Kansas City's 2026 STR Numbers: What the Data Covers and How to Use It
Updated: 1 day ago
AirROI's most recent pull for Kansas City, covering August 2025 through July 2026, puts the typical short-term rental at about $27,743 in annual revenue across 1,304 active listings, with a $252 average nightly rate and 41.4 percent occupancy — working out to roughly $101 in revenue per available night. That's the number to anchor a Kansas City underwriting model, a listing comparison, or a pitch deck to, and it's specific enough that it's worth knowing exactly what it covers and what it leaves out.
The market has also grown measurably over the past year: revenue is up 12.7 percent year over year against a 6.1 percent increase in supply, meaning demand growth is currently outpacing new listing growth in this sample. That's a real, dated trend, not a projection, and it's worth citing with its actual window attached rather than as an open-ended growing-market claim.
This report stays inside what the extract actually supports — the core revenue and occupancy figures, the seasonal pattern behind them, the compliance context that determines whether a given listing can legally claim any of these numbers, and where a neighboring market's figures need to stay on a separate line rather than blending into Kansas City's own. This is not legal advice.
The core numbers, and what they cover
Typical annual revenue: about $27,743. Active listings sampled: 1,304. Average daily rate: $252. Occupancy: 41.4 percent. Revenue per available night: about $101. All five figures come from the same AirROI extract, covering August 2025 through July 2026, and describe the Kansas City market as a whole — not a single neighborhood, property type, or price tier.
A specific listing's actual performance will land somewhere in the distribution around these figures, not necessarily at them. A well-positioned, compliant property in a strong sub-market can outperform the $27,743 typical figure; a generic listing with weak marketing and thin compliance can underperform it. The extract is a benchmark for the overall market, not a promise for any individual address.
There's also a brief occupancy range in the same dataset — 34 to 63 percent — that sits on its own line and shouldn't be averaged into the 41.4 percent figure. That range appears to describe a narrower or different slice of the data than the full 1,304-listing sample, and blending the two produces a number that doesn't accurately represent either one.
Growth: revenue is outpacing supply
Year over year, Kansas City's revenue in this sample is up 12.7 percent while active supply grew 6.1 percent. That gap — demand-side growth outrunning new-listing growth — is a meaningfully different market condition than one where supply and revenue are growing in lockstep, and it's worth citing with its specific percentages rather than a vaguer the-market-is-growing framing.
That said, growth at the market level doesn't automatically translate to growth for every existing listing. A property that hasn't updated its pricing, photography, or compliance status over the same period may not be capturing its share of that 12.7 percent revenue growth even while the market average moves up around it.
The growth figures are also tied to the same extract window — August 2025 through July 2026 — including whatever seasonal spikes occurred inside it, like the 2026 World Cup period's roughly 88 percent activity spike above baseline. That spike is a real, dated event inside the window, not a separate ongoing trend layered on top of the 12.7 percent figure.
Seasonality: June leads, February lags, and occupancy has its own pattern
June is the strongest revenue month in this sample, with July and May also carrying meaningful income through the rest of the season. February is the clearest revenue hole of the year. That's a fairly typical shoulder-and-peak pattern, but the specific months matter more than a general summer-is-busy, winter-is-slow assumption — pricing strategy should follow the extract's named months, not a generic seasonal template.
Occupancy tells a slightly different story than revenue alone: while June anchors the revenue peak, occupancy is actually weakest in July, not in the winter months. That split between the revenue calendar and the occupancy calendar is worth knowing before setting minimum-stay rules or blanket rate changes for the back half of summer.
Typical stay length across the dataset is about 7.8 nights, with guests booking roughly 42 days ahead. That's a moderate lead time — long enough to support seasonal rate planning, short enough that last-minute rate adjustments inside that 42-day window can still meaningfully affect a specific month's bookings.
Compliance is part of the number, not separate from it
Kansas City short-term rentals operate under Chapter 56, Article VIII of the city code, administered by Neighborhood Services. A listing's ability to legally claim any part of the $27,743 typical revenue figure depends on its actual registration status — a Resident or Non-Resident STR classification, current fees, and an active registration on file with the city.
The Non-Resident STR classification specifically applies to properties with no primary resident on-site for at least 270 days of the year, and it carries its own registration requirements distinct from the Resident track. A property misclassified at registration risks a compliance problem that surfaces later, independent of how the revenue numbers perform.
A 2026 Major Event registration, priced at $50 and valid May 3 through July 31, 2026, has already closed and doesn't carry forward — a detail that matters for any packet still listing it as an active requirement. Separately, data suggesting roughly 62 percent of visible listings display licensing information is a market-trend estimate, not a certificate for any individual property.
Overland Park is a separate market — keep it on its own line
Overland Park, a nearby but distinct market, shows typical annual revenue of about $37,925 across 321 active listings on the same August 2025 through July 2026 AirROI window. That's a real, useful comparison figure — but it describes a smaller, differently structured market, and it should be cited on its own line rather than blended into Kansas City's $27,743 figure.
A blended Kansas City-Overland Park average would obscure both real numbers: Kansas City's larger, lower-per-listing market, and Overland Park's smaller, higher-per-listing one. Anyone building a two-city comparison packet should keep the listing counts, revenue figures, and dates attached to each city's own line.
