Durham, North Carolina Airbnb Market Data 2026

What does an Airbnb in Durham, North Carolina earn, and can you legally list one there? The median listing inside Durham's city limits took in about $19,800 over the past twelve months, as of October 2026. On the legal side there's no city permit or registration to get, but Durham's zoning code doesn't say where a whole house rented by the night fits, so you'll want the Planning Department's answer for your address before you buy. Most of what follows turns on a detail you won't find in a typical market report, though: BNBCalc doesn't give Durham a market of its own.

Rather than one market, BNBCalc splits the city between two, with about six in ten of Durham's listings in its Raleigh market and the other four in ten in its Chapel Hill market. The Raleigh share sits mostly downtown and on the east and north sides, while the Chapel Hill share takes in most of the northwest, southwest and south of the city. Practically all of those listings sit in Durham County, so the county's tax rules cover the whole picture. BNBCalc Markets does have a page titled Durham, but it labels the city part of the Raleigh market area and shows Raleigh's figures, and the data panel you'll see on this page covers that same Raleigh market. Neither one includes the Chapel Hill side of the city, so neither will match my Durham medians.

The good news is that the line between the two markets hardly moves the money, so you can judge a Durham property on its size and its street without worrying much about which side of the split it lands on. Where the line does matter is in the trends and the seasons, which BNBCalc measures market by market, so I'll show you both markets side by side wherever a figure comes from one of them.

How Much Do Durham Airbnbs Earn in 2026?

Durham's median listing brought in $19,820 over the past twelve months, charging a median $179 a night and booking a median 31.4% of the year, while the top quarter of the city's listings cleared $26,730. Those are my figures for the listings inside Durham's Census city boundary, drawn from both of BNBCalc's markets, as of October 2026.

So does it matter which market a property lands in? Hardly, because the Raleigh-market half of the city earned a median of $20,082 and the Chapel Hill-market half $19,549, a gap of about $500. And while the Chapel Hill side charges a bit more per night ($188 against $176), it books a bit less (30.6% of the year against 32.2%), so the two differences come close to canceling out.

What does matter, though, is how Durham compares with the rest of each market. Outside the city, the rest of the Raleigh market earned a median of $22,906 and the rest of the Chapel Hill market earned $21,636, so each half of Durham trails the rest of its own market by roughly $2,100 to $2,800 a year. Occupancy isn't the reason, because the rest of both markets books 30.9% of the year, level with Durham. The gap is the nightly rate, which runs $210 and $205 outside the city. In the Raleigh market, size sits behind that rate, since the typical listing elsewhere in the market is a three-bedroom while Durham's is a two-bedroom; in the Chapel Hill market both sides center on two-bedrooms, and Durham's charge less.

Once you match the size, much of that gap closes. Two-bedrooms in Durham's Raleigh-market half earned a median of $21,522, which beats the $20,644 that two-bedrooms took in across the rest of that market, because the Durham ones booked 36.6% of the year against 32.5%. On the Chapel Hill side the same comparison runs the other way, with Durham two-bedrooms about $1,100 behind, and three-bedrooms inside the city land within about $1,200 of the rest of their market on both sides of the line.

Keep that in mind if you also read BNBCalc's Raleigh market-data post, because Durham makes up about a sixth of the Raleigh market and about a third of the Chapel Hill market, so neither market's average is a Durham number, and every figure in Durham's bedroom table comes from inside the city line only.

Bedrooms	Median annual revenue	Median nightly rate	Median occupancy	Top-quarter revenue
Studio	$13,756	$146	24.4%	$18,477
1	$14,603	$124	33.4%	$17,873
2	$20,676	$171	34.3%	$26,078
3	$23,872	$233	29.9%	$28,545
4+	$35,534	$338	27.9%	$52,509

Durham city only: listings from BNBCalc's Raleigh and Chapel Hill markets combined, inside the US Census boundary for Durham city, as of October 2026. Occupancy counts booked nights against every day of the year, and top-quarter revenue is the 75th percentile.

