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

Bottom line

Pacific Grove edges ahead of Columbus on stronger RevPAR (£97 vs £46).

Head-to-head metrics

	Columbus	Pacific Grove
Median occupancy	32.9%	30.7%
Median daily rate	£138	£332
Median RevPAR	£46	£97
Active listings	2,357	186
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	-2.2 pts
YoY daily rate	+57.7%	+38.5%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Columbus vs Pacific Grove

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Pacific Grove finishes narrowly ahead of Columbus. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 112.6% higher in Pacific Grove: £97 against £46. Pacific Grove commands 139.8% more per night, £332 against £138. The margin is thin enough that a single strong year in Columbus would close it, so treat the ordering as a lean rather than a verdict.

The two markets reach their revenue by different routes, which is what makes this pairing worth reading rather than just tabulating. Pacific Grove is the rate market: £332 a night against £138, some 139.8% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 30.7% occupancy. Columbus is the volume market, filling 32.9% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £97 in Pacific Grove against £46. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Columbus is not simply the weaker market of the two. Nightly rates are also climbing faster in Columbus, +57.7% over the last year against +38.5% in Pacific Grove. Columbus is the deeper market at 2,357 active listings against 186, which usually means better comparables going in and a wider buyer pool coming out. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Columbus nor Pacific Grove 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 October at 51.5% and bottoms in February at 22.8%; Pacific Grove runs from 61.8% in October down to 30.9% in May. Both swing by a similar amount across the year, so neither offers meaningfully steadier cash flow than the other.

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. Pacific Grove 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. It is the contrarian side: buying it means buying a market that has cooled. 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 2,357 active Columbus listings and 186 in Pacific Grove.

Frequently asked questions

Is Columbus or Pacific Grove better for Airbnb investment?

Pacific Grove, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£97 vs £46), a higher nightly rate (£332 vs £138), and higher median annual revenue (£35,550 vs £16,723). Columbus is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on faster rate growth (+57.7% vs +38.5% year over year).

Which has higher occupancy, Columbus or Pacific Grove?

Columbus, at 32.9% median occupancy against 30.7% in Pacific Grove — a gap of 2.2 points. That is a real but modest edge; a well-run listing in Pacific Grove can close most of it. Over the last twelve months Columbus was flat and Pacific Grove shed 2.2 points, so the gap is widening.

Which has higher nightly rates, Columbus or Pacific Grove?

Pacific Grove, at £332 a night against £138 in Columbus — roughly 139.8% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £97 in Pacific Grove against £46, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Columbus or Pacific Grove?

Columbus, on occupancy: +0 points over the last twelve months against −2.2 points in Pacific Grove. Nightly rates rose 57.7% in Columbus and rose 38.5% in Pacific Grove 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 Pacific Grove?

Columbus, with 2,357 active listings against 186 in Pacific Grove. 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 Pacific Grove?

Pacific Grove earns more: roughly £35,550 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 Columbus →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Pacific Grove →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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