Medora, ND short-term rental market report (2026)
Billings County, North Dakota. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- FEMA riskVery Low
- Demand drivers within 50 mi3
- People within 300 mi1.5 million
- ClimateSummer-peak
Everything STR HUB holds on Medora, ND 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 Medora?
We have not rated Medora's short-term rental rules. What we hold on file is below.
| Rule | What we hold on file |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | City of Medora and/or Billings County zoning (specific split not confirmed); North Dakota has no state-level STR licensing or preemption. |
| Permit or licence | No Medora- or Billings County-specific short-term rental permit was found in this research; operators must still register with the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner for state sales tax collection on stays under 30 days. |
| Lodging and sales taxes | North Dakota state sales tax applies to stays under 30 days; any local city/county lodging tax is capped at 2% under NDCC Ch. 40-57.3 where adopted (whether Medora or Billings County has adopted one was not confirmed). |
Rules for Medora 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.
No STR-specific ordinance, cap, or owner-occupancy rule was found for Medora; the town appears to rely on general zoning and North Dakota's standard state tax registration, though local rules could not be fully confirmed.
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.
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.
Why people come
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Medora. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Parks and public lands
- Theodore Roosevelt National Park
- When
- Year-round; peaks June, July, August (by recreation-visit volume, 2025).
- Attendance
- 729,893 (NPS recreation visits, full calendar year 2025)
- STR angle
- Medora's entire tourism/lodging economy is built around the park and its summer musical/theater draw.
Outdoor activities
- Maah Daah Hey Trail (Medora)
- When
- Late spring through early fall.
- STR angle
- Adds an adventure niche to Medora, which already fills in summer for Theodore Roosevelt National Park (tracked separately). Lodging in a town of about 120 people is extremely limited, so almost any well-run rental stands out.
Landmarks
- Medora & the Medora Musical
- When
- Summer season, roughly June to early September, when the outdoor musical runs nightly.
- STR angle
- A restored cattle-era town of about a hundred residents fills on summer nights with families attending the Medora Musical and visiting Theodore Roosevelt National Park next door. Much of the lodging is controlled by the foundation, so private rentals in Medora, Belfield and Dickinson meet real demand in a short season.
When they come
Summer-peak climate: May to September is comfortable and December to February highs average under 45°F. 5 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F, and 1 month averages six inches or more of snow. Warmest month: July (average high 84°F). Coldest: February (average low 8°F).
- Jan32°15°Cold
- Feb27°8°Cold
- Mar40°20°Cold
- Apr51°30°CoolSnow
- May65°43°Comfortable
- Jun78°56°Comfortable
- Jul84°62°Comfortable
- Aug83°60°Comfortable
- Sep74°52°Comfortable
- Oct54°35°Cool
- Nov42°24°Cold
- Dec33°16°Cold
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 32 | 27 | 40 | 51 | 65 | 78 | 84 | 83 | 74 | 54 | 42 | 33 |
| Average low (°F) | 15 | 8 | 20 | 30 | 43 | 56 | 62 | 60 | 52 | 35 | 24 | 16 |
| Precipitation (in) | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 1.6 | 1.7 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Snowfall (in) | 3.3 | 4.2 | 2.8 | 8.4 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.7 | 2.7 | 5.0 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 5.8 | 7.7 | 8.9 | 9.5 | 10.6 | 13.4 | 13.7 | 12.1 | 10.2 | 7.8 | 7.0 | 6.3 |
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 |
|---|---|
| Burleigh County, ND | 98,443 |
| Ward County, ND | 69,532 |
| Williams County, ND | 39,076 |
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 | Relatively Low | 65.3 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 44.5 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Low | 33.0 |
| Tornado | Very Low | 8.5 |
| River flooding | Very Low | 3.0 |
| Earthquake | Very Low | 1.8 |
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 hurricane and 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 Billings 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 Medora 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 Medora'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 North Dakota, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Medora on the map
Open Medora on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Medora STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Medora?
STR HUB has not rated Medora's short-term rental rules. Permit rule on file: No Medora- or Billings County-specific short-term rental permit was found in this research; operators must still register with the North Dakota Office of State Tax Commissioner for state sales tax collection on stays under 30… Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
What brings visitors to Medora?
3 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Medora: Theodore Roosevelt National Park (729,893 published attendance), Maah Daah Hey Trail (Medora) and Medora & the Medora Musical. Attendance is shown only where a source publishes it, and each driver's source is linked in the report.
What natural hazards affect Medora?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Billings County "Very Low" overall, with a score of 0.9 out of 100 (a national percentile). The highest-scoring hazards we track there are wildfire and hail. It is a county-wide index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination.
When is the weather best in Medora?
5 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F (May, June, July, August and September). Summer-peak climate: May to September is comfortable and December to February highs average under 45°F. These are 2019-2023 climate normals, not booking data.
How many people live within driving distance of Medora?
About 417,988 people live within 150 miles of Medora and 1.5 million within 300 miles (U.S. Census Bureau county populations, straight-line distance, so generous upper bounds rather than drive-time counts).
Sources and method
- Regulation summary and strictness rating: STR Agent HUB regulation research (official source: tax.nd.gov).
- 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 Billings County as a whole, not one street or neighbourhood.
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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