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

Bottom line

Portland edges ahead of Rochester on higher occupancy (37.8% vs 21.9%), stronger RevPAR (£54 vs £26).

Head-to-head metrics

	Portland	Rochester
Median occupancy	37.8%	21.9%
Median daily rate	£134	£124
Median RevPAR	£54	£26
Active listings	2,945	742
YoY occupancy	+0 pts	+0.5 pts
YoY daily rate	+57.9%	+59.7%
Regulation risk	—	—
Annual night cap	None	None
License required	No	No

Full analysis: Portland vs Rochester

On the money side of this comparison — what a listing actually earns against the nights it has available — Portland finishes decisively ahead of Rochester. Revenue per available night — rate and occupancy combined, the figure that actually reaches an owner — is 106.7% higher in Portland: £54 against £26. Portland sells 15.9 more points of its calendar — 37.8% median occupancy against 21.9% in Rochester. That is not a rounding difference, and it compounds over a hold period.

Portland takes both halves of the yield equation, which is less common than it sounds. It charges more per night — £134 against £124 — and still fills more of the year, 37.8% against 21.9%. 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 £54 against £26.

That verdict needs a caveat, because Rochester is not simply the weaker market of the two. Rochester is the less crowded of the two — 742 active listings to 2,945 — so a well-run property has fewer near-identical rivals to out-rank. Its strongest submarket, E, clears £35 RevPAR on its own — city medians hide that kind of spread. If your model leans on that dimension, the ordering above can reasonably flip.

Neither Portland nor Rochester 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. Portland peaks in September at 61.4% and bottoms in February at 28.3%; Rochester runs from 51.4% in September down to 21.5% in February. Rochester is the steadier of the two at 29.9 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. Portland suits buyers who want a conventional, lightly regulated entry. Rochester answers to the same regulatory profile, so the split between them is operational rather than legal. It is also the momentum side of this pair. 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 2,945 active Portland listings and 742 in Rochester.

Frequently asked questions

Is Portland or Rochester better for Airbnb investment?

Portland, on the data we track. It leads on stronger RevPAR (£54 vs £26), higher occupancy (37.8% vs 21.9%), and higher median annual revenue (£19,616 vs £9,480). Rochester is not the weak side of this pair, though — it wins on a thinner competitive field (742 vs 2,945 active listings).

Which has higher occupancy, Portland or Rochester?

Portland, at 37.8% median occupancy against 21.9% in Rochester — a gap of 15.9 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 Portland was flat and Rochester gained 0.5 points, so the gap is closing.

Which has higher nightly rates, Portland or Rochester?

Portland, at £134 a night against £124 in Rochester — roughly 8% more. Revenue per available night agrees rather than contradicts: £54 in Portland against £26, so the rate premium survives contact with the occupancy figures.

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

Rochester, on occupancy: +0.5 points over the last twelve months against +0 points in Portland. Nightly rates rose 57.9% in Portland and rose 59.7% in Rochester 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, Portland or Rochester?

Portland, with 2,945 active listings against 742 in Rochester. 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 Portland vs Rochester?

Portland earns more: roughly £19,616 a year for a median listing against £9,480 in Rochester. 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 Portland →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

Market guide

Airbnb in Rochester →

Occupancy, ADR, neighborhoods, regulation

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