Smithville Lake STR Market Report 2026: $32,889 on Just 20 Listings

Thomas Garner
Aug 19
7 min read

Updated: 12 hours ago

Smithville Lake USACE intake tower and dam walkway in winter

Smithville, Missouri, sits in Clay County about 30 minutes north of downtown Kansas City via I-29 and MO-92, built around Smithville Lake, a 7,190-acre reservoir managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's a commuter-distance lake town, not a remote destination, and that specific positioning, close enough for a spontaneous weekend, far enough to feel like a real getaway, shapes the whole rental market here.

For the vintage running June 2025 through May 2026, the extract shows a typical year of $32,889 across 20 active listings, with an ADR of $238, occupancy of 51.8 percent, and RevPAR of $124. That's a real, if small, sample, and with only 20 listings total, it's worth understanding upfront that a single new listing entering or leaving the market can move the percentages meaningfully.

This market gets confused more often than it should with two nearby Northland towns that share the same general map but not the same identity or numbers: Weston, a distillery and brewing town about 30 minutes further north, and Liberty, the Clay County seat. Both are real, distinct markets with their own published figures, and neither should be blended into Smithville's own data.

This report walks through what the current Smithville data actually shows, how professional management factors in, and why the comparison to Weston and Liberty specifically matters for anyone pricing, buying, or marketing a listing here. This is not legal advice.

The Current Year: $32,889, Up 8.5 Percent Year Over Year

The core figures for the June 2025 through May 2026 vintage: a typical annual revenue of $32,889 across the 20-listing sample, an ADR of $238, occupancy of 51.8 percent, and RevPAR of $124. Average stay length is a notably long 4.8 nights, with a shorter lead time of 30 days compared to many resort markets.

This is one of the more positive year-over-year readings among nearby Northland markets: revenue is up 8.5 percent even as supply grew 11.1 percent, meaning demand grew fast enough to absorb the added listings and still post a gain, a healthier pattern than markets where new supply simply dilutes the same demand pool.

The property mix leans heavily toward entire-home listings, 95 percent of the sample, with houses making up 70 percent. Two-bedroom is the single largest configuration at 30 percent, and the typical guest capacity across the sample is six, consistent with family lake weekends rather than couples' getaways or large group retreats.

Minimum-stay settings lean short: 70 percent of the sample sets a two-night minimum and 15 percent allows one-night stays, while just three listings, 15 percent of the sample, set a 30-plus night minimum. This is a market built around short lake weekends, not extended remote-work stays, even though a small longer-stay niche exists.

Seasonality: March, December, and April Carry the Year

The peak-3 months in this sample are March, December, and April, with March as the single strongest month, an unusual pattern compared to a lot of lake markets that peak purely in summer. December's strength likely reflects holiday travel and gatherings near Kansas City, while March and April line up with early-season lake activity and spring breaks.

November is the clear seasonal low point, with February and September also sitting in the softer stretch. This is a meaningfully different seasonality shape than a pure summer-resort lake, and pricing calendars built around a generic June-through-August peak assumption would badly misread this specific market.

For hosts setting rates, the practical takeaway is to price March, December, and April aggressively as the genuine high-demand windows, while treating November specifically, not just "winter" broadly, as the deepest trough to plan around.

Professional Management: A True 50/50 Market, Led by One Manager

Professional management sits at exactly 50.0 percent of this sample, a genuine split between self-managed hosts and professionally managed listings, unusual compared to markets that lean heavily one way or the other. The leading identified manager, referred to in the data as Rob, operates 11 of the 20 total listings, with combined revenue of $435,044 across that portfolio.

That concentration is worth noting directly: with one manager controlling more than half the professionally managed listing stock, and more than half the total market, a new self-managed listing here is competing in a market where a single operator has a real, established presence, not an abstract "some professional management exists" situation.

Superhost status is held by 85.0 percent of active listings, suggesting the individually run half of this market is generally experienced and well-reviewed, which raises the bar for a new self-managed entrant even as the overall competitive field, 20 listings total, remains genuinely small.

Why Weston and Liberty Are Different Markets, Not Comparables

Weston, Missouri, about 30 minutes further north and known for McCormick Distilling and Weston Brewing, published a typical year of $47,063 across 18 listings for a different vintage, May 2025 through April 2026. Its ADR of $350 and occupancy of 42.2 percent describe a higher-rate, lower-occupancy destination-tourism market built around distillery and event tourism, a genuinely different demand driver than Smithville's commuter-lake pattern.

Liberty, the Clay County seat, published $36,204 across 55 listings for the August 2025 through July 2026 vintage, with an ADR of $305 and occupancy of 49.3 percent. Its identity centers on the county courthouse square and a broader, larger listing stock base, again a different market shape than Smithville's small, lake-centered sample.

