Best States for Airbnb Investing in 2026: Ranked by Gross Yield

What are the best states for Airbnb investing in 2026? Well, when I ranked US states by the median gross yield of their markets in BNBCalc's October 2026 data, Illinois came out on top at 17.1%, followed by Louisiana at 15.5% and Ohio at 15.1%.

Gross yield here is BNBCalc's own measure. For each home, BNBCalc divides its annual room-revenue potential, with cleaning income left out, by the value of a home with the same ZIP code and bedroom count, and a market's gross yield is the middle of those home yields. I've only ranked the 38 states that have at least five markets with a yield, and the leaders get there on cheap homes more than on big revenue, since in BNBCalc's data every top-10 state has a median home value under $300,000.

From there, I'll walk you through the top 10 and the best markets in the top five, where Florida, Tennessee and Arizona land, why some states aren't ranked at all, and how to get from a state to a house you'd actually buy.

What Are the Best States for Airbnb Investment in 2026?

You don't need an account to check any of this, since BNBCalc's public state ranking pages list every market BNBCalc tracks in a state by gross yield, along with its room-revenue potential, ADR, occupancy and median home value. Each page also shows the state's median gross yield at the top, and in BNBCalc Markets, you can pick a state from the US view's dropdown to see its markets ranked by gross yield by default.

To rank the states themselves, I took that median from each of BNBCalc's 51 ranking pages (the 50 states plus Washington, DC), all set to a typical listing, meaning all bedroom counts at BNBCalc's average performance tier, as of its October 7, 2026 data update. So every median below is the same one you'll see at the top of that state's page, and the last column comes from my ranking of the best cities, which uses the same BNBCalc data.

Rank	State	Median gross yield	Median home value of its markets	Highest market on the city ranking
1	Illinois	17.1%	$145,020	Chicago (41st)
2	Louisiana	15.5%	$185,294	New Orleans (58th)
3	Ohio	15.1%	$245,357	Canton (9th)
4	West Virginia	14.7%	$203,408	Snowshoe (18th)
5	Oklahoma	14.3%	$206,249	Broken Bow (4th)
6	Alaska	14.1%	$299,436	Anchorage (62nd)
7	Indiana	13.5%	$234,935	South Bend (23rd)
8	Mississippi	13.4%	$183,109	Gulfport (33rd)
9	Pennsylvania	13.3%	$296,677	Pittsburgh (8th)
10	Kentucky	13.0%	$196,234	Wolfe County (2nd)

Each row is one state in BNBCalc's data. Its median gross yield is the middle of its markets' yields once you line them up, or the average of the two middle ones. The last column is its best market on my city ranking, which only counts the larger half of markets by active listings, so a state's top market on its own page can be a smaller one that the city ranking leaves out.

Best Airbnb Markets in Illinois

Illinois is a quick one to check by hand, because BNBCalc ranks five Illinois markets, so the middle one sets the state's median. On BNBCalc's Illinois page, Centralia leads at 19.9%, then Springfield at 17.7%, and Peoria sits in the middle at 17.1%, ahead of Rockford at 14.6% and Chicago at 12.8%.

Keep in mind that you can't rebuild those yields by dividing a market's room-revenue potential by its median home value, since BNBCalc works out a yield for each home first and then takes the middle one. Room-revenue potential also comes before Airbnb's service fee, which is deducted from the host's payout at 15.5% for most hosts on its single-fee structure, as of October 2026.

Chicago is the only Illinois market big enough for my city ranking, where it's 41st, but make sure to read the city's rules before you buy there. Under Chicago's eligibility criteria, as of October 2026, a single-family home or a two-to-four-unit building can have a "maximum 1 active rental," and the "unit must be primary residence" in both cases. So if you'd buy a house there just to put on Airbnb, you may not be able to register it at all.

Best Airbnb Markets in Louisiana

Louisiana's leader in BNBCalc's data is Monroe at 18.1%, followed by Shreveport at 15.9%, while Lake Charles and Alexandria both round to the state's 15.5% median. New Orleans, at 12.0%, is the only Louisiana market on my city ranking, in 58th, and Baton Rouge comes in lowest at 11.3%.

You'll find all seven on BNBCalc's Louisiana page. Before you make an offer, start with BNBCalc's Louisiana regulation guide for the parish or city you're looking at.

