Nashville, TN short-term rental market report (2026)
Davidson County, Tennessee. 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$620K
- Gross yield11.0%
- FEMA riskRelatively High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi5
Everything STR HUB holds on Nashville, TN 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 Nashville?
What the rating rests on: Non-owner-occupied STRs banned in residential zones since 2023. Commercial zones permit-friendly.
| Rule | What we hold on file |
|---|---|
| Permit or licence | Permit required (owner-occupied or non-owner) |
| Occupancy limit | Based on building code |
| Minimum stay | None for owner-occupied |
| Zoning | Non-owner permits capped by district |
| Lodging and sales taxes | 6% state + 2.5% city |
| Penalties | Up to $50/day |
Operating restrictions on file
- Non-owner-occupied permits limited by census tract
- Must have permit before advertising
- Neighbor notification required
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 Davidson County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Davidson 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 Nashville, 1 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- CMA Fest
- When
- June, 4 days
- Attendance
- 80,000 (Roughly 80,000 (2022 sellout return after a pandemic-era gap, per News Channel 5 Nashville via Wikipedia); CMA does not consistently publish precise total attendance.)
- STR angle
- A four-day, downtown-Nashville-wide country-music event (not a single fenced venue) that drives one of the city's biggest annual hotel/STR peaks.
- Source
- Wikipedia - CMA Fest
Attractions
- Lower Broadway honky-tonk district
- When
- Year-round, weekends above all; peaks April to October and at New Year.
- STR angle
- The bachelorette-party capital of the US: groups of six to twelve arriving Thursday to Sunday. Nashville no longer issues non-owner-occupied permits in residential zoning, so investor STRs must sit in commercial or mixed-use zones or in purpose-built STR condo buildings.
- New Nissan Stadium (Tennessee Titans) emerging: under construction, target 2027
- When
- Seasonal (NFL season) + events
- STR angle
- Nashville already has strong STR demand from music tourism; an enclosed, larger-capacity stadium adds year-round concert/event capacity that extends game-day-style demand spikes beyond the NFL season.
Landmarks
- Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum & Ryman Auditorium
- When
- Year-round; spring through fall weekends peak, with CMA Fest in June.
- Attendance
- 1,600,000 (Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum only: Wikipedia infobox gives approximately 1,600,000 visitors (2023). No figure found for the Ryman.)
- STR angle
- The museum and the "Mother Church" a few blocks away are the daytime anchors of downtown Nashville's group-trip economy. Large purpose-built rental townhomes in permitted zones dominate this market, and investor-owned permits are limited to commercial and multifamily zoning.
- Grand Ole Opry House (Opryland / Music Valley)
- When
- Year-round shows several nights a week; summer and the December holiday season peak.
- STR angle
- The Opry pulls an older, drive-in country-music audience to the Music Valley area, ten miles from downtown and beside the airport, as a separate node from the Broadway bachelorette trade. Donelson and Hermitage houses are cheaper than downtown; Nashville only permits non-owner-occupied rentals in certain zones.
When they come
Four-season climate: comfortable months are spread across the year without one dominant season. 7 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F. Warmest month: July (average high 89°F). Coldest: January (average low 33°F).
- Jan49°33°Cool
- Feb53°35°Cool
- Mar62°41°Comfortable
- Apr68°47°Comfortable
- May78°59°Comfortable
- Jun86°66°ComfortableEvent
- Jul89°72°Hot
- Aug87°70°Comfortable
- Sep83°64°Comfortable
- Oct72°53°Comfortable
- Nov59°40°Cool
- Dec54°37°Cool
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 49 | 53 | 62 | 68 | 78 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 83 | 72 | 59 | 54 |
| Average low (°F) | 33 | 35 | 41 | 47 | 59 | 66 | 72 | 70 | 64 | 53 | 40 | 37 |
| Precipitation (in) | 6.0 | 7.1 | 6.2 | 4.7 | 4.9 | 7.2 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 6.5 | 5.6 | 3.7 | 4.9 |
| Snowfall (in) | 1.9 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 6.0 | 5.6 | 7.9 | 9.5 | 10.5 | 11.6 | 11.5 | 10.4 | 10.1 | 8.4 | 7.8 | 6.0 |
| Event month | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- June: CMA Fest
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 |
|---|---|
| Davidson County, TN | 709,786 |
| Madison County, AL | 389,781 |
| Hamilton County, TN | 367,193 |
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 | Relatively High | 98.2 |
| River flooding | Relatively High | 98.2 |
| Tornado | Relatively High | 97.9 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 87.8 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 82.4 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 57.5 |
| Hurricane | Very Low | 53.7 |
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 Davidson 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 Nashville 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 Nashville'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 Tennessee, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Nashville on the map
Open Nashville on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Nashville STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Nashville?
STR HUB rates Nashville's short-term rental rules 3/5 (Moderate) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). Permit rule on file: Permit required (owner-occupied or non-owner) Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does an Airbnb make in Nashville?
The average short-term rental in Nashville, TN grosses $68,000 a year, on a $275 average nightly rate and 68% occupancy. That ranks #25 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 Nashville?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Davidson County is valued at $619,574 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $428,280, with all-home values down 2.7% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in Nashville?
11.0%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $68,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $619,574. 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 Nashville?
5 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Nashville, including Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum & Ryman Auditorium (1,600,000 published attendance), CMA Fest (80,000 published attendance) and Grand Ole Opry House (Opryland / Music Valley). 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 Davidson 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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