Cody, WY STR Market Report for Independent Hosts for Independent Hosts

Thomas Garner
Jul 20
15 min read

Updated: 15 hours ago

Most short-term rental investors scanning Wyoming for Yellowstone exposure default to two names: Jackson Hole and West Yellowstone. Both are worth knowing, and both are also saturated, institutionally managed, and priced well beyond what a rural-Wyoming baseline would suggest. Cody rarely makes that shortlist, which is exactly why it deserves a closer look. What the spread does confirm directionally is the premium thesis: even the lower end of these ADR estimates sits above what a comparable, non-branded rural Wyoming or generic Mountain West listing commands, and that gap is consistent with a market carrying real heritage-brand and gateway-access demand rather than commodity rural lodging pricing.

Cody sits on Yellowstone's east side, reached through the Wapiti Valley and the Shoshone National Forest , the oldest national forest in the country , rather than through the West Yellowstone gauntlet or the Jackson corridor. But the case for Cody isn't just proximity to a park entrance. It's that Cody is a genuine, standalone western-heritage destination that happens to also be 52 miles from Yellowstone's East Entrance. That combination , a real town with its own tourism identity, plus legitimate gateway access , is what supports an ADR premium over generic rural-Wyoming and Mountain West lodging, and it's what this report unpacks market by market.

The East Entrance and the Wapiti Valley corridor

Cody's geographic hook is straightforward: it's the closest sizeable town to Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance, reached by driving the Wapiti Valley along the North Fork of the Shoshone River , a route Buffalo Bill Cody himself once called "the most scenic 52 miles in America." Guests staying in Cody typically day-trip into Yellowstone and return to town for dinner, shopping, and the rodeo, rather than staying inside or immediately adjacent to the park. That pattern matters for hosts: a Cody listing isn't just competing on drive time to a park gate, it's competing on what a guest can do with their evening, and Cody has more to offer on that front than most gateway towns.

The Wapiti Valley corridor also connects to the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway that climbs over Dead Indian Pass toward the Beartooth Highway and the Beartooth Mountains , a genuine scenic-drive attraction in its own right, and a multi-night hook for hosts marketing to travelers who want more than a single park pass-through.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West: the heritage anchor

The single biggest differentiator between Cody and every other town within striking distance of Yellowstone is the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, a five-museum complex , the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, and Cody Firearms Museum , housed in 320,000 square feet of exhibit space, more than any other Western-themed museum in the country. Founded in 1917 to preserve the legacy of Col. William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, the Center has been a Smithsonian Affiliate since 2008, the first museum complex in Wyoming to hold that status. A single admission ticket is valid for two consecutive days, which is itself a soft argument for a multi-night stay rather than a single overnight.

This isn't a roadside curiosity. It's a legitimately significant regional institution that draws its own dedicated visitor traffic independent of Yellowstone, and it gives Cody hosts a specific, ownable selling point that a listing in West Yellowstone or Jackson simply can't claim. "Walking distance to the Buffalo Bill Center of the West" is a real, differentiated hook , "near Yellowstone" is not.

Cody Nite Rodeo: nightly, all summer, nowhere else

Cody's second heritage anchor is even rarer as a demand driver: the Cody Nite Rodeo runs every single night from June 1 through August 31 at Stampede Park, an approximately 6,000-seat stadium on a terrace above the Shoshone River on the west side of town. Cody is the only place in the country that stages a rodeo every night of the summer season , not a weekly event, not a festival weekend, but a nightly draw that gives repeat and multi-night visitors a reason to be in town on any given evening of the summer.

That nightly cadence is a meaningfully different demand pattern than a single annual festival. It supports consistent summer-long booking pressure rather than one sharp spike, and it gives hosts a specific, checkable selling point , "rodeo every night, June through August" , that's easy to merchandise in a listing description and easy for a guest to plan a trip around.

