New Orleans, LA short-term rental market report (2026)
Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesVery strict (5/5)
- Average revenue$59K a year
- 4-BR typical value$284K
- Gross yield20.8%
- FEMA riskRelatively High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi8
Everything STR HUB holds on New Orleans, LA 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 New Orleans?
| Rule | What we hold on file |
|---|---|
| Permit or licence | STR License (residential or commercial) |
| Occupancy limit | Based on permit type |
| Minimum stay | None |
| Zoning | Banned in some neighborhoods |
| Lodging and sales taxes | 15.75% combined |
| Penalties | Up to $500/day + revocation |
Operating restrictions on file
- Banned in French Quarter residential zones
- Residential permits limited to 90 days/year
- Owner-occupancy required for some areas
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
Tightening. The rules we hold report a recent or pending change.
In 2025, the New Orleans City Council eliminated all exceptions to STR rules, making regulations more uniform and stricter.
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 Orleans Parish
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Orleans Parish, 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 New Orleans. Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Mardi Gras (New Orleans Carnival season)
- When
- Carnival season runs Jan 6 to Ash Wednesday; peak parade activity in the final ~2 weeks before Fat Tuesday (Feb-March, date tied to Easter)
- Attendance
- 1,400,000 (Mardi Gras brings an estimated 1.4 million visitors to New Orleans (2020 study, per Wikipedia) - a season-long visitor count, not a single-day headcount.)
- STR angle
- New Orleans' single largest annual lodging-demand event; the final parade week before Fat Tuesday is the city's highest STR rate period of the year.
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
- When
- Late April into early May, two weekends (Fair Grounds Race Course)
- Attendance
- 425,000 (About 425,000 over seven days (2017, per Wikipedia); pre-pandemic peak years approached 500,000.)
- STR angle
- Second only to Mardi Gras in local economic impact; two spring weekends give New Orleans hosts a second major annual booking peak outside Carnival season.
- Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
- When
- Historically Halloween weekend (late October), City Park
- Attendance
- 180,000 (Approx. 180,000 (2018, last full edition, per Wikipedia).)
- STR angle
- Once a major Halloween-weekend STR driver for New Orleans; currently dormant and should not be relied on in current investment models.
- Bayou Classic
- When
- Saturday after Thanksgiving
- STR angle
- An HBCU football rivalry weekend (Grambling vs. Southern) that fills New Orleans lodging on the Thanksgiving-weekend shoulder period between Halloween and the December convention season.
- Essence Festival of Culture
- When
- July 4th weekend, 3 days (Caesars Superdome)
- STR angle
- One of the largest Black cultural festivals in the US, anchoring New Orleans' Fourth of July weekend lodging demand alongside the summer convention calendar.
Landmarks
- The National WWII Museum
- When
- Year-round; spring and fall are busiest.
- Attendance
- 706,664 (Wikipedia infobox: 706,664 visitors (2017); the article reports 406,251 in 2010 and nearly 700,000 in fiscal 2016.)
- STR angle
- The museum takes a full day or two and brings a different New Orleans visitor: veterans' families, history travellers and multi-generation groups who are less festival-driven. It supports Warehouse District and Lower Garden District stays, subject to the city's permit limits.
- New Orleans French Quarter (Vieux Carré)
- When
- Year-round; February–May and October–December are strongest, summer is slow.
- STR angle
- The Quarter is the base layer of New Orleans tourism beneath the festivals already in the dataset, drawing couples, groups and conventions all year. Short-term rentals are prohibited in most of the French Quarter itself and tightly permitted elsewhere, so the opportunity is in legally permitted units in adjacent neighbourhoods.
- River Road Plantations — Oak Alley & Whitney
- When
- Year-round; spring and fall are most comfortable and busiest.
- STR angle
- Most visitors come by coach from New Orleans for the day, so local overnight demand is thin and comes from weddings, film crews and travellers driving between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. A rental here is a niche play that leans on event bookings.
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: January (average low 49°F).
- Jan62°49°Comfortable
- Feb66°52°ComfortableEvent
- Mar72°58°ComfortableEvent
- Apr76°63°ComfortableEvent
- May83°70°ComfortableEvent
- Jun87°76°Comfortable
- Jul88°77°ComfortableEvent
- Aug89°78°Hot
- Sep85°75°Comfortable
- Oct79°66°ComfortableEvent
- Nov69°56°ComfortableEvent
- Dec65°53°Comfortable
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 62 | 66 | 72 | 76 | 83 | 87 | 88 | 89 | 85 | 79 | 69 | 65 |
| Average low (°F) | 49 | 52 | 58 | 63 | 70 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 75 | 66 | 56 | 53 |
| Precipitation (in) | 3.2 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 7.5 | 9.4 | 8.9 | 5.4 | 4.6 | 3.3 | 5.2 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 7.4 | 7.7 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 11.0 | 11.3 | 10.1 | 9.9 | 10.2 | 9.4 | 8.1 | 7.6 |
| Event month | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- February: Mardi Gras (New Orleans Carnival season)
- March: Mardi Gras (New Orleans Carnival season)
- April: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
- May: New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
- July: Essence Festival of Culture
- October: Voodoo Music + Arts Experience
- November: Bayou Classic
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 |
|---|---|
| East Baton Rouge Parish, LA | 454,369 |
| Jefferson Parish, LA | 436,171 |
| Mobile County, AL | 413,878 |
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 | 99.7 |
| River flooding | Relatively High | 93.5 |
| Hail | Relatively Moderate | 92.8 |
| Winter weather | Relatively Moderate | 84.5 |
| Coastal flooding | Relatively Moderate | 81.2 |
| Earthquake | Relatively Low | 80.4 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 71.6 |
| Wildfire | Very Low | 48.1 |
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 Orleans Parish
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 New Orleans 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 New Orleans'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 Louisiana, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See New Orleans on the map
Open New Orleans on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
New Orleans STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in New Orleans?
STR HUB rates New Orleans's short-term rental rules 5/5 (Very strict) on a scale from 1 (relaxed) to 5 (very strict). Permit rule on file: STR License (residential or commercial) Rules change, so confirm current requirements with the local jurisdiction before you buy or list.
How much does an Airbnb make in New Orleans?
The average short-term rental in New Orleans, LA grosses $59,000 a year, on a $225 average nightly rate and 72% occupancy. That ranks #45 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 New Orleans?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Orleans Parish is valued at $284,256 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $243,912, with all-home values down 1.9% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What is the gross rental yield in New Orleans?
20.8%: average annual short-term rental revenue of $59,000 divided by the county's typical 4-bedroom home value of $284,256. 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 New Orleans?
8 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of New Orleans, including Mardi Gras (New Orleans Carnival season) (1,400,000 published attendance), The National WWII Museum (706,664 published attendance) and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (425,000 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.
- 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 Orleans Parish 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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