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

Bottom line

Columbus edges ahead of Fort Worth on higher occupancy (54% vs 42%).

Head-to-head metrics

	Columbus	Fort Worth
Median occupancy	54%	42%
Median daily rate	£88	£92
Median RevPAR	£28	£28
Active listings	2,366	1,490
YoY occupancy	+19.5 pts	+9.1 pts
YoY daily rate	-1.8%	-8.6%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Columbus vs Fort Worth

Columbus finishes decisively ahead of Fort Worth 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. Columbus sells 12 more points of its calendar — 54% median occupancy against 42% in Fort Worth. The twelve-month direction favours Columbus too: occupancy there moved +19.5 points while Fort Worth moved +9.1 points. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Fort Worth is the rate market: £92 a night against £88, some 5.4% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 42% occupancy. Columbus is the volume market, filling 54% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £28 in Columbus against £28. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Fort Worth is not simply the weaker market of the two. Fort Worth prices modestly above Columbus — £92 a night to £88, about 5.4%. Fort Worth is the less crowded of the two — 1,490 active listings to 2,366 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. If your model leans on nightly rate rather than volume, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Columbus nor Fort Worth 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. Columbus peaks in September at 49.9% and bottoms in February at 22.7%; Fort Worth runs from 49.3% in September down to 25.1% in February. Fort Worth is the steadier of the two at 24.2 points peak-to-trough against 27.2 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Columbus 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. Columbus suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry and whose economics survive high turnover — more bookings, more cleans, more guest contact per pound of revenue. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Fort Worth answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal: it is the market for an owner who can hold rate through the shoulder season rather than discounting to fill the calendar. 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 1,065 active Columbus listings and 698 in Fort Worth.

Frequently asked questions

Is Columbus or Fort Worth better for Airbnb investment?

Columbus, on the data we track. It leads on higher occupancy (54% vs 42%), the better occupancy trend (+19.5 points vs +9.1 points year over year), and a deeper market (2,366 vs 1,490 active listings). Fort Worth is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a higher nightly rate (£92 vs £88).

Which has higher occupancy, Columbus or Fort Worth?

Columbus, at 54% median occupancy against 42% in Fort Worth — a gap of 12 points. That is a wide spread by short-term rental standards and usually reflects a structural demand difference rather than better hosting. Over the last twelve months Columbus gained 19.5 points and Fort Worth gained 9.1 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Columbus or Fort Worth?

Fort Worth, at £92 a night against £88 in Columbus — roughly 5.4% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Columbus comes out ahead at £28 against £28, so Columbus's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Columbus or Fort Worth?

Columbus, on occupancy: +19.5 points over the last twelve months against +9.1 points in Fort Worth. Nightly rates fell 1.8% in Columbus and fell 8.6% in Fort Worth 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, Columbus or Fort Worth?

Columbus, with 2,366 active listings against 1,490 in Fort Worth. 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 Columbus vs Fort Worth?

Columbus earns more: roughly £10,324 a year for a median listing against £10,310 in Fort Worth. 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 Columbus →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Fort Worth →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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