Read down the revenue column and the second bedroom is the one that pays, because going from one bedroom to two adds about $6,100 to the median while the third adds about $3,200. Two-bedrooms also book more nights than any other size in the city. Four-bedrooms earn the most by a wide margin, and their top quarter starts at $52,509, but they book the fewest nights of any size above a studio, so that money comes from fewer, pricier stays. Studios trail everything; they charge more per night than one-bedrooms and still earn less, because they book under a quarter of the year.

Is the Durham Airbnb Market Oversaturated?

Mildly, yes. BNBCalc doesn't measure a Durham-only trend, so I've answered it market by market. Both of the markets the city belongs to point the same way: from January to September 2026, against the same months of 2025, the number of active listings grew faster than the bookings to fill them.

Change, January to September 2026 vs the same months of 2025	Raleigh market	Chapel Hill market
Active listings	Up about 10%	Up about 9%
Occupancy	Down about 4%	Down about 7%
Nightly rate	Up about 18%	Up about 20%

BNBCalc market data for every listing in the Raleigh and Chapel Hill markets, all bedroom counts, rounded, and each change is relative: a percentage of the 2025 figure, not a change in percentage points.

Listings growing faster than the bookings that fill them is the crowding signal I look for first, and the occupancy drops here are modest, which is why I'd call it mild rather than a flood. The Chapel Hill market took the bigger hit to occupancy, and it's the market that holds the northwest, southwest and south of Durham, though BNBCalc doesn't break that drop down to the part inside the city. Then again, nightly rates rose by close to a fifth in both markets over the same months, which means guests kept paying more per night even as each listing filled a few fewer of them.

Inside the city, Durham's listings book about as often as the rest of either market, at 31.4% against 30.9%, so the city isn't carrying more of the slack than the towns around it, at least on the latest year's figures. If crowding does get worse, the booking rate of the homes most like yours will show it before any market-wide number moves, so if you're buying here, make sure to pull those comparables up again every few months.

When Is Durham's Peak Airbnb Season?

Because BNBCalc measures the seasons market by market, here's the Raleigh market beside the Chapel Hill market, month by month, for the past year.

Month	Raleigh market occupancy	Raleigh market nightly rate	Chapel Hill market occupancy	Chapel Hill market nightly rate
October 2025	42.5%	$211	38.9%	$212
November 2025	36.6%	$217	35.0%	$218
December 2025	32.7%	$205	30.0%	$212
January 2026	28.1%	$179	26.4%	$179
February 2026	31.0%	$189	28.2%	$187
March 2026	36.1%	$206	32.0%	$199
April 2026	40.6%	$216	38.8%	$224
May 2026	42.5%	$244	38.6%	$258
June 2026	45.4%	$235	40.2%	$229
July 2026	45.5%	$245	41.4%	$237
August 2026	38.0%	$232	38.6%	$232
September 2026	39.7%	$215	34.1%	$225

BNBCalc market data for every listing in the Raleigh and Chapel Hill markets, October 2025 to September 2026, all bedroom counts.

In most months these figures run above the Durham medians in the bedroom table, because each month counts bookings only against the nights hosts kept open, while the medians count them against the whole year, blocked nights included. The slow winter months are the exception: January and February in the Raleigh market and December through February in the Chapel Hill market sit below the city's 31.4% median even when blocked nights are left out.

January is the low point in both markets on both counts, at 28.1% and 26.4% occupancy and $179 a night. Occupancy then runs strongest from April through July and again in October; the Chapel Hill market holds that level through August, while the Raleigh market dips in August before steadying in September. Rates tell a sharper story. In the Chapel Hill market they peak in May at $258, about 44% above January, and in the Raleigh market the best rates run from May through July at $235 to $245. My guess is that May's spike in the Chapel Hill market is graduation, since UNC and Duke both hold spring commencement in May, but that's my reading rather than something the numbers prove.