The Fourth of July Stampede: a named, dependable peak

Layered on top of the nightly rodeo is the Cody Stampede, the town's Fourth of July celebration and one of Wyoming's longest-running community events, dating back to 1919. It isn't a single day , it's a five-day western celebration built around a four-day PRCA rodeo (voted best small rodeo at the 2025 National Finals Rodeo and inducted into the PRCA Rodeo Hall of Fame), two full parades down Sheridan Avenue on July 3 and 4 with 125 to 150 entries each, fireworks over the Shoshone River, craft fairs, and live music. For 2026, the parade theme centers on America's 250th anniversary.

For a Cody host, the Stampede is the single most dependable pricing and availability event of the year , a known, dateable, high-demand week worth building a specific calendar and rate strategy around, distinct from the general summer park-traffic lift. Cody's second heritage anchor is even rarer as a demand driver: the Cody Nite Rodeo runs every single night from June 1 through August 31 at Stampede Park, an approximately 6,000-seat stadium on a terrace above the Shoshone River on the west side of town.

The market structure: fragmented, not institutional

Here's the finding that matters most for an owner deciding whether Cody is worth the effort: there is no confirmed national full-service property manager operating in Cody. Vacasa's Wyoming footprint is real, but it's concentrated entirely in Jackson Hole and the surrounding Jackson/Teton Village/Wilson/Driggs corridor , roughly three hours south of Cody. No Vacasa listings, and no Avant Stay presence, show up in Cody itself.

Instead, the market runs on small, local operators. Cody Lodging Company, founded in 2000 with eight rentals, now manages roughly 60-plus furnished vacation rentals in Cody and the East Yellowstone area and describes itself as the largest business of its kind in the area. American West Realty and Management, a veteran-owned firm with roughly 400 long-term rental units under management, does not run its own short-term rental program directly , it refers vacation-rental clients to Cody Lodging Company as a partner. In practice, that means Cody's entire short-term rental sector is served by essentially one dedicated local operator plus self-managing owners, not a marketing-sophisticated national brand competing for search visibility and ad spend.

That's the opening. An independent Cody owner isn't trying to out-market a Vacasa-scale budget , they're competing against other independent owners and a single boutique local shop. That's a fundamentally different, more winnable competitive environment than a coastal market crowded with decades-old brokerages and national managers. That pattern matters for hosts: a Cody listing isn't just competing on drive time to a park gate, it's competing on what a guest can do with their evening, and Cody has more to offer on that front than most gateway towns.

Registration, licensing, and tax: what it actually costs to operate legally

Cody requires short-term rental operators to register annually with the City Clerk's office, prior to initial operation and by May 1 each year thereafter, and to pass a fire and life-safety inspection before receiving a certificate that must be posted in the unit (with the registration number included in all listings). The fee structure is flat, not a range: a $100 initial application fee, plus a $100 annual renewal fee due by May 1. Renewals received after the deadline carry a late fee, generally cited around $50, though that specific figure is less firmly confirmed than the $100/$100 structure , worth a quick confirmation call to the City Clerk's office before budgeting.

On tax: Cody's combined lodging tax rate is confirmed at approximately 7 percent , a 5 percent statewide Wyoming lodging tax plus a 2 percent Park County local lodging tax. The Park County portion includes a permanently authorized base plus an additional increment that requires periodic voter renewal; Park County voters renewed that local increment in the November 2024 election, keeping the combined rate at 7 percent. Cody hosts should still confirm the current rate with the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Park County before finalizing a remittance workflow, since local increments are subject to future renewal votes, but 7 percent is the confirmed current figure , not the 11 percent cited in earlier source material for this batch.

