Teton Valley Victor and Driggs, ID STR Market Report for Independent

Jul 24

15 min read

Updated: Aug 28

Teton Valley sits on the quiet side of the same mountain range that made Jackson Hole one of the most expensive resort markets in America. Cross Teton Pass westbound out of Jackson, Wyoming, and the median home price drops by more than half before you reach the valley floor. That gap is the investment thesis behind Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia, Idaho, right now , and it's a thesis with an expiration date, because the same in-migration wave that created the opportunity is the thing most likely to end it.

2026 adds a second storyline: Idaho just rewrote the regulatory ground rules for every STR operator in Teton County. Here's what the numbers, the new law, and the on-the-ground market actually show. Zooming out, a 2020 capstone study using AirDNA data (Feb 2019-Feb 2020, for Valley Advocates for Responsible Development and the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance) found more than 800 active STRs across all of Teton County, Idaho , comparable at the time to the 397 listings (AirROI Driggs as of 2026-07-31) in the town of Jackson, Wyoming.

The Jackson Hole Spillover Effect, By the Numbers

Jackson, Wyoming's median sold home price hit roughly $2.7 million in February 2026. Teton County, Idaho , home to Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia, on the opposite side of Teton Pass , posted a median sold price of about $1.04 million the same month. That's a market running at less than 40% of its neighbor's cost for access to the same mountain range and a 25-40 minute drive to Jackson's town square.

The spillover has changed character. For years, Teton Valley absorbed Jackson's workforce , people employed in Jackson but priced out of housing there. 2026 coverage describes a different buyer showing up alongside them: relocators with cash, working remotely, choosing Teton Valley on its own merits, arriving from California, Texas, the East Coast, and increasingly Colorado.

Entry points exist below the county median: condos and townhomes averaged roughly $502,000 (~$450/sq ft) in early 2025 data, a meaningfully more accessible way in than the single-family median above $1 million. One caveat for anyone underwriting off these numbers , the market has cooled from its most frantic pace. Homes took roughly 116 days to sell as of mid-2026, up from about 58 days a year earlier, even as prices kept climbing (up over 35% year-over-year in the three months ending May 2026, per one report) , a market still repricing upward, just with buyers taking longer to commit.

Grand Targhee: The Winter Anchor Only Reachable From Idaho

A detail most coverage misses: Grand Targhee Resort sits in Alta, Wyoming, but it's only accessible by road through Driggs, Idaho. There's no direct route in from the Jackson side of the range , visitors from Jackson drive over Teton Pass, through Victor and Driggs, then north on Ski Hill Road. Grand Targhee also runs a daily shuttle between the resort and Teton Valley.

That geography makes Driggs the functional gateway town for a resort that shows up on the map as Wyoming's. Targhee draws on 500+ inches of average annual snowfall and a reputation as a lower-key alternative to Jackson Hole Mountain Resort , a specific kind of skier who wants deep snow and short lines over base-village polish, and is fine staying in Driggs or Victor to get it.

Summer flips the driver but not the geography. Teton Pass, the Big Hole Mountains, Teton Canyon, and the west side of Grand Teton National Park draw hikers, bikers, and climbers roughly June through September. Between winter Targhee traffic and summer Teton-range recreation, Teton Valley has genuine four-season demand rather than a single-season ski-town cycle. The case rests on a few verifiable pillars: a genuine, widening price gap versus Jackson Hole; four-season demand anchored by a resort only reachable through the Idaho side; a market still dominated by independent operators; and, as of July 1, 2026, a dramatically lower regulatory bar to entry.

Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia: Three Different Markets

Driggs is the county seat and commercial hub , closest to Grand Targhee's access road, home to the valley's small airport, and where most visible STR permitting and lodging-tax activity has concentrated. It's the natural base for guests splitting time between the resort and downtown. Tetonia, at the valley's north end, has stayed the most agricultural and least changed , retaining its ranching character even as Victor and Driggs absorbed most of the Jackson-overflow and Targhee second-home growth, though it's reportedly starting to see its own uptick in interest, helped by the most open views of the range in the valley.

