How much does an Airbnb cost per night in Santa Cruz County, CA, and how full is it? $501 a night (middle half $329 to $712), 73.9% of December open, 34.9% estimated occupancy
UpRev's September 2026 benchmark puts the median near-term quoted price of a Santa Cruz County short-term rental at $501 a night, the 2nd highest of the 34 US regions and well above the 34-region median of $272. The figure comes from 904 near-term quotes in Inside Airbnb's snapshot of 28 September 2026.
By UpRev, from Inside Airbnb's snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026: 1,800 listings.
Data as of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026. Part of UpRev's Airbnb Market Data, a quarterly read of Inside Airbnb's public data.
Airbnb Market Data / Santa Cruz County, CA Airbnb Market Data
What stands out in Santa Cruz County?
Santa Cruz County's largest departure from the 34-region median is price: its median near-term quote of $501 a night is the 2nd highest of the 34 regions, against a median of $272. By size, its 3-bedroom homes quoted a median $658 and its homes with 4 or more bedrooms $1,053.
- Santa Cruz County's homes are recently reviewed: 86.1% of its bookable entire homes had a review in the last 12 months, against a 34-region median of 79.2%.
- Its estimated occupancy since 1 July was 34.9%, above the 34-region median of 29.3%.
- Only 17.0% of Santa Cruz County's near-term quotes carried a host discount, against a 34-region median of 24.0%.
What is the listed nightly price of an Airbnb in Santa Cruz County?
The listed nightly price is the asking price of a near-term stay at a bookable entire home, net of host discounts and before taxes and fees: what a guest was quoted, not what a guest paid.
UpRev's count puts the median near-term quoted price of a bookable entire home at $501 a night; the middle half of quotes ran from $329 to $712, and the top tenth started at $991. By size, the median runs from $274 for studios to $1,053 for homes with 4 or more bedrooms. 2-bedroom homes are the largest group, 32.1% of its 1,322 bookable homes, and 17.0% of its near-term quotes carried a host discount.
| Bedrooms (of 1,322 homes) | Bookable homes | Share of homes | Homes with a near-term quote | Quotes with a discount | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 55 | 4.2% | 31 | 3.2% | $211 | $274 | $319 | $396 |
| 1 | 339 | 25.6% | 226 | 16.8% | $214 | $287 | $368 | $515 |
| 2 | 424 | 32.1% | 282 | 15.6% | $390 | $483 | $609 | $688 |
| 3 | 311 | 23.5% | 231 | 19.0% | $519 | $658 | $825 | $992 |
| 4+ | 174 | 13.2% | 117 | 22.2% | $781 | $1,053 | $1,302 | $1,785 |
| All | 1,322 | 100.0% | 904 | 17.0% | $329 | $501 | $712 | $991 |
1,322 bookable entire homes, 904 with a near-term quote; the percentiles are of that quote's nightly price, net of host discounts and before the quote's tax and fee lines; the All row also counts 19 homes with no bedroom count, 17 of them with a near-term quote; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
How many nights are still open to book in Santa Cruz County?
Open nights are the calendar nights a host still offers to book, as Inside Airbnb collected them. A night that is not open may be booked or blocked by the host, and the calendar does not say which, so a low share open is not proof of demand on its own.
As Inside Airbnb collected it on 28-29 September 2026, UpRev counts 51.6% of October nights at its bookable homes still open to book, 66.9% of November nights and 73.9% of December nights; a night that is not open may be booked or blocked by the host, and the file does not say which. For December, 2-bedroom homes had the most nights open (76.2%) and homes with 4 or more bedrooms the fewest (67.4%).
| Bedrooms (of 1,322 homes) | October nights open | November nights open | December nights open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 44.4% | 63.8% | 71.4% |
| 1 | 52.3% | 69.3% | 74.5% |
| 2 | 51.2% | 68.5% | 76.2% |
| 3 | 52.3% | 65.4% | 73.2% |
| 4+ | 48.5% | 59.5% | 67.4% |
| All | 51.6% | 66.9% | 73.9% |
Share of calendar nights open to book at the 1,322 bookable homes, by month ahead, as collected; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
What is the estimated occupancy of an Airbnb in Santa Cruz County?
Estimated occupancy is Inside Airbnb's own review-based model, run by UpRev with each region's average stay. It is an estimate built from reviews, not a count of bookings, and it reads low because a review follows check-out.
Inside Airbnb's review-based model, run by UpRev with the 3-night average stay Inside Airbnb sets for the region, gives its bookable homes an estimated occupancy of 34.9% on average over the 89 nights from 1 July to 27 September 2026; the median home sat at 33.7%, 21.6% of homes reached the model's 70% cap, and because reviews follow check-out the figure reads low. By size, 1-bedroom homes had the highest estimated occupancy (39.6%) and homes with 4 or more bedrooms the lowest (26.5%).
| Bedrooms (of 1,322 homes) | Bookable homes | Reviews in the window | Estimated occupancy, mean | Estimated occupancy, median | Homes at the 70% cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 55 | 355 | 37.9% | 47.2% | 34.5% |
| 1 | 339 | 2,386 | 39.6% | 47.2% | 30.1% |
| 2 | 424 | 2,642 | 37.2% | 34.8% | 22.2% |
| 3 | 311 | 1,569 | 31.7% | 27.0% | 15.1% |
| 4+ | 174 | 688 | 26.5% | 20.2% | 10.9% |
| All | 1,322 | 7,727 | 34.9% | 33.7% | 21.6% |
Estimated occupancy of the 1,322 bookable homes, 1 July to 27 September 2026 (89 nights): each review in the window counts as two stays of 3 nights, or of the listing's minimum stay if longer, capped at 70%; an estimate, not counted bookings; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
Who runs Santa Cruz County's short-term rentals, and on what terms?