The week has its own season, too, and it's the same in both markets. Friday and Saturday nights book about 27% to 29% more than an average night and charge about 18% more, while Monday and Tuesday book roughly a fifth below average. If you're deciding on minimum stays or weekday discounts, keep in mind that empty nights in both markets pile up early in the week.

Where Should You Buy an Airbnb in Durham?

Where you buy inside the city moves revenue less than you might expect, and the ZIP codes show it plainly.

ZIP code	Where it sits	BNBCalc market	Typical bedrooms	Median annual revenue	Median nightly rate	Median occupancy	Top-quarter revenue
27713	South	Chapel Hill	3	$22,753	$215	28.5%	$28,565
27703	Southeast	Raleigh	3	$20,394	$193	30.6%	$24,445
27712	Far north	Mostly Raleigh	3	$20,087	$226	27.5%	$30,125
27705	Northwest	Mostly Chapel Hill	2	$19,909	$175	31.1%	$25,490
27707	Southwest	Mostly Chapel Hill	2	$19,564	$182	31.5%	$26,895
27701	Downtown	Mostly Raleigh	2	$19,123	$168	33.2%	$27,606
27704	North	Raleigh	3	$18,004	$169	30.5%	$23,471

Durham city only, by 2020 Census ZIP code tabulation area, as of October 2026. "Where it sits" is the direction from downtown. "BNBCalc market" is the market most of the ZIP's Durham listings fall in, and "Typical bedrooms" is the median size. ZIP codes too thin to measure reliably are left out, and the thinnest rows here will move between data updates.

From the top of the table to the bottom, the gap is under $5,000 ($22,753 against $18,004), which is less than a quarter of what separates a one-bedroom's median from a four-bedroom's. In Durham, the house itself counts for more than the ZIP code it sits in. The south side's 27713 leads, though its typical listing has three bedrooms and charges $215 a night, so it's leading on size as much as on address. Downtown's 27701 books the most nights of any ZIP and charges the least, which fits a ZIP full of smaller units, yet its top quarter clears $27,606, so a well-run downtown unit can out-earn a middling house farther out. Treat 27712, up in the far north, with care, since it's the thinnest row here.

The numbers stop at the ZIP code, so for block-by-block judgment on where guests want to stay, you'll want where to buy an Airbnb in Durham next. And if you're still weighing Durham against the rest of the state, BNBCalc's ranking of North Carolina markets by gross yield puts both the Raleigh and Chapel Hill markets in the lower half of its list as of October 2026, behind Greensboro and Winston-Salem.

Which Amenities Make the Most Money in Durham?

The two markets don't agree on amenities, so I'll take them one at a time. Across the Raleigh market, the hot tub is the only amenity with a value BNBCalc publishes, at about 22% more revenue for listings that have one, while across the Chapel Hill market it's an EV charger, at about 20%.

Every other amenity on each market's list carries a value that only BNBCalc Markets members can see. In the Raleigh market those are gym, EV charger, sauna, lake access, TV, pool, barbecue grill and pets allowed, while in the Chapel Hill market they're hot tub, lake access, barbecue grill, sauna, TV, gym, pets allowed and bicycles. Keep in mind that both published values are measured across a whole market rather than inside Durham alone.

What I can add from inside the city, though, is how rare a hot tub is here. About 1.5% of Durham's listings have one, against 3.6% across the rest of the Raleigh market and 5.8% across the rest of the Chapel Hill market. Pools and gyms run the other way and show up more often inside the city than outside it, on 15.3% and 6.2% of Durham's listings, which I'd guess comes from apartment buildings with shared facilities. So if you're buying a house in the Raleigh-market half of Durham, a hot tub is the one upgrade with a published value in that market, and it would also set you apart from nearly every listing around you.

Is Airbnb Legal in Durham?

