (1,966,178 cruise passengers in 2018 (most recent full-year figure found; ~1.1M in 2019 per one figure cited, which appears inconsistent across sources - treat 2018 figure as the more reliable one) - source: Wikipedia, Port of Galveston)
- STR angle
- Pre/post-cruise overnight stays are a reliable, high-frequency demand source (nearly every sailing day) for Galveston-area STRs, distinct from beach-vacation seasonality.
- Space Center Houston
- When
- Year-round, largely indoor; spring break and summer are busiest.
- Attendance
- 1,000,000 (Wikipedia (Space Center Houston infobox): more than 1 million (2022).)
- STR angle
- NASA Johnson Space Center's visitor centre pairs with the Kemah Boardwalk and Galveston for a family itinerary south of Houston. Clear Lake-area houses also serve aerospace contractors on longer stays.
- Meow Wolf Houston (Radio Tave) emerging: newly opened
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- Adds a repeat-visit, out-of-town-draw attraction to Houston's entertainment mix; more likely to extend existing urban trip stays than to independently drive overnight STR demand.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Meow Wolf
When they come
Four-season climate: comfortable months are spread across the year without one dominant season. 8 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: August (average high 93°F). Coldest: January (average low 47°F).
- Jan64°47°Comfortable
- Feb65°47°Comfortable
- Mar73°56°ComfortableEvent
- Apr77°61°Comfortable
- May84°69°Comfortable
- Jun90°75°Hot
- Jul91°77°Hot
- Aug93°78°Hot
- Sep89°73°Hot
- Oct80°64°Comfortable
- Nov70°54°Comfortable
- Dec67°50°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 64 | 65 | 73 | 77 | 84 | 90 | 91 | 93 | 89 | 80 | 70 | 67 |
| Average low (°F) | 47 | 47 | 56 | 61 | 69 | 75 | 77 | 78 | 73 | 64 | 54 | 50 |
| Precipitation (in) | 5.7 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 7.3 | 9.5 | 6.9 | 7.4 | 5.1 | 8.0 | 6.0 | 5.3 | 6.1 |
| Snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 6.9 | 6.3 | 7.5 | 8.4 | 9.5 | 10.9 | 10.9 | 11.1 | 9.9 | 8.9 | 7.2 | 7.3 |
| Event month | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- March: Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo
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 |
|---|---|
| Harris County, TX | 4,726,177 |
| Travis County, TX | 1,289,054 |
| Fort Bend County, TX | 832,607 |
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 | 100.0 |
| River flooding | Very High | 100.0 |
| Tornado | Very High | 100.0 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Moderate | 92.1 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 92.0 |
| Winter weather | Relatively High | 88.8 |
| Wildfire | Relatively Low | 85.4 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 83.2 |
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 Harris 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 Houston 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 Houston'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 Houston on the map
Open Houston on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Houston STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Houston?
STR HUB rates Houston'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 Houston?
The average short-term rental in Houston, TX grosses $33,000 a year, on a $165 average nightly rate and 55% occupancy. That ranks #87 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 Houston?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Harris County is valued at $339,431 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $278,518, with all-home values down 2.1% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Houston?
9.7%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $33,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $339,431. 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 Houston?
5 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Houston, including Galveston Island (Seawall, Strand, Moody Gardens) (5,400,000 published attendance), Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (2,735,695 published attendance) and Port of Galveston cruise terminals (1,966,178 published attendance). 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 Harris 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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