Victor sits closer to the Teton Pass side, the more direct route back toward Jackson, and has grown quickly as both a residential and STR market with its own local-option lodging tax mirroring Driggs. There's no direct route in from the Jackson side of the range , visitors from Jackson drive over Teton Pass, through Victor and Driggs, then north on Ski Hill Road.

Tetonia, at the valley's north end, has stayed the most agricultural and least changed , retaining its ranching character even as Victor and Driggs absorbed most of the Jackson-overflow and Targhee second-home growth, though it's reportedly starting to see its own uptick in interest, helped by the most open views of the range in the valley. Operators marketing a Tetonia property should lean into that quieter, rural positioning rather than selling it as interchangeable with Driggs.

A Fragmented Market , With a Modest, Growing National Footprint

Property management on the Idaho side looks meaningfully different from the Jackson, Wyoming side. Teton Valley turns up locally headquartered, independently branded operators: Wydaho Properties, Teton Valley Property Management (operating in Driggs since 2006), Teton Homestead, and Teton Valley Realty's management arm , valley-based businesses, not national consolidators. Net read: national management on the Idaho side is modest but real, not absent , it's a small and growing presence layered on top of a market where independent, valley-rooted operators still dominate.

One exception worth naming honestly: PMI Grand Tetons, serving Victor, Driggs, and Tetonia under the national Property Management Inc. franchise brand , though it operates through a local owner-franchisee rather than a centralized corporate portfolio. Operators marketing a Tetonia property should lean into that quieter, rural positioning rather than selling it as interchangeable with Driggs. Victor sits closer to the Teton Pass side, the more direct route back toward Jackson, and has grown quickly as both a residential and STR market with its own local-option lodging tax mirroring Driggs.

National platforms have a real toehold beyond that franchise, too , just a modest one. Both Vacasa and Evolve carry active listings in Driggs and Victor as of 2026, a handful of properties apiece rather than a market-moving share of inventory. That's still a fraction of the scale the same companies operate one mountain pass away: Vacasa alone manages roughly 355 listings (AirROI Victor as of 2026-07-31) in Jackson, Wyoming, built off its November 2020 acquisition of Mountain Property Management's roughly 45-unit portfolio plus organic growth since. Avant Stay, another national operator active in nearby mountain-resort markets, has no confirmed listings in Teton Valley as of this writing. Net read: national management on the Idaho side is modest but real, not absent , it's a small and growing presence layered on top of a market where independent, valley-rooted operators still dominate.

The In-Migration Curve: Tailwind and Warning Sign at Once

Teton County, Idaho's 2020 Census population was 11,630; recent estimates put it at roughly 13,200-13,250, a rise of about 14% since April 2020. Driggs and Victor grew by similar or faster magnitude over the same stretch , Victor's 2020 population of 2,157 reached an estimated 2,442 by 2024 (about 13%), and Driggs, off a smaller 2020 base of 1,984, shows third-party current estimates ranging from roughly 2,400 to 2,900 depending on source , directionally the fastest-growing of the valley's towns, though the wide spread argues for treating any single figure cautiously.

That's fast growth for a rural mountain county, and it's the same growth driving the home-price appreciation above. Regional housing studies cited in 2026 coverage estimate Teton Valley needs 1,165 to 1,580 additional homes by 2027, with at least 60% needed at below-market prices , a gap widening as second-home and STR demand competes with workforce housing for the same limited inventory.

For STR investors, this cuts two ways. Short-term, in-migration is the demand engine: more affluent buyers, more visibility, more national attention on a market that used to be a rounding error next to Jackson. Longer-term, it's the clearest sign that today's fragmented, independently-owned structure is a phase, not a permanent condition. Markets that grow this visibly attract consolidation capital, and workforce-housing pressure this severe tends to eventually generate local political appetite for STR limits , even where state law now forecloses most of those options. The window to build a direct-booking brand before that consolidation and pressure fully arrive is open now, not indefinitely.

HB 583: Idaho Just Preempted Local STR Regulation Statewide

This is the development that changes the operating math for every STR owner in Teton County. What this specifically undoes in Teton County: Driggs has run an annual STR permit system under Ordinance 450-22 , an $80 initial fee, $50 annual renewal, mandatory building-safety inspections, and a requirement that owners keep a local representative available within 30 minutes.