For a Kansas City-only underwriting model, Overland Park's numbers matter mainly as market context — a data point about the wider region, not an input to be averaged into a Kansas City projection.
How to actually use this report
Confirm the property's compliance classification and current registration status with Neighborhood Services before treating any part of the $27,743 typical figure as reachable. Then price the named peak months — June primarily, with July and May carrying secondary weight — as their own line items rather than flattening the year into a single average rate.
Set minimum-stay and calendar-block decisions around the actual occupancy pattern, weakest in July rather than necessarily in winter, and keep the roughly 42-day booking lead time in mind when planning last-minute rate adjustments.
Revisit this sample periodically rather than treating it as a fixed number for the year — the 12.7 percent revenue growth against 6.1 percent supply growth shows a market still moving, and a report built on an older snapshot will drift further from current conditions the longer it sits unrevised.
What this report doesn't tell you
this sample describes the Kansas City market in aggregate. It doesn't describe any single neighborhood's performance, any single property type's performance, or any specific address's compliance status. A host or buyer using this report to evaluate one property still needs neighborhood-level context and that property's own registration record before treating the $27,743 figure as directly applicable.
It also doesn't isolate the effect of any single event on the year's totals. The 2026 World Cup period's roughly 88 percent activity spike above baseline sits somewhere inside the August 2025 through July 2026 window, but this sample reports the year as a whole rather than breaking out that specific window's contribution to the annual figure. Treat the spike as a documented, dated event, not as evidence that the baseline itself has permanently shifted.
And it doesn't substitute for a compliance check. A licensed-share estimate near 62 percent describes how much of the visible market appears registered; it says nothing about whether a specific property under consideration is one of them. Confirming that requires a direct registration check, not another read of this report.
Putting the report to work in a real underwriting model
A conservative underwriting approach starts with the $27,743 typical figure as a market benchmark, then adjusts up or down based on the specific property's condition, positioning, and neighborhood rather than assuming every listing performs identically. A property with strong photography, accurate pricing by month, and a confirmed compliant registration is a reasonable candidate to perform at or above the benchmark; one missing any of those isn't.
Build the monthly cash-flow model around the named seasonal pattern rather than a flat monthly average: heavier weight on June, secondary weight on July and May, and a deliberate low assumption for February. That produces a more realistic month-by-month picture than dividing $27,743 evenly across twelve months, which would understate the peak and overstate the trough.
Finally, build in a line for compliance cost and time — registration fees, any renewal cycle, and the administrative work of keeping a Resident or Non-Resident STR classification current — as a real, recurring cost of operating in this market, not a one-time setup expense that disappears after the first year.
Related Reading
Missouri years already live on Crest and Cove: file Smithville, Weston, and Ste. Genevieve on their own lines before you underwrite Kansas City.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the typical annual revenue for a Kansas City short-term rental?
About $27,743 across 1,304 active listings, per AirROI's August 2025 through July 2026 extract, with a $252 average nightly rate and 41.4 percent occupancy.
How fast is the Kansas City market growing?
Revenue is up 12.7 percent year over year while active supply grew 6.1 percent over the same period, in this sample.
Which months should I price as peak season?
June is the strongest revenue month, with July and May also carrying meaningful income. February is the clearest revenue hole of the year.
Is occupancy weakest in the winter?
No — occupancy is actually weakest in July in this sample, even though June anchors the revenue peak. Revenue and occupancy don't move on identical calendars here.
How long do guests typically stay, and how far ahead do they book?
Typical stay is about 7.8 nights, with bookings made roughly 42 days ahead.
What compliance rules apply to Kansas City short-term rentals?
Chapter 56, Article VIII of the city code, administered by Neighborhood Services, including a distinction between Resident and Non-Resident STR classifications.
Is the 2026 Major Event registration still required?
No. It ran at $50 from May 3 through July 31, 2026, and that window has closed without automatically carrying forward.
Does the 62 percent licensed figure mean most listings are certified?
It's a scrape-based estimate of the visible market's licensing rate, not a certificate. Confirm any individual property's status directly with Neighborhood Services.
How does Kansas City compare to Overland Park?
Overland Park shows about $37,925 typical annual revenue across 321 listings on the same extract window — a separate, smaller market that should be cited on its own line, not blended with Kansas City's $27,743 figure.
Should I underwrite off the World Cup-period spike in the data?
No. That window showed activity roughly 88 percent above baseline, but it was a single dated event period inside the broader extract, not an ongoing baseline.
How should I read the 34 to 63 percent occupancy range mentioned in the data?
As a separate figure from the 41.4 percent occupancy tied to the full 1,304-listing sample — don't average the two together.
Work with Crest & Cove Creative
AirROI's file says $27,743. Here's what that number covers, what it doesn't, and where Kansas City's calendar actually peaks and dips.
We help Kansas City hosts and buyers read the AirROI market year against actual city compliance rules before pricing peak months. Send us your live listing if a packet still mixes in figures that don't belong to this dataset — reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
Reach out at crestcove.co or (256) 998-7502.
Comments