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

Bottom line

Portland edges ahead of Oakland on higher occupancy (37.8% vs 19.7%), stronger RevPAR (£54 vs £29).

Head-to-head metrics

	Oakland	Portland
Median occupancy	19.7%	37.8%
Median daily rate	£137	£134
Median RevPAR	£29	£54
Active listings	1,411	2,945
YoY occupancy	+0.5 pts	+0 pts
YoY daily rate	+62.6%	+57.9%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Oakland vs Portland

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Portland finishes decisively ahead of Oakland. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 83.8% higher in Portland: £54 against £29. Portland sells 18.1 more points of its calendar — 37.8% median occupancy against 19.7% in Oakland. 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. Oakland is the rate market: £137 a night against £134, some 3% more, but it converts fewer of those nights at 19.7% occupancy. Portland is the volume market, filling 37.8% of its calendar at a lower headline price. Revenue per available night settles it: £54 in Portland against £29. Rate is what you advertise; RevPAR is what you bank.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Oakland is not simply the weaker market of the two. Oakland's calendar is the flatter of the two — 27.2 points between its best and worst month against 33.1 in Portland — which makes debt service easier to underwrite. Oakland is the less crowded of the two — 1,411 active listings to 2,945 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Oakland 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. Oakland peaks in September at 62.2% and bottoms in February at 35%; Portland runs from 61.4% in September down to 28.3% in February. Oakland is the steadier of the two at 27.2 points peak-to-trough against 33.1 — 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. Oakland suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. It is also the momentum side of this pair. Portland 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 2026-09, filtered to listings with at least one booking in the last twelve months. Occupancy medians are drawn from 1,411 active Oakland listings and 2,945 in Portland.

Frequently asked questions

Is Oakland or Portland better for Airbnb investment?

Portland, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£54 vs £29), higher occupancy (37.8% vs 19.7%), and higher median annual revenue (£19,616 vs £10,679). Oakland is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a flatter season (27.2-point swing vs 33.1).

Which has higher occupancy, Oakland or Portland?

Portland, at 37.8% median occupancy against 19.7% in Oakland — a gap of 18.1 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 Oakland gained 0.5 points and Portland was flat, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Oakland or Portland?

Oakland, at £137 a night against £134 in Portland — roughly 3% more. The nightly rate is not the whole story, though. On revenue per available night — rate multiplied by how often the room actually sells — Portland comes out ahead at £54 against £29, so Portland's cheaper nights are more than repaid by how often they fill.

Which has stronger year-over-year growth, Oakland or Portland?

Oakland, on occupancy: +0.5 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Portland. Nightly rates rose 62.6% in Oakland and rose 57.9% in Portland 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, Oakland or Portland?

Portland, with 2,945 active listings against 1,411 in Oakland. 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 Oakland vs Portland?

Portland earns more: roughly £19,616 a year for a median listing against £10,679 in Oakland. 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 Oakland →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Portland →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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