The permit-cap conversation: a real timing argument

This is the regulatory story that matters most for anyone deciding whether to get established in Cody now versus later. Cody's registered short-term rental count grew from 98 in 2019 to 134 by the end of 2023 , an increase of roughly 36 percent in four years , and city planner Todd Stowell put the count at roughly 150 as of April 2024, suggesting the growth trend has continued. That growth, layered on top of local workforce-housing pressure, has put Cody's city council in active discussion about a cap modeled on the ordinance Red Lodge, Montana adopted in August 2023, which limits short-term rentals to 20 percent of that town's total dwelling units.

As of this writing, Cody has not adopted a cap , the city's current regulatory posture (registration, inspection, and tax compliance) remains open to new entrants. But the direction of the conversation is unambiguous: growth is accelerating, housing pressure is a stated concern, and a nearby town's cap ordinance is being cited as a reference model. For an owner or investor weighing whether to get licensed and marketed now versus waiting, that's a real, dateable argument for moving sooner rather than later , not a hypothetical one.

Unincorporated Park County: a harder path for Wapiti Valley properties

There's an important distinction Cody hosts and buyers need to keep straight: the registration process above applies inside Cody's city limits. Property in unincorporated Park County , including much of the Wapiti Valley corridor between town and Yellowstone's East Entrance , goes through a separate, harder process. Short-term rentals there require a case-by-case Special Use Permit from the Park County Board of County Commissioners, evaluated on neighborhood compatibility rather than issued as a matter of course.

That process has real teeth. In a documented case, Park County commissioners denied a Special Use Permit for a short-term rental on Aerie Drive in the Wapiti Valley, owned by Matt Decker, following a January 20, 2026 public hearing at which multiple neighbors spoke in opposition (Powell Tribune, Jan. 29, 2026). For a buyer specifically eyeing a Wapiti Valley property for its East Entrance proximity, that's a genuine, recent friction point worth pricing into the purchase decision , a Special Use Permit is not a rubber stamp, and denial is a documented, real outcome, not a theoretical risk.

What the numbers actually show , and don't yet show

Third-party short-term rental data platforms report meaningfully different figures for Cody depending on the source and the month pulled: AirROI Cody as of 2026-07-no usable published year 362 listings, $254 ADR, 39.5% occupancy, and $20,655 , leftover occupancy ranking is not the year. That spread is wide enough that no single number in this range should be treated as settled without pulling current data directly from a platform like AirDNA, Rabbu, or AirROI at the time of underwriting.

What the spread does confirm directionally is the premium thesis: even the lower end of these ADR estimates sits above what a comparable, non-branded rural Wyoming or generic Mountain West listing commands, and that gap is consistent with a market carrying real heritage-brand and gateway-access demand rather than commodity rural lodging pricing. Owners and investors should treat the specific dollar figures as directional and verify current numbers before underwriting any purchase or setting a pricing strategy.

The bottom line for Cody

Cody's opportunity rests on three things that are each independently verifiable: a real, Smithsonian-affiliated heritage museum complex that draws its own visitor traffic; the only nightly rodeo in the country, running a full summer season; and a Fourth of July celebration with more than a century of history behind it. Layer East Entrance access to Yellowstone on top of that, and Cody has a genuinely differentiated identity that most Yellowstone-gateway searches don't expect to find in a small Wyoming town.

The market structure compounds the opportunity: no confirmed national manager has locked up Cody's marketing sophistication, registration costs and lodging tax remain openly quotable rather than prohibitive, and the growth trend that's now feeding a permit-cap conversation is itself evidence of real, accelerating demand. The honest caveat is that the hard performance numbers , listings, ADR, occupancy , are inconsistent across data sources and should be pulled fresh before any purchase or repricing decision, and that Wapiti Valley buyers face a genuinely harder county-level permitting path than an in-town Cody property.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Cody, Wyoming a good place to own a short-term rental in 2026?

Cody has real fundamentals supporting an ADR premium over generic rural Wyoming , a Smithsonian-affiliated museum complex, the country's only nightly summer rodeo, and direct access to Yellowstone's East Entrance , combined with a market that no national property manager has yet locked up. Active listing, occupancy, and rate figures vary across data platforms, so verify current numbers before underwriting a purchase.