Two additional labeled neighbors, mentioned for context only: Parkville published $32,166 across 27 listings, and Excelsior Springs published $19,746 across 32 listings. Neither should be blended into Smithville's own figures despite sitting on the same general Northland map.

The critical detail often missed: these markets don't even share the same reporting vintage. Weston's data runs May through April, Liberty's runs August through July, and Smithville's runs June through May. Averaging figures across different twelve-month windows compounds the error of blending genuinely different markets in the first place.

Who's Actually Booking Smithville

Guests in this sample are 98.1 percent domestic, with Kansas City identified as the leading origin city, which lines up directly with the market's commuter-distance positioning. This is overwhelmingly a local and regional drive market, not a long-haul destination.

The combination of a 4.8-night average stay and a 30-day lead time describes a guest booking a real, multi-night lake trip with some advance planning, but not the months-out booking window typical of a major destination resort. It's a market of deliberate, planned regional getaways rather than either spontaneous day-trippers or long-lead destination travelers.

What This Means for Buying, Pricing, or Listing Here

The $32,889 typical year, $238 ADR, and 51.8 percent occupancy figures are the correct baseline for underwriting a Smithville-specific property, not a number pulled from Weston's distillery-tourism data or Liberty's county-seat data, both of which describe meaningfully different markets with different demand drivers and different reporting vintages.

The positive 8.5 percent year-over-year growth alongside 11.1 percent supply growth is a genuinely encouraging signal for new entrants, since it suggests demand here has been growing fast enough to absorb new listings without depressing the overall market average, at least in this specific data window.

With professional management at exactly 50 percent and one manager controlling more than half of that share, a new self-managed listing should expect real, established competition, and the high 85 percent Superhost rate among the sample suggests the bar for guest experience and reviews is already set fairly high in this market.

Given the unusual March/December/April seasonality pattern, any pricing strategy built on a generic summer-lake assumption will likely misprice this specific market; treat November as the genuine trough and price the actual peak months, not a calendar assumption borrowed from a different kind of lake destination.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the typical annual short-term rental revenue in Smithville, Missouri?

For the June 2025 through May 2026 vintage, the typical year across the 20-listing sample is $32,889, with an ADR of $238 and occupancy of 51.8 percent.

Is Smithville the same rental market as Weston, Missouri?

No. Weston is a separate distillery-tourism town about 30 minutes further north, publishing $47,063 across 18 listings for a different reporting vintage. Its higher ADR and lower occupancy reflect a different kind of demand than Smithville's commuter-lake pattern.

What are the peak months for short-term rentals in Smithville?

March, December, and April form the peak-3, with March as the single strongest month, an unusual pattern compared to purely summer-driven lake markets. November is the clear seasonal low.

How many short-term rental listings are active in Smithville?

The current extract includes just 20 active listings for the June 2025 through May 2026 vintage, a genuinely small sample where a single new listing can meaningfully move the reported percentages.

What share of Smithville listings are professionally managed?

Exactly 50.0 percent, an even split between self-managed and professionally managed listings. One manager, identified in the data as Rob, operates 11 of the 20 total listings.

Is Liberty, Missouri, comparable to Smithville for rental data purposes?

No. Liberty is the Clay County seat with its own distinct courthouse-square identity, publishing $36,204 across 55 listings for a different reporting vintage than Smithville's. It's a labeled neighbor, not a comparable market.

How did Smithville's rental market perform year over year?

Revenue grew 8.5 percent even as supply grew 11.1 percent, indicating demand grew fast enough to absorb new listings without depressing the market average in this specific data window.

What's the average length of stay in Smithville?

4.8 nights, with a typical booking lead time of 30 days, consistent with a planned regional lake getaway rather than a spontaneous day trip or a long-lead destination booking.

Where do most Smithville rental guests come from?

The data shows guests are 98.1 percent domestic, with Kansas City identified as the leading origin city, consistent with the market's roughly 30-minute commuter distance from the metro.

Should I use Weston or Liberty's rental data to price a Smithville property?

No. Each is a genuinely different market with a different demand driver, a different reporting vintage, and different published figures. Underwrite specifically against Smithville's own $32,889 typical year.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

Smithville's typical year is $32,889 on just 20 listings, not Weston's distillery-town $47,063 and not Liberty's county-seat $36,204. All three share a Northland map, but blending their numbers together gets every one of them wrong.

We help hosts and buyers underwrite specific, correctly bounded rental markets instead of blended regional averages that mask what a small, distinct market like Smithville actually earns. Send us the property you're evaluating and we'll help you check the numbers against the right comparison set.

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