Yes, as far as permits go: Durham has no short-term rental permit, and North Carolina law stops the city from making you register a rental, apart from narrow exceptions for problem properties. Whether the zoning code allows a whole house rented by the night at your address is the open question, and it's the one to settle before you buy.

Durham's zoning rules live in its Unified Development Ordinance, which the city shares with Durham County, and the ordinance never mentions short-term rentals, Airbnb or vacation rentals. Its Overnight Accommodations category describes "residential units arranged for short term stays of less than 30 days for rent or lease", which reads like a nightly whole-house rental, yet the uses it lists under that heading are hotels, motels, inns, extended-stay facilities and bed and breakfasts. Household Living, the category for ordinary homes, covers occupancy "on a month-to-month or longer basis", so a house booked by the night doesn't sit neatly in either. Before you buy, you'll want the Durham City-County Planning Department to tell you how it would classify a whole-house nightly rental at your address. BNBCalc's data counts every Durham listing that's operating and can't tell which of them Planning would sign off on, so the earnings figures describe what operating listings make, not what any one address is allowed to do.

The registration question, at least, is settled at the state level. Under G.S. 160D-1207(c), a North Carolina city can't require you to register a rental property, or to get a permit under its building or housing codes before you rent one out. The only exceptions are a property with more than four verified violations in a rolling 12 months, two or more in a rolling 30 days, or a place among the top 10% of properties with crime or disorder problems under a local ordinance. In 2022 the state Court of Appeals applied that rule in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington and held Wilmington's short-term rental registration and lottery invalid, while leaving standing the parts of its ordinance that didn't depend on them, including the rule that kept whole-house rentals to certain zoning districts. That's the door that stays open for Durham, which can't make you register but could still use zoning to say where whole-house rentals may operate. The city and county are working on a new UDO now, so I'd follow that process before you commit to a property for the long haul.

Tax is the other half, and your guest covers every cent of it at booking, so none of it is deducted from what you earn. Durham County's combined sales tax is 7.5%, and the county adds a 6% room occupancy tax on the same rent. Under North Carolina's rules, cleaning fees get taxed along with the nightly rent. If the guest's payment runs through a booking platform, state law makes the platform that collects the money responsible for the sales tax, and it gives the platform the same duty for the county's occupancy tax. Durham County's own guidance says its tax applies to houses rented through sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. BNBCalc's North Carolina lodging tax breakdown shows how the state and county layers stack up on a guest's bill.

Take a booking directly, though, and the filing is yours. Durham County expects its occupancy tax return on or before the 20th of each month, including months when nothing is due, so don't forget to file the empty ones. For contacts, filing steps and what happens when a neighbor complains, the Durham short-term rental regulation guide goes further than a market article has room for.

How Does BNBCalc Track the Durham Airbnb Market?

A market article does have room for the markets themselves. Every Raleigh and Chapel Hill figure I've used comes from BNBCalc's market data covering every listing in each market, whether it's the January to September comparison or the month-by-month seasons, and BNBCalc Markets, the BNBCalc tool built for weighing one rental market against another, runs on that same data, while the Durham medians are my own, from the BNBCalc listings inside the city limits. For US markets, Markets also orders every market by gross yield, a home's potential room revenue set against what homes of its size in its ZIP code are worth, and that list is the quickest way to check whether a dollar of house would earn more elsewhere in North Carolina than it does in Durham.

How Do You Estimate Airbnb Revenue for a Durham Property?

Every Durham estimate should begin with an address, since neither market's average describes a Durham house and the city's own medians can't see your floor plan. If you hand the BNBCalc Calculator that address, it builds the revenue, occupancy and nightly-rate projection from comparable listings, then runs the projection through your costs, financing and returns. Its AI Underwriter, available once a US address returns at least four comparable listings, narrows the set to the ones most like your house.