How far is Cody from Yellowstone National Park?

Cody sits roughly 52 miles from Yellowstone's East Entrance via the Wapiti Valley and the North Fork of the Shoshone River, a scenic drive through Shoshone National Forest, the oldest national forest in the United States. Cody's geographic hook is straightforward: it's the closest sizeable town to Yellowstone National Park's East Entrance, reached by driving the Wapiti Valley along the North Fork of the Shoshone River , a route Buffalo Bill Cody himself once called "the most scenic 52 miles in America." Guests staying in Cody typically day-trip into Yellowstone and return to town for dinner,.

Do I need a license to run a short-term rental in Cody?

The City of Cody requires annual registration with the City Clerk's office prior to operation and by May 1 each year, along with a fire and life-safety inspection. The fee structure is a flat $100 initial application fee plus a $100 annual renewal fee due May 1, with a late fee (generally cited around $50) for renewals received after the deadline.

What is the lodging tax rate on a short-term rental in Cody?

Cody's combined lodging tax is confirmed at approximately 7 percent: a 5 percent statewide Wyoming lodging tax plus a 2 percent Park County local lodging tax, the local portion of which Park County voters renewed in the November 2024 election. Confirm the current rate with the Wyoming Department of Revenue and Park County before setting rates or building a remittance process.

Is there a cap on the number of short-term rentals allowed in Cody?

Cody's registered short-term rental count grew from 98 in 2019 to 134 by the end of 2023 , about a 36 percent increase , with a more recent estimate from city planner Todd Stowell putting the count around 150 as of April 2024. The city council has been actively discussing a permit cap modeled on Red Lodge, Montana's ordinance, which limits short-term rentals to 20 percent of that town's dwelling units. Owners considering Cody should treat this as a real, live conversation rather than a settled non-issue.

Are short-term rental rules different outside Cody's city limits, like in the Wapiti Valley?

Property in unincorporated Park County, including much of the Wapiti Valley corridor toward Yellowstone's East Entrance, requires a case-by-case Special Use Permit from the county commissioners rather than the more straightforward in-town registration process. In a documented, recent case, Park County commissioners denied a Special Use Permit for a property on Aerie Drive owned by Matt Decker following a January 20, 2026 hearing, so this is a genuine, current approval risk to factor into any purchase in that area.

Does Vacasa or another national property manager operate in Cody?

No confirmed presence has been identified. Vacasa's Wyoming footprint is concentrated in Jackson Hole and the surrounding Teton-area towns, roughly three hours south of Cody. Cody's short-term rental sector is served primarily by Cody Lodging Company, a local operator managing roughly 60-plus units, along with self-managing independent owners. In practice, that means Cody's entire short-term rental sector is served by essentially one dedicated local operator plus self-managing owners, not a marketing-sophisticated national brand competing for search visibility and ad spend.

What events should I build my Cody pricing calendar around?

The two anchors are the Cody Nite Rodeo, which runs every night from June 1 through August 31, and the Cody Stampede , the town's five-day Fourth of July celebration featuring a four-day PRCA rodeo, two parades, and fireworks, running continuously since 1919. Both are dependable, dateable demand drivers worth pricing ahead of rather than reacting to.

About the Authors

Crest & Cove Creative is a short-term rental marketing agency founded by Thomas Garner and Jacob Mishalanie. We build direct-booking brands, listing optimization systems, and market-specific content strategies for independent STR operators nationwide, including emerging corridors like Wyoming's Yellowstone & Wind River Gateways. Most short-term rental investors scanning Wyoming for Yellowstone exposure default to two names: Jackson Hole and West Yellowstone.

