Cambridge vs Columbus: which is better for Airbnb investment? (2026)

Bottom line

Cambridge and Columbus score similarly on the metrics that matter most for short-term rental returns. The right pick depends on whether you optimise for yield (lower regulation risk, higher RevPAR) or capital growth.

Head-to-head metrics

	Cambridge	Columbus
Median occupancy	32.9%	32.9%
Median daily rate	£187	£138
Median RevPAR	£50	£46
Active listings	911	2,357
YoY occupancy	-3.3 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+43.8%	+57.7%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Cambridge vs Columbus

There is no clean winner between Cambridge and Columbus. Cambridge posts 32.9% occupancy and £50 RevPAR; Columbus posts 32.9% occupancy and £46 RevPAR. Weighted together with regulation risk the two finish inside the margin we are willing to call, which is the honest answer rather than an evasive one — a scoring gap this small would flip on the next data refresh. When markets are this close the decision stops being about the market and starts being about the deal: what you pay, what it costs to run, and how quickly you could exit.

Cambridge takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £187 against £138 — and still fills more of the year, 32.9% against 32.9%. 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 £50 against £46.

A tie does not mean the two are interchangeable — it means each holds something the other does not. Across a full year the median Cambridge listing grosses £18,377 against £16,723 in Columbus. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Columbus, +57.7% over the last year against +43.8% in Cambridge. Pick the one whose advantage matches how you intend to operate, because the composite score will not do that job for you.

Neither Cambridge nor Columbus 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. Cambridge peaks in October at 75.6% and bottoms in February at 33.3%; Columbus runs from 51.5% in October down to 22.8% in February. Columbus is the steadier of the two at 28.7 points peak-to-trough against 42.3 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Cambridge concentrates its return into a shorter window and rewards operators who price the peak aggressively instead of holding a flat rate all year.

Who each suits, then. Cambridge suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. Columbus answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. 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 911 active Cambridge listings and 2,357 in Columbus.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cambridge or Columbus better for Airbnb investment?

Neither pulls clearly ahead. Cambridge runs 32.9% occupancy and £187 a night; Columbus runs 32.9% occupancy and £138 a night. Once occupancy, revenue per available night and regulation risk are weighted together the two finish within a couple of points of each other, so the decision turns on purchase price, how far you are willing to travel, and which rulebook you would rather work under.

Which has higher occupancy, Cambridge or Columbus?

Effectively neither — they are level. Cambridge sits at 32.9% and Columbus at 32.9%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot. Over the last twelve months Cambridge shed 3.3 points and Columbus was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Cambridge or Columbus?

Cambridge, at £187 a night against £138 in Columbus — roughly 35.6% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £50 in Cambridge against £46, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Cambridge or Columbus?

Columbus, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against −3.3 points in Cambridge. Nightly rates rose 43.8% in Cambridge and rose 57.7% in Columbus 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, Cambridge or Columbus?

Columbus, with 2,357 active listings against 911 in Cambridge. 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 Cambridge vs Columbus?

Cambridge earns more: roughly £18,377 a year for a median listing against £16,723 in Columbus. 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 Cambridge →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Columbus →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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