Salt Lake City, UT short-term rental market report (2026)
Salt Lake County, Utah. Rules, revenue, home values, demand, climate, reach and risk, each figure with its source.
- RulesLight-touch (2/5)
- 4-BR typical value$605K
- FEMA riskRelatively High
- Demand drivers within 50 mi7
- People within 300 mi5.2 million
- ClimateSki-plus-summer
Everything STR HUB holds on Salt Lake City, UT 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 Salt Lake City?
What the rating rests on: Salt Lake City takes a more business-oriented approach that welcomes vacation rental operators who comply with basic licensing and tax requirements.
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.
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.
Home values in Salt Lake County
Zillow Home Value Index: county-wide typical values for Salt Lake 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
7 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Salt Lake City, 2 of them new, planned or one-off (flagged emerging). Ordered by published attendance. Attendance appears only where a source publishes it.
Events
- Sundance Film Festival emerging: moving, target January 2027
- When
- Late January, roughly 10 days
- Attendance
- 423,234 (423,234 combined in-person and online viewership (2023, per Wikipedia).)
- STR angle
- For decades this drove Park City's single biggest non-ski-season-peak lodging event; from January 2027 that demand pattern shifts to Boulder CO, a major change for both markets' STR investors.
Attractions
- Temple Square
- When
- Year-round; peaks at General Conference (April, October) and for Christmas lights.
- Attendance
- 5,000,000 (Wikipedia (Temple Square): "an estimate of 5-plus million visitors a year"; the article notes the Church does not publish exact statistics.)
- STR angle
- Utah's most-visited site, with twice-yearly conferences that fill the city. Salt Lake City restricts stays under 30 days in residential zones, so legal nightly supply is limited and suburbs vary.
- Source
- Wikipedia: Temple Square
- Delta Center renovation & sports/entertainment district emerging: under construction, target October 2027
- When
- Year-round
- STR angle
- Downtown SLC is building a year-round sports/entertainment anchor around NBA (Jazz) and NHL (Utah Hockey Club) games, which should extend event-driven overnight demand in a market where STR activity has concentrated more around the ski resorts than downtown.
- Source
- Wikipedia - Delta Center
Parks and public lands
- Park City Mountain Resort
- When
- Ski season, late Nov-April; holiday weeks and Presidents' Day are peak.
- STR angle
- The largest single ski resort in the US, 32 miles from Salt Lake City, supports a very deep short-term rental inventory.
Outdoor activities
- Deer Valley Resort
- When
- Winter ski season, roughly late November to mid-April; summer brings hiking and lift-served biking.
- STR angle
- Luxury-positioned resort with high-spending guests who expect top-end finishes and service. Ski-in/ski-out condos are the premium product; Heber Valley offers lower entry prices within reach of the newer terrain.
- Source
- Wikipedia: Deer Valley
- Snowbird & Alta (Little Cottonwood Canyon)
- When
- Long winter season; among the snowiest lift-served terrain in the country.
- STR angle
- A deep-snow pilgrimage for serious skiers. Canyon lodging is scarce, so most guests stay at the canyon mouth in Sandy and Cottonwood Heights; homes with garages and quick access to the canyon road or ski bus rent well.
Landmarks
- Temple Square
- When
- Year-round; April and October General Conference weekends and the December lights are peaks.
- Attendance
- 5,000,000 (Wikipedia: "Attracting an estimate of 5-plus million visitors a year" (undated estimate; free, ungated site). A major renovation began in December 2019, with both visitors' centres demolished; Wikipedia notes a media preview of the new visitors' centre on April 13, 2026.)
- STR angle
- Faith-based travel is steady and family-sized: conference weekends, weddings and family-history research bring large households who prefer houses to hotel rooms. The reopening after renovation should lift visits for a period; Salt Lake City limits short-term rentals in most residential zones, so check zoning first.
- Source
- Wikipedia: Temple Square
When they come
Ski-plus-summer climate: at least three months bring six inches or more of snowfall, and May to September is comfortable. 4 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F, and 4 months average six inches or more of snow. Warmest month: July (average high 95°F). Coldest: February (average low 23°F).
- Jan38°23°ColdSnowEvent
- Feb40°23°ColdSnow
- Mar50°30°CoolSnow
- Apr59°36°Cool
- May70°46°Comfortable
- Jun83°56°Comfortable
- Jul95°68°Hot
- Aug90°65°Hot
- Sep81°55°Comfortable
- Oct63°40°Comfortable
- Nov49°31°Cool
- Dec39°23°ColdSnow
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high (°F) | 38 | 40 | 50 | 59 | 70 | 83 | 95 | 90 | 81 | 63 | 49 | 39 |
| Average low (°F) | 23 | 23 | 30 | 36 | 46 | 56 | 68 | 65 | 55 | 40 | 31 | 23 |
| Precipitation (in) | 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 2.6 |
| Snowfall (in) | 10.4 | 9.9 | 11.0 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 9.7 |
| Sunshine (hours a day) | 6.8 | 8.0 | 8.9 | 10.5 | 12.4 | 13.6 | 13.7 | 12.5 | 11.5 | 9.3 | 7.8 | 6.6 |
| Event month | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Event months within 50 miles
- January: Sundance Film 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 |
|---|---|
| Salt Lake County, UT | 1,180,643 |
| Utah County, UT | 666,021 |
| Davis County, UT | 363,032 |
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 | 99.6 |
| Winter weather | Very High | 98.7 |
| Wildfire | Relatively High | 98.3 |
| River flooding | Relatively Moderate | 92.9 |
| Tornado | Relatively Moderate | 71.0 |
| Hail | Relatively Low | 68.1 |
| Coastal flooding | 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 hurricane 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 Salt Lake 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 Salt Lake City 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 Salt Lake City'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 Utah, so the list is not just the neighbours. Similar numbers do not mean similar rules: check each market's regulation section.
See Salt Lake City on the map
Open Salt Lake City on the National STR Map to see it against its neighbours, switch overlays and run the deal calculator on your own assumptions.
Salt Lake City STR questions, answered from the data
Is Airbnb legal in Salt Lake City?
STR HUB rates Salt Lake City's short-term rental rules 2/5 (Light-touch) 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 Salt Lake City?
The typical 4-bedroom home in Salt Lake County is valued at $604,710 (Zillow Home Value Index), and the typical home of any size at $568,202, with all-home values up 1.5% over the past year. These are county-wide typical values, not list prices.
What brings visitors to Salt Lake City?
7 demand drivers sit within 50 miles of Salt Lake City, including Temple Square (5,000,000 published attendance), Temple Square (5,000,000 published attendance) and Sundance Film Festival (423,234 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 Salt Lake City?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Salt Lake County "Relatively High" overall, with a score of 98.6 out of 100 (a national percentile). The highest-scoring hazards we track there are earthquake and winter weather. It is a county-wide index, not an insurance quote or a flood-zone determination.
When is the weather best in Salt Lake City?
4 of 12 months have an average high between 60°F and 88°F (May, June, September and October). Ski-plus-summer climate: at least three months bring six inches or more of snowfall, and May to September is comfortable. 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 Salt Lake 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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