Best Airbnb Markets in Ohio

Ohio has the single highest market of any top-five state, Chillicothe at 24.7% on BNBCalc's Ohio page. It's one of the smaller markets my city ranking leaves out, though, so Canton, at 16.4%, is Ohio's best market there, in 9th, with Cleveland 14th at 15.3%.

The rest of Ohio sits much closer to its 15.1% median, with Columbus at 13.5%, and Cincinnati comes in lowest at 10.3%. Every Ohio market BNBCalc tracks is on its state page. Before you buy, make sure to check BNBCalc's Ohio regulation guide for the rules where the house is.

Best Airbnb Markets in West Virginia

West Virginia's top two in BNBCalc's data are Charleston at 19.2% and Fayette at 18.6%, while Snowshoe sits at the state's 14.7% median. Snowshoe is also West Virginia's only market on my city ranking, in 18th, whereas Harpers Ferry comes in lowest on BNBCalc's West Virginia page, at 10.7%.

Before you settle on a town, though, you'll want to read BNBCalc's West Virginia regulation guide for the county it sits in.

Best Airbnb Markets in Oklahoma

Oklahoma shows how yield and revenue can point different ways. On BNBCalc's Oklahoma page, Lawton leads at 22.4% and Bartlesville follows at 21.8%, while Broken Bow, the state's top earner at $53,741 of room-revenue potential, comes third at 19.3%, because homes there cost more. That's still enough for 4th on my city ranking.

Oklahoma City and Tulsa both sit at 12.4%, below the state's 14.3% median. You can compare all eight on BNBCalc's Oklahoma page. Then check BNBCalc's Oklahoma regulation guide before you make an offer.

Why Do Cheaper States Rank Higher for Airbnb?

What those five share with the rest of the top 10 is cheap homes. Because gross yield divides revenue by a home's value, a state can climb the ranking just as easily on cheap homes as on strong bookings. A gross rent multiplier is the same ratio flipped over, price divided by rent, and our guide to the gross rent multiplier shows how investors use it to compare properties.

Sure enough, in BNBCalc's data, the median home value of each top-10 state's markets is under $300,000, against a median of $335,788 across all 477 US markets with a yield. Their revenue isn't higher, either. In fact, in eight of the ten, the median room-revenue potential across the state's markets came in under the $34,246 median for all 477, and only Alaska and Pennsylvania beat it.

Cheap homes cut both ways, though. A lower price is what lifts the yield, but the house still has to earn enough to cover the costs that don't shrink with its price.

Where Do Florida, Tennessee and Arizona Rank for Airbnb Investment?

Pricier homes work the other way, which is why some of the best-known Airbnb states sit lower. In BNBCalc's ranking, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona all land in the bottom half of the 38, along with North Carolina and California, while New York, Texas and South Carolina sit just inside the top half.

State	Rank of 38	Median gross yield	Median room-revenue potential	Median home value of its markets
New York	15	11.8%	$38,413	$339,359
Texas	16	11.6%	$29,262	$236,312
South Carolina	18	10.8%	$41,455	$275,350
Florida	22	10.4%	$38,944	$383,347
Tennessee	26	9.8%	$33,858	$344,229
North Carolina	30	8.9%	$30,627	$350,907
Arizona	35	7.3%	$29,741	$446,470
California	37	6.8%	$49,776	$679,349

Each column is its own median across the state's markets in BNBCalc's data, so dividing one by another won't give you the yield. Pricey homes hurt California most, which ranks 37th on a median home value of $679,349 despite the table's highest median room-revenue potential, $49,776. Texas is the opposite case, with cheaper homes than any other state here but the lowest median room-revenue potential, at $29,262.

So does that make them bad states to buy in? Not necessarily. Some of their best markets still rank high on my city ranking, such as Myrtle Beach, South Carolina in 3rd, Abilene, Texas in 5th and Fort Walton, Florida in 6th. That's why you'll want to judge them market by market rather than by the state's median.

Why Aren't Some States Ranked?

Those best-known names all made the cut, but 12 states and Washington, DC didn't, because each has fewer than five markets with a yield in BNBCalc's data. A median there would rest on four markets or fewer, so I've left out Delaware, Hawaii, Kansas, Massachusetts, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming.

You can still look through their markets on BNBCalc's state pages, and each of those pages shows a median even when the state has only a few markets. Kansas, for example, shows 15.6% on its page, high enough for the top three here, but that median rests on just three markets. That's too few to rank.

