Side-by-side comparison

Austin vs Los Angeles: which is better for Airbnb investment?

We compare the United States short-term rental markets across occupancy, daily rate, RevPAR, year-over-year trend, and regulation.

Bottom line

Los Angeles edges ahead of Austin on higher occupancy (29.6% vs 23%), stronger RevPAR (£48 vs £43).

Head-to-head metrics

 AustinLos Angeles
Median occupancy23%29.6%
Median daily rate£181£182
Median RevPAR£43£48
Active listings8,06124,491
YoY occupancy-1.7 pts+1.7 pts
YoY daily rate+81.7%+51.8%
Regulation risk——
Annual night capNoneNone
License requiredNoNo

Full analysis: Austin vs Los Angeles

Los Angeles finishes clearly ahead of Austin on our composite of occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk — and it is the calendar rather than the price tag doing the work. Los Angeles's listings run at 29.6% occupancy against 23% in Austin, worth 6.6 extra points of booked calendar every year. Los Angeles turns its rate and occupancy into £48 per available night against £43 in Austin, a 11.2% edge on the only yield figure that nets the empty nights out. Those gaps are wide enough to survive a normal year's variance.

Los Angeles takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £182 against £181 — and still fills more of the year, 29.6% against 23%. A market that leads on price and utilisation at once is normally one where demand has outrun supply, rather than one where hosts are discounting to keep the calendar busy. RevPAR reflects the double advantage at £48 against £43.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Austin is not simply the weaker market of the two. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Austin, +81.7% over the last year against +51.8% in Los Angeles. Austin is the less crowded of the two — 8,061 active listings to 24,491 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Austin nor Los Angeles currently has a verified short-term rental regulation record in our register, so the comparison above is a yield comparison only. Regulation is the single largest source of downside in this asset class — an unverified market is an unpriced risk, not an absent one.

The two calendars also behave differently. Austin peaks in October at 50.1% and bottoms in February at 28.5%; Los Angeles runs from 51% in September down to 29.1% in February. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

Who each suits, then. Austin suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. Los Angeles answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 8,061 active Austin listings and 24,491 in Los Angeles.

Frequently asked questions

Is Austin or Los Angeles better for Airbnb investment?
Los Angeles, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (29.6% vs 23%), stronger RevPAR (£48 vs £43), and a deeper market (24,491 vs 8,061 active listings). Austin is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on faster rate growth (+81.7% vs +51.8% year over year).
Which has higher occupancy, Austin or Los Angeles?
Los Angeles, at 29.6% median occupancy against 23% in Austin — a gap of 6.6 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Austin can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Austin shed 1.7 points and Los Angeles gained 1.7 points, so the gap is widening.
Which has higher nightly rates, Austin or Los Angeles?
Los Angeles, at £182 a night against £181 in Austin — roughly 0.7% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £48 in Los Angeles against £43, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.
Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Austin or Los Angeles?
Los Angeles, on occupancy: +1.7 points over the last twelve months against −1.7 points in Austin. Nightly rates rose 81.7% in Austin and rose 51.8% in Los Angeles over the same window. One year of movement is a direction, not a trend — weigh it against the regulation picture before treating it as momentum.
Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Austin or Los Angeles?
Los Angeles, with 24,491 active listings against 8,061 in Austin. Size cuts both ways: a deep market gives you comparables, contractors and an exit, while a thinner one means fewer near-identical rivals competing for the same search results.
How much can you earn from an Airbnb in Austin vs Los Angeles?
Los Angeles earns more: roughly £17,472 a year for a median listing against £15,720 in Austin. Those are gross booking revenues before cleaning, management, platform fees, furnishing amortisation and tax — budget for a meaningful share of them, and note that a median listing is a median operator, not a good one.

Go deeper on each city

Market guide
Airbnb in Austin →
Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation
Market guide
Airbnb in Los Angeles →
Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation
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