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

Bottom line

New Orleans and Portland 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

	New Orleans	Portland
Median occupancy	60%	60%
Median daily rate	£103	£80
Median RevPAR	£47	£32
Active listings	4,939	3,143
YoY occupancy	—	+14 pts
YoY daily rate	—	+2%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: New Orleans vs Portland

There is no clean winner between New Orleans and Portland. New Orleans posts 60% occupancy and £47 RevPAR; Portland posts 60% occupancy and £32 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.

New Orleans takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £103 against £80 — and still fills more of the year, 60% against 60%. 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 £32.

A tie does not mean the two are interchangeable — it means each holds something the other does not. Across a full year the median New Orleans listing grosses £17,123 against £11,708 in Portland. Portland is the less crowded of the two — 3,143 active listings to 4,939 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. Pick the one whose advantage matches how you intend to operate, because the composite score will not do that job for you.

Neither New Orleans nor Portland 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. New Orleans peaks in August at 52.2% and bottoms in December at 29.9%; Portland runs from 55.9% in November down to 27.8% in January. New Orleans is the steadier of the two at 22.3 points peak-to-trough against 28.1 — easier to underwrite against a mortgage — while Portland 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. New Orleans 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. Portland 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, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 1,475 active New Orleans listings and 1,114 in Portland.

Frequently asked questions

Is New Orleans or Portland better for Airbnb investment?

Neither pulls clearly ahead. New Orleans runs 60% occupancy and £103 a night; Portland runs 60% occupancy and £80 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, New Orleans or Portland?

Effectively neither — they are level. New Orleans sits at 60% and Portland at 60%, a 0-point difference that is inside the noise of a median drawn from a listings snapshot.

Which has higher nightly rates, New Orleans or Portland?

New Orleans, at £103 a night against £80 in Portland — roughly 29.7% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £47 in New Orleans against £32, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

We can only measure one side, so this comparison stays open. Portland moved +14 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, New Orleans or Portland?

New Orleans, with 4,939 active listings against 3,143 in Portland. 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 New Orleans vs Portland?

New Orleans earns more: roughly £17,123 a year for a median listing against £11,708 in Portland. 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 New Orleans →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Portland →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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