Idaho Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 583 on March 16, 2026. It passed the House 54-16 and the Senate 23-12, carried an emergency clause, and took effect July 1, 2026 , one of the most aggressive state-level STR preemption laws passed anywhere so far. Victor's increase went through a formal municipal election , a November 4, 2025 ballot measure (Ordinance O642) that cleared the 60% supermajority Idaho requires for resort-city local-option taxes and, in the same vote, extended the tax's sunset date from July 1, 2036 to July 1, 2050.

What it strips from cities and counties: STR-specific licensing, permit, certification, and registration requirements and fees; owner-occupancy requirements; caps on rental days; caps on the number or proximity/density of STRs; mandatory parking, insurance, or structural-upgrade requirements beyond standard residential use; and mandatory activity reporting. What local governments still control: baseline safety equipment , smoke alarms, a fire extinguisher and CO detector per floor, removable escape ladders, occupancy limits tied to International Building Code standards, and posted emergency/owner-contact information.

What local governments still control:baseline safety equipment , smoke alarms, a fire extinguisher and CO detector per floor, removable escape ladders, occupancy limits tied to International Building Code standards, and posted emergency/owner-contact information. General noise, nuisance, parking, and traffic ordinances still apply as long as they aren't STR-specific. Tax treatment sits separately: platforms must register with the Idaho State Tax Commission, and local governments can't create new STR-targeted marketplace fees , distinct from the existing lodging tax below, which predates HB 583 under separate statutory authority.

What this specifically undoes in Teton County:Driggs has run an annual STR permit system under Ordinance 450-22 , an $80 initial fee, $50 annual renewal, mandatory building-safety inspections, and a requirement that owners keep a local representative available within 30 minutes. Driggs Mayor August Christensen testified during the legislative process that the city would need to repeal that permit ordinance and amend its land development code , direct, on-record confirmation that HB 583 unwinds that structure. Teton County Fire Marshal Kevin Brown separately warned that losing local registration removes the county's visibility into which properties are even operating as rentals. Victor's parallel business-license requirement for STRs faces the same exposure, though we found no equivalent on-record Victor official statement confirming repeal plans , treat that piece as inferred, not confirmed.

One nuance the brief didn't anticipate: local-option lodging tax is untouched by HB 583. Driggs and Victor voters both approved raising that tax from 6% to 8%, effective January 1, 2026. Victor's increase went through a formal municipal election , a November 4, 2025 ballot measure (Ordinance O642) that cleared the 60% supermajority Idaho requires for resort-city local-option taxes and, in the same vote, extended the tax's sunset date from July 1, 2036 to July 1, 2050. Both cities' rate increases sit on separate statutory footing from the permit system HB 583 preempts, so the 8% tax stays even as permitting falls away.

Net effect: lower compliance friction and lower barriers to entry starting midyear 2026, likely accelerating new-listing supply in a market already adding inventory quickly , while the county's informal, inspection-based accountability layer disappears, a factor that should shape how operators message trust and safety directly to guests. We build direct-booking brands, listing optimization systems, and market-specific content strategies for independent STR operators nationwide, including emerging corridors like Teton Valley, Idaho.

Current Market Performance: ADR, Occupancy, and Supply

Third-party data platforms show a real range depending on provider and sample window. For Driggs, 2026 average daily rate estimates cluster between roughly $300 and $345, with occupancy estimates from about 46% to 58%. Active listing counts for Driggs alone range from roughly 366 to 554 depending on platform and month sampled , wide enough that any single figure should be treated as directional. One report noted supply in the Driggs market grew over 44% year-over-year even as revenue and nightly rates both kept trending upward , a strong demand signal against a market that's simultaneously getting easier to enter.

Zooming out, a 2020 capstone study using AirDNA data (Feb 2019-Feb 2020, for Valley Advocates for Responsible Development and the Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance) found more than 800 active STRs across all of Teton County, Idaho , comparable at the time to the 397 listings (AirROI Driggs as of 2026-07-31) in the town of Jackson, Wyoming. That study found roughly 370 properties rented under 180 days a year against about 472 rented more than 180 days, suggesting a market with a substantial base of serious, commercially operated rentals rather than occasional home-sharing. Given six years of subsequent growth, current valley-wide inventory is almost certainly well above that baseline, though no single authoritative current county-wide count was found.

