Austin vs New Orleans: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

New Orleans edges ahead of Austin on higher occupancy (60% vs 42%), stronger RevPAR (£47 vs £25).

Head-to-head metrics

	Austin	New Orleans
Median occupancy	42%	60%
Median daily rate	£100	£103
Median RevPAR	£25	£47
Active listings	7,933	4,939
YoY occupancy	+14.1 pts	—
YoY daily rate	-7.4%	—
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Austin vs New Orleans

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — New Orleans finishes decisively ahead of Austin. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 89.2% higher in New Orleans: £47 against £25. New Orleans sells 18 more points of its calendar — 60% median occupancy against 42% in Austin. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

New Orleans takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £103 against £100 — and still fills more of the year, 60% against 42%. 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 £47 against £25.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Austin is not simply the weaker market of the two. Austin is the deeper market at 7,933 active listings against 4,939, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. Its strongest submarket, 78736, clears £51 RevPAR on its own — city medians hide that kind of spread. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Austin nor New Orleans 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 September at 49% and bottoms in December at 24.7%; New Orleans runs from 52.2% in August down to 29.9% in December. 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. New Orleans answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. Every figure above comes from the same Inside Airbnb snapshot pipeline on both sides, dated 2025-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 4,251 active Austin listings and 1,475 in New Orleans.

Frequently asked questions

Is Austin or New Orleans better for Airbnb investment?

New Orleans, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£47 vs £25), higher occupancy (60% vs 42%), and higher median annual revenue (£17,123 vs £9,062). Austin is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a deeper market (7,933 vs 4,939 active listings).

Which has higher occupancy, Austin or New Orleans?

New Orleans, at 60% median occupancy against 42% in Austin — a gap of 18 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting.

Which has higher nightly rates, Austin or New Orleans?

New Orleans, at £103 a night against £100 in Austin — roughly 4% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £47 in New Orleans against £25, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Austin or New Orleans?

We can only measure one side, so this comparison stays open. Austin moved +14.1 points on occupancy year over year. New Orleans lacks a comparable snapshot from roughly twelve months earlier, and we would rather leave the cell empty than compare against a mismatched date.

Which is the bigger Airbnb market, Austin or New Orleans?

Austin, with 7,933 active listings against 4,939 in New Orleans. 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 New Orleans?

New Orleans earns more: roughly £17,123 a year for a median listing against £9,062 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 New Orleans →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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