With that estimate in hand, three Durham benchmarks will show whether the rest of a deal holds up:

1. Revenue. A Durham two-bedroom earns a median of $20,676 and its top quarter starts at $26,078. If a seller's pro forma promises $30,000 for one, it's placing the house well inside the city's top quarter, so ask what it has that the typical two-bedroom doesn't.
2. Occupancy. The median Durham listing books 31.4% of the nights in a year, counting blocked nights. A spreadsheet that assumes half the year is booked is assuming something the typical Durham listing doesn't come close to.
3. Nightly rate. Price from Durham, not from the region. The city's listings charge $176 to $188 a night at the median depending on the market, against $205 to $210 elsewhere in those markets, so a rate borrowed from a market-wide figure will run high.

If you already host in Durham and your rate sits below what similar homes nearby charge, put the listing through the Airbnb Listing Optimizer, which weighs your guest reviews against the listings around you and sorts its fixes into the order to tackle them. And if you screen Durham addresses in bulk for a lender or a fund, the BNBCalc API delivers the same analysis the Calculator runs straight into your own software, billed by usage.

Is a Durham Airbnb a Good Investment in 2026?

Yes, provided Planning confirms a whole-house nightly rental fits the zoning at your address and you underwrite it as a Durham property, not a slice of a regional average. Inside the city limits, the typical listing earned about $19,800 over the past year and a two-bedroom about $20,700, and the city trails the rest of both of its BNBCalc markets because it charges less per night, not because it books less. Listings grew faster than bookings in both markets this year, which argues for careful pricing. Before you make an offer, let the BNBCalc Calculator price that exact address from its comparable listings.

More broadly, when a city earns less than the region around it, split the gap into home size and nightly price before you blame the location, because one city can trail its neighbors for different reasons on each side of a market line.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a two-bedroom Airbnb make in Durham?

BNBCalc's listing data puts the median Durham two-bedroom at $20,676 a year as of October 2026. It charges a median $171 a night and books 34.3% of the year, the highest occupancy of any size in the city. The top quarter of two-bedrooms earns $26,078 or more. Those figures come from operating listings within Durham's city limits and assume the zoning allows a nightly rental at your address, which the Planning Department can confirm. For a particular property, the BNBCalc Calculator projects revenue from comparable listings.

Is Durham in BNBCalc's Raleigh market or its Chapel Hill market?

Both. BNBCalc's market data puts about 60% of Durham's listings in its Raleigh market and about 40% in its Chapel Hill market, and BNBCalc tracks each one's trends and seasons separately. Downtown and the east and north sides fall mostly in the Raleigh market, while the northwest, southwest and south fall mostly in the Chapel Hill market. Durham makes up about a sixth of the Raleigh market and about a third of the Chapel Hill market, so neither market's average is a Durham figure, though the city's two halves earn within about $500 of each other.

Which Durham ZIP code earns the most on Airbnb?

BNBCalc's listing data for Durham city puts 27713, on the south side, at the top with a median of $22,753 a year, on a typical three-bedroom charging $215 a night. Downtown's 27701 books the most nights, at 33.2%, mostly on smaller units, and 27704 to the north sits lowest at $18,004. The spread across the city's ZIP codes is under $5,000, so size moves revenue more than location. These medians describe operating listings, not what the zoning allows at a given address.

How much busier are Durham Airbnbs on weekends?

BNBCalc Markets shows the same weekly pattern in both markets that cover Durham. Friday and Saturday nights book about 27% to 29% more than an average night and charge about 18% more, while Monday and Tuesday book roughly a fifth below average. So the open dates on a calendar in either market tend to fall on Monday and Tuesday nights, and those are the ones to price for.

How can I check what a specific Durham house would earn?

The BNBCalc Calculator is built for that question. Type in the address and it matches the house to comparable listings, estimates what it would earn and how often it would book, and then works through your costs, loan and returns. Because Durham straddles two BNBCalc markets, a comp set for one address beats either market's average. Before you buy, confirm with the Durham City-County Planning Department that a whole-house nightly rental fits the zoning there, since no BNBCalc figure can.