Is a High-Yield State Enough to Buy an Airbnb In?

Even in a top state, a high median isn't enough on its own, since it describes the state's middle market, and gross yield leaves out your running costs and your loan. For a specific house, that's the BNBCalc Calculator's job. Give it an address, and it pulls up to 50 comparable listings nearby, lets you run AI Underwriter to keep the closest matches for a US property, and then runs your price and loan through to cash flow and cash-on-cash return.

Before you get to a house, a quick test for a state or a market is a break-even yield, the yield at which revenue just covers the running costs and the mortgage. In our guide to finding the best Airbnb markets, that bar comes to about 10.8% on a 30-year fixed loan at the Calculator's default 6.00% rate, with 25% down and running costs at half of revenue.

In BNBCalc's data, 17 of the 38 state medians clear it, while South Carolina's 10.8% sits right on the line and falls just short before rounding.

For comparison, Freddie Mac's survey put the average 30-year fixed rate at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026, and at that rate the same bar rises to about 12.5%, which only 13 of the 38 clear. Florida and Tennessee fall short at both rates. Keep in mind that the survey tracks owner-occupied home loans, so put a real quote for the property you're buying into the Calculator.

So, What Are the Best States for Airbnb Investing in 2026?

By the median gross yield of their markets in BNBCalc's October 2026 data, they're Illinois, Louisiana and Ohio, then West Virginia and Oklahoma, among the 38 states with at least five markets to rank. Across the top 10, cheap homes do more for the yield than revenue does.

To build your own shortlist, start with BNBCalc's state ranking pages or BNBCalc Markets, keep the markets inside a state that clear your break-even, and then run a specific house through the BNBCalc Calculator. After that, our guide to analyzing an Airbnb investment property covers the eight numbers to check before you make an offer.

A state ranking is a good place to start, since it tells you where revenue runs high against what homes cost. Whether a house is worth buying still comes down to its own numbers, the loan you can get and the rules where it sits.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is the Best State for Airbnb Investment in 2026?

BNBCalc's market data puts Illinois first, with a 17.1% median gross yield across its markets for a typical listing, as of BNBCalc's October 7, 2026 data update. Louisiana is second at 15.5% and Ohio third at 15.1%. The ranking only counts the 38 states with at least five markets that have a yield, and you can see every market behind each median on BNBCalc's free state ranking pages.

How Does BNBCalc Rank States for Airbnb Investing?

BNBCalc works out a gross yield for each home, its annual room-revenue potential with cleaning income left out, divided by the value of a home with the same ZIP code and bedroom count, and a market's yield is the middle of those home yields. This state ranking takes the median across each state's markets, for the states with at least five, so the best market in a state can sit well above it, the way Lawton, at 22.4%, sits above Oklahoma's 14.3%.

Is Florida a Good State for Airbnb Investment?

It depends on the market, and BNBCalc's Florida ranking page shows why. Florida's median gross yield is 10.4%, 22nd of the 38 states ranked, with a median home value of $383,347 across its markets. Yet its top market, Fort Walton, comes in at 17.0%, sixth among the larger half of US markets in BNBCalc's data, so compare Florida's markets one by one in BNBCalc Markets.

Why Isn't Hawaii in BNBCalc's State Ranking?

BNBCalc has a yield for only four Hawaii markets, so a median would rest on too few markets to compare fairly with other states. The same goes for 11 other states and Washington, DC, including Nevada and Vermont. You can still see every Hawaii market BNBCalc tracks, with its gross yield, room-revenue potential and occupancy, on its state ranking page.

Does a High Gross Yield Mean an Airbnb Will Cash Flow?

Not by itself. BNBCalc's state pages note that gross yield "is before expenses, financing, taxes, and local rules," so run the house through the BNBCalc Calculator, which takes out Airbnb's host fee, your running costs and your loan payments to get to cash flow and cash-on-cash return. In BNBCalc's data, 17 of the 38 ranked states' medians cleared an illustrative 10.8% break-even yield, built on a 6.00% loan, 25% down and costs at half of revenue.

BNBCalc Calculator Pricing and Free Analyses

When you've found a house in one of these states, the BNBCalc Calculator costs $30 a month or $199 a year as of October 2026. If you'd like to try it first, you can run two property analyses free, or start a 7-day free trial with full access.

If you don't know where to invest yet, use BNBCalc Markets to compare US markets by gross yield and see what the individual listings in each one actually earned.