LA, CA short-term rental market report (2026)
Los Angeles County, California. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesStrict (4/5)
- 4-BR typical value$1M
- FEMA riskVery High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi14
- People within 300 mi31.8 million
- ClimateYear-round
Everything STR HUB holds on LA, 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. 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 LA?
What the rating rests on: Los Angeles only permits short-term rentals in your primary residence. Investment properties and second homes cannot be legally operated as STRs in the City of Los Angeles.
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
We have not verified revenue figures for this market yet.
Home values in Los Angeles County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Los Angeles 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
14 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of LA, 3 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). The 12 largest are listed here, ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Rose Parade (Tournament of Roses)
- When
- January 1 (or Jan 2 if Jan 1 falls on a Sunday)
- Attendance
- 700,000 (700,000 (2022, per Wikipedia); a later 750,000 figure cited for 2024 is described as a predicted, not confirmed, number.)
- STR angle
- Fills Pasadena/greater LA lodging over the New Year's holiday, paired with the Rose Bowl game the same day.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Rose Parade
- Long Beach Grand Prix (IndyCar)
- When
- April, street circuit weekend
- Attendance
- 200,000 (Weekend attendance "regularly reaches or exceeds 200,000" per Wikipedia, though no single specific year is cited for that figure.)
- STR angle
- Long Beach's largest annual event, credited with driving redevelopment of the city's hotel/tourism district since the 1970s.
- 2028 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles) emerging: one-off, upcoming, target July 2028
- When
- July 14-30, 2028
- STR angle
- The largest one-off lodging-demand event in this dataset: a 17-day Games reshaping short-term demand not just in LA but across every US co-host city, with venue-city investors needing to plan multi-year rate/occupancy models around July 2028.
Attractions
- Disneyland
- When
- Year-round
- Attendance
- 17,330,000 (17.33 million visitors in 2024, 2nd most-visited amusement park in the world that year (source: Wikipedia))
- STR angle
- Established mega-draw; Anaheim/Orange County STR demand is closely tied to park attendance and any DisneylandForward-driven capacity growth.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Disneyland
- Hollywood Walk of Fame
- When
- Year-round.
- Attendance
- 10,000,000 (Wikipedia (Hollywood Walk of Fame): "an estimated ten million annual visitors in 2010".)
- STR angle
- The obligatory first stop for international visitors to Los Angeles, beside the Chinese Theatre and the Hollywood Bowl. Los Angeles limits home-sharing to a host's primary residence with an annual night cap, which removes most investor units.
- Venice Beach Boardwalk
- When
- Year-round; summer weekends peak.
- Attendance
- 10,000,000 (Wikipedia (Venice Beach Boardwalk), citing ABC News: approximately 10 million visitors per year, 28,000–30,000 a day.)
- STR angle
- Street performers, Muscle Beach and the skate park make this Southern California's busiest free attraction. Los Angeles' home-sharing ordinance limits STRs to primary residences with a night cap, and the coastal zone adds further scrutiny.
- Universal Studios Hollywood
- When
- Year-round
- Attendance
- 8,700,000 (8.7 million visitors in 2024, 16th-most-visited theme park in the world that year, per TEA/AECOM 2024 Theme Index (source: Wikipedia))
- STR angle
- Baseline LA-market draw; supports shorter STR stays given the broader LA trip mix compared to single-destination resort markets.
- Getty Center
- When
- Year-round, free admission.
- Attendance
- 1,400,000 (Wikipedia (Getty Center infobox): more than 1,400,000 visitors (2019); the article text elsewhere cites an older estimate of 1.8 million.)
- STR angle
- A hilltop art campus that is a standard half-day on a Westside itinerary. Supports hotel demand in Brentwood and Santa Monica rather than STRs, given Los Angeles' and Santa Monica's primary-residence rules.
- Source
- Wikipedia: Getty Center
- Catalina Island (Avalon)
- When
- May to October; cruise-ship calls year-round.
- Attendance
- 1,000,000 (Wikipedia (Avalon, California): "Avalon attracts about 1 million visitors a year and is frequently visited by cruise ships.")
- STR angle
- An hour by ferry from Long Beach, with golf carts instead of cars and very little developable land. Avalon licenses "transient rentals" and much of the condo stock is built for it, but supply is small and the season is summer-heavy.
- Meow Wolf West Los Angeles emerging: under construction, target 2026
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- Minor incremental draw in an already saturated LA tourism market; unlikely to independently move STR demand but adds to West LA's visitor mix.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Meow Wolf
- Santa Monica Pier
- When
- Year-round; summer peak.
- STR angle
- The end of Route 66 and one of the best-known piers in the world. Santa Monica bans whole-home vacation rentals and permits only hosted home-sharing, one of the strictest regimes in California.
Outdoor activities
- Huntington Beach ("Surf City USA")
- When
- Surfable year-round; summer beach season and surf contests are the peak.
- STR angle
- Surf culture is the brand here, and summer contest weeks push demand. Walk-to-beach condos and bungalows near the pier work; coastal California STR permitting is restrictive, so confirm local rules first.
When they come
Year-round climate: at least nine months of the year have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. 11 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: August (average high 89°F). Coldest: February (average low 45°F).
- Jan66°46°ComfortableEvent
- Feb68°45°ComfortableEvent
- Mar68°48°Comfortable
- Apr75°53°ComfortableEvent
- May76°56°Comfortable
- Jun82°60°Comfortable
- Jul88°63°ComfortableEvent
- Aug89°64°Hot
- Sep88°64°Comfortable
- Oct83°59°Comfortable
- Nov75°51°Comfortable
- Dec66°47°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 66 | 68 | 68 | 75 | 76 | 82 | 88 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 75 | 66 |
| Average low (°F) | 46 | 45 | 48 | 53 | 56 | 60 | 63 | 64 | 64 | 59 | 51 | 47 |
| Precipitation (in) | 3.8 | 2.1 | 3.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 5.0 |
| Snowfall (in) | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 8.3 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 11.3 | 11.8 | 12.9 | 12.0 | 10.8 | 10.1 | 9.2 | 7.5 |
| Event month | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- January: Rose Parade (Tournament of Roses)
- February: Super Bowl LXI (2027 host: Inglewood, CA)
- April: Long Beach Grand Prix (IndyCar)
- July: 2028 Summer Olympics (Los Angeles)
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) |
|---|---|---|
| Earthquake | Very High | 100.0 |
| River flooding | Very High | 100.0 |
| Wildfire | Very High | 99.9 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 97.7 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 93.0 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively High | 90.0 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 74.8 |
| 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. Get property-level flood, wind and wildfire quotes before you buy.
Market context
Housing and jobs in Los Angeles 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 LA 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 LA'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 LA on the map
Open LA on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
LA STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in LA?
STR HUB rates LA's short-term rental rules 4/5 (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. Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does a 4-bedroom home cost in LA?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Los Angeles County is valued at $1,043,128 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $873,008, with all-home values up 0.5% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What brings visitors to LA?
14 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of LA, including Disneyland (17,330,000 published attendance), Hollywood Walk of Fame (10,000,000 published attendance) and Venice Beach Boardwalk (10,000,000 published attendance). Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
What natural hazards affect LA?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Los Angeles County "Very High" overall, with a score of 100.0 out of 100 (a national percentile). The highest-scoring hazards we track there are river flooding and earthquake. It is a county-wide index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination.
When is the weather best in LA?
11 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F (January, February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October, November and December). Year-round climate: at least nine months of the year have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. These are 2019-2023 climate normals, not booking data.
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research.
- 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 Los Angeles 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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