Inside Airbnb's snapshot holds 1,800 listings, 82.7% of them entire homes, and UpRev counts 1,322 of those as bookable. 54.8% of these bookable homes are run by hosts with two or more listings in the region; the median minimum stay is 2 nights, 12.0% ask for a minimum stay of 30 nights or more, and 86.1% were reviewed in the last 12 months.
| Snapshot of 28 September 2026 | All listings | Entire homes | Entire-home share | Bookable entire homes | Run by hosts with 2+ listings | Median minimum stay (nights) | Minimum stay of 30 nights or more | Reviewed in the last 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| collected 28-29 September 2026 | 1,800 | 1,488 | 82.7% | 1,322 | 54.8% | 2 | 12.0% | 86.1% |
All 1,800 listings in the snapshot; the shares after the bookable count are of the 1,322 bookable homes, and a host's listing count is the region's own; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
How does Santa Cruz County compare with the 34 short-term rental (STR) markets in the data?
UpRev's benchmark sets the region's 1,322 bookable homes beside the median of the 34 US regions Inside Airbnb covers, each read from its own snapshot of 14-30 September 2026; the regions' calendars were read on different days, so the shares of nights open compare calendars at different distances from each month.
| Measure (of 1,322 homes) | Value | Homes | Median of the regions | Lowest region | Highest region | Regions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median near-term quoted nightly price | $501 | 904 | $272 | $185 | $663 | 34 |
| Quotes with a host discount | 17.0% | 904 | 24.0% | 14.0% | 40.0% | 34 |
| October nights open | 51.6% | 1,322 | 51.2% | 29.7% | 69.4% | 34 |
| December nights open | 73.9% | 1,322 | 74.1% | 55.5% | 82.3% | 34 |
| Estimated occupancy since 1 July, mean | 34.9% | 1,322 | 29.3% | 15.0% | 40.3% | 34 |
| Studios, share of bookable homes | 4.2% | 1,322 | 5.3% | 1.7% | 17.8% | 31 |
| Homes with 4+ bedrooms, share | 13.2% | 1,322 | 12.9% | 3.7% | 29.9% | 34 |
| Entire homes, share of all listings | 82.7% | 1,800 | 77.4% | 50.7% | 91.0% | 34 |
| Run by hosts with 2+ listings | 54.8% | 1,322 | 62.0% | 41.9% | 83.2% | 34 |
| Minimum stay of 30 nights or more | 12.0% | 1,322 | 15.7% | 3.6% | 85.9% | 34 |
| Median minimum stay (nights) | 2 | 1,322 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 34 |
| Change in bookable homes since June | -0.8% | 1,333 | -2.3% | -12.4% | 3.7% | 34 |
The region's value against the median, lowest and highest of the regions, each region from its latest snapshot (14-30 September 2026); Homes: the 1,322 bookable homes, or for the price and discount rows the 904 with a near-term quote, or for the entire-home share all listings, or for the change in bookable homes the June count; Regions counts the regions with a value; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
What changed in Santa Cruz County since the snapshot before?
Between Inside Airbnb's snapshots of 30 June 2026 and 28 September 2026, UpRev counts bookable entire homes going from 1,333 to 1,322 (-0.8%) and the median near-term quoted price from $586 to $501 (-$85, -14.5%); the June quotes were for stays checking in during June and July, so the price change crosses seasons: two snapshots, not a trend; the June file leaves most studios without a bedroom count, so June has no studio figure.
| Measure | June snapshot (1,333 homes) | September snapshot (1,322 homes) | Change | Change, relative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Median near-term quoted nightly price (904 quotes in September) | $586 | $501 | -$85 | -14.5% |
| Bookable entire homes | 1,333 | 1,322 | -11 | -0.8% |
| Run by hosts with 2+ listings | 54.4% | 54.8% | 0.4 pts | - |
| Median minimum stay (nights, 1,322 homes in September) | 2 | 2 | 0 | - |
| Minimum stay of 30 nights or more | 12.2% | 12.0% | -0.1 pts | - |
| Estimated occupancy, mean | 31.0% | 34.9% | 3.9 pts | - |
The June snapshot of 30 June 2026 (collected 30 June to 3 July 2026, 1,333 bookable homes, estimated occupancy window 1 April to 29 June 2026) against the September one; changes in shares are from the exact values: see the method page; snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026.
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.
How does UpRev count Santa Cruz County?
Bookable entire homes, 1,322 of them, from Inside Airbnb's snapshot of 28 September 2026, collected 28-29 September 2026. Estimated occupancy uses the 3-night average stay Inside Airbnb sets for the region, with which the model reproduces Inside Airbnb's own per-listing estimate on 1,800 of 1,800 listings in this snapshot and 1,795 of 1,795 in its June snapshot of 30 June 2026; every bedroom class has the 30 near-term quotes a price percentile needs, of 904 in all. How we count: see the method page.
Can I download the data?
Every table on this page comes from these files, one row per snapshot, bedroom class and measure, each row carrying the source line. They are free to reuse under the same licence, with that credit line. The files hold every snapshot from 30 June 2026 to 28 September 2026.
- availability.csv: nights open to book, by month ahead and bedrooms
- estimated_occupancy.csv: estimated occupancy, by bedrooms
- prices.csv: listed nightly price percentiles and host discounts, by bedrooms
- qoq.csv: the change between snapshots, measure by measure
- supply.csv: listings, entire homes, hosts and minimum stays
Source and licence
Source: Inside Airbnb (https://insideairbnb.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Aggregated and summarised by UpRev; the figures are UpRev's, not Inside Airbnb's.