Joshua Tree, CA short-term rental market report (2026)
San Bernardino County, California. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesModerate (3/5)
- Average revenue$68K a year
- 4-BR typical value$669K
- Gross yield10.2%
- FEMA riskVery High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi8
Everything STR HUB holds on Joshua Tree, CA 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 Joshua Tree?
What the rating rests on: All short-term rental operators in unincorporated San Bernardino County, including Joshua Tree, must obtain a Short-Term Residential Rental (STRR) permit before listing or renting their property.
Rules change, and a city rating does not cover HOA or deed restrictions. Confirm current requirements with the jurisdiction before you buy or list.
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 San Bernardino County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for San Bernardino 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
8 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Joshua Tree, 2 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival
- When
- Two consecutive 3-day weekends in April
- Attendance
- 245,000 (Approx. 245,000 total across both weekends combined (2025, per Wikipedia); per-weekend venue capacity is about 125,000.)
- STR angle
- Two consecutive April weekends drive the highest nightly rates of the year across the entire Coachella Valley, with hosts commonly requiring multi-night minimum stays.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Coachella
- Stagecoach Festival
- When
- Last weekend of April (weekend after Coachella's second weekend), 3 days
- STR angle
- Country-music crowd immediately follows Coachella at the same Empire Polo Club venue, extending the Coachella Valley's April high season by a third weekend.
- Source
- Stagecoach official site
Attractions
- Palm Springs
- When
- October to May; festival peaks in April (Coachella, Stagecoach) and Modernism Week in February.
- Attendance
- 1,600,000 (Wikipedia (Palm Springs, California): 1.6 million visitors in 2011.)
- STR angle
- The mid-century-modern pool house is the archetypal Palm Springs STR, booked by groups from Los Angeles and by snowbirds. The city now caps permits by neighbourhood and limits annual contracts, so many buyers look to neighbouring desert cities with different rules.
- DSRT Surf emerging: under construction
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- A second Coachella Valley surf park (alongside Palm Springs Surf Club) would meaningfully deepen the region's non-golf tourism base, supporting multi-night STR stays for surf-focused visitors once open.
- Source
- DSRT Surf official site
- Palm Springs Surf Club emerging: newly opened
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- Adds a non-golf, non-heat-season draw for the Coachella Valley, pulling younger surf-focused travelers into Palm Springs' large existing STR inventory for 2-3 night stays.
Parks and public lands
- Joshua Tree National Park
- When
- Year-round; peaks March, April, December (by recreation-visit volume, 2025).
- Attendance
- 2,932,644 (NPS recreation visits, full calendar year 2025)
- STR angle
- Drives one of the fastest-growing desert-modern short-term-rental markets in the country across Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms.
- San Bernardino National Forest
- When
- Year-round dual season: summer lake/hiking recreation plus winter skiing at Big Bear.
- STR angle
- Mountain-lake communities within the forest (Big Bear, Lake Arrowhead) are among Southern California's largest cabin-rental destinations, an easy drive from LA.
Outdoor activities
- Big Bear Mountain Resort (Snow Summit)
- When
- Winter ski season backed by snowmaking; summer lake and bike-park season.
- STR angle
- The ski hill for greater Los Angeles: short drive-up weekend stays by families and groups. Cabins with hot tubs, parking and room for snow play are the local staple, and the lake carries summer.
- Source
- Wikipedia: Snow Summit
When they come
Four-season climate: comfortable months are spread across the year without one dominant season. 5 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: July (average high 100°F). Coldest: January (average low 39°F).
- Jan57°39°Cool
- Feb59°40°Cool
- Mar64°44°Comfortable
- Apr76°54°ComfortableEvent
- May83°59°Comfortable
- Jun93°69°Hot
- Jul100°77°Hot
- Aug98°76°Hot
- Sep91°69°Hot
- Oct79°57°Comfortable
- Nov66°46°Comfortable
- Dec57°40°Cool
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 57 | 59 | 64 | 76 | 83 | 93 | 100 | 98 | 91 | 79 | 66 | 57 |
| Average low (°F) | 39 | 40 | 44 | 54 | 59 | 69 | 77 | 76 | 69 | 57 | 46 | 40 |
| Precipitation (in) | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.2 |
| Snowfall (in) | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.9 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 8.8 | 9.7 | 11.0 | 12.2 | 13.3 | 13.7 | 13.6 | 12.6 | 11.6 | 10.9 | 9.8 | 8.3 |
| Event month | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- April: Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach 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 |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles County, CA | 9,936,690 |
| San Diego County, CA | 3,289,701 |
| Orange County, CA | 3,175,227 |
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Wildfire | Very High | 99.9 |
| Earthquake | Very High | 99.8 |
| River flooding | Very High | 99.8 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 90.9 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 78.8 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 48.4 |
| Hurricane | No Rating | 0.0 |
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 San Bernardino 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 Joshua Tree 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 Joshua Tree'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 California, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Joshua Tree on the map
Open Joshua Tree on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Joshua Tree STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Joshua Tree?
STR HUB rates Joshua Tree's short-term rental rules 3/5 (Moderate) 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 Joshua Tree?
The average short-term rental in Joshua Tree, CA grosses $68,000 a year, on a $285 average nightly rate and 65% occupancy. That ranks #26 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 Joshua Tree?
The typical 4-bedroom home in San Bernardino County is valued at $668,742 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $548,894, with all-home values up 0.6% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Joshua Tree?
10.2%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $68,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $668,742. 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 Joshua Tree?
8 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Joshua Tree, including Joshua Tree National Park (2,932,644 published attendance), Palm Springs (1,600,000 published attendance) and Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (245,000 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.
- 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 San Bernardino 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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