Sources

Verified via web search at publish time:. The honest caveat is that the hard performance numbers , listings, ADR, occupancy , are inconsistent across data sources and should be pulled fresh before any purchase or repricing decision, and that Wapiti Valley buyers face a genuinely harder county-level permitting path than an in-town Cody property. That spread is wide enough that no single number in this range should be treated as settled without pulling current data directly from a platform like AirDNA, Rabbu, or AirROI at the time of underwriting.

Buffalo Bill Center of the West: confirmed as a real, five-museum complex (Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, Cody Firearms Museum), Smithsonian Affiliate since 2008, 320,000 sq ft of exhibit space. (centerofthewest.org, Wikipedia)
Cody Nite Rodeo: confirmed as a nightly rodeo running June 1 through August 31 at Stampede Park; described as the only nightly summer rodeo in the country. (codystampederodeo.com, codyyellowstone.org)
Cody Stampede / Fourth of July: confirmed as a five-day event running since 1919, including a four-day PRCA rodeo and two parades on July 3-4. (codystampederodeo.com, Cowboy State Daily)
Registration/business-license requirement and process: confirmed via the City of Cody's official site (codywy.gov). The fee structure is flat: a $100 initial application fee plus a $100 annual renewal fee due by May 1, with a late fee (generally cited around $50, less firmly confirmed than the $100/$100 structure) for late renewals , confirm the exact late-fee figure with the City Clerk before budgeting.
Combined lodging tax: CONFIRMED at approximately 7 percent , a 5 percent statewide Wyoming lodging tax plus a 2 percent Park County local lodging tax. Park County voters renewed the local lodging tax increment in the November 2024 election (Wyoming Public Media, Powell Tribune, Cody Country Chamber of Commerce reporting). This resolves the 11 percent figure referenced in earlier source material for this batch, which does not match any confirmed source.
STR growth (98 to 134 registered units, roughly 36 percent, 2019 to end of 2023) and the Red Lodge-style permit-cap discussion: confirmed via Wyoming News/Gillette News Record reporting on Cody city council discussions, citing City Planner Todd Stowell. A more recent estimate, also attributed to Stowell, put the count at roughly 150 as of April 2024 (Wyoming News Exchange reporting) , both figures are legitimate and reflect a continuing growth trend, presented here as a range rather than a single settled count.
Unincorporated Park County Special Use Permit process and a documented denial: confirmed via Powell Tribune reporting (Jan. 29, 2026) on a Wapiti Valley case in which Park County commissioners denied a Special Use Permit for a short-term rental on Aerie Drive, owned by Matt Decker, following a January 20, 2026 hearing.
No confirmed Vacasa or Avant Stay presence in Cody; Vacasa's Wyoming footprint confirmed as Jackson Hole-area only. Cody Lodging Company and American West Realty and Management confirmed as real, active local businesses; American West Realty confirmed to refer STR clients to Cody Lodging Company rather than managing short-term units directly.

Not fully verified , flagged for reader caution:. Verified via web search at publish time:.

Active listing counts, ADR, and occupancy: third-party platforms (AirDNA, Rabbu, AirROI, Airbtics) show a wide and inconsistent range (362 listings, $254 ADR, 39.5% occupancy, and $20,655 (AirROI Cody as of 2026-07-31)). Readers should pull current figures directly from a paid data platform before underwriting a purchase or setting rates.
The exact current registered-STR count in Cody today (beyond the confirmed 98-to-134, 2019-2023 trend, and the roughly 150 April 2024 estimate) was not independently verified.
Whether a Red Lodge-style cap has since been formally proposed or adopted in Cody beyond the "actively discussing" stage was not confirmed as of this writing.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Most Yellowstone investors default to Jackson Hole or West Yellowstone and skip Cody, the town on the park's East Entrance reached through the Wapiti Valley. Skipping that geography story means competing on price against markets it doesn't have to.

We help Cody hosts write listing copy around the East Entrance and Wapiti Valley route instead of competing head-on with Jackson Hole's saturated pitch. Send your live listing and we'll flag any positioning that undersells the gateway story.

Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.