What This Means for Teton Valley STR Investment

The case rests on a few verifiable pillars: a genuine, widening price gap versus Jackson Hole; four-season demand anchored by a resort only reachable through the Idaho side; a market still dominated by independent operators; and, as of July 1, 2026, a dramatically lower regulatory bar to entry. The risks are just as real: fast in-migration and appreciation already straining workforce housing, a cooling-but-still-rising price curve, wide ADR/occupancy variance that argues for conservative underwriting, and a regulatory environment likely to draw more competition precisely because it just got easier to operate in.

For an independent operator, the opportunity right now is standing up a direct-booking presence and a differentiated brand , by town, by season, by proximity to Targhee versus the Tetons' summer trail network , before out-of-market capital and platform-driven supply catch up to what the in-migration data already shows is coming. Between winter Targhee traffic and summer Teton-range recreation, Teton Valley has genuine four-season demand rather than a single-season ski-town cycle.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Teton Valley, Idaho cheaper than Jackson Hole for buying a short-term rental?

Yes, meaningfully. Teton County, Idaho posted a median sold home price of roughly $1.04 million in February 2026, versus roughly $2.7 million in Jackson, Wyoming the same month -- the Idaho side runs at less than 40 percent of Jackson's median. Entry points exist even below that county median: condos and townhomes averaged roughly $502,000 (about $450/sq ft) in early 2025 data, a more accessible way in than the single-family median above $1 million.

What changed with Idaho's HB 583 short-term rental law?

Governor Brad Little signed HB 583 on March 16, 2026, and it took effect July 1, 2026. It strips Idaho cities and counties of the ability to require STR-specific licenses, permits, fees, registration, owner-occupancy rules, or rental-day and density caps. Local governments retain authority over baseline safety equipment, code-based occupancy limits, and general nuisance, parking, and noise ordinances that apply to all residential uses.

Does HB 583 eliminate Driggs' short-term rental permit system?

It undoes the core of it. Driggs had run an annual STR permit under Ordinance 450-22 -- an $80 initial fee, $50 annual renewal, mandatory building-safety inspections, and a requirement that owners keep a local representative available within 30 minutes. Mayor August Christensen testified during the legislative process that Driggs would need to repeal the ordinance and revise its land development code once HB 583 took effect, so confirm current status with the town before assuming the old permit rules still apply.

Does HB 583 also eliminate the local lodging tax in Driggs and Victor?

No. HB 583 preempts STR-specific licensing and permitting, not existing local-option lodging taxes, which sit under separate statutory authority. Driggs and Victor voters both approved raising that tax from 6 percent to 8 percent, effective January 1, 2026 -- Victor's increase cleared a November 4, 2025 ballot measure with the 60 percent supermajority Idaho requires for resort-city lodging taxes, and it extended the tax's sunset date to 2050. The tax remains in place independent of the new permitting law.

Why is Grand Targhee Resort an Idaho-side draw if it's located in Wyoming?

Grand Targhee sits in Alta, Wyoming, but the only road access runs through Driggs, Idaho -- there's no direct route from the Jackson, Wyoming side. That makes Driggs the functional gateway town regardless of the state line, and it's a core reason winter short-term rental demand concentrates on the Idaho side.

How saturated is property management in Teton Valley compared to Jackson Hole?

Teton Valley is dominated by independently owned, valley-based firms -- Wydaho Properties, Teton Valley Property Management (operating since 2006), Teton Homestead, and others -- plus one national franchise, PMI Grand Tetons, run through local ownership rather than a centralized corporate model. National platforms do have a foothold beyond that: Vacasa and Evolve both carry active listings in Driggs and Victor, though in small numbers, a fraction of Jackson's national-platform presence.

What's driving population growth in Teton Valley, and how fast?

Teton County, Idaho grew from a 2020 Census population of 11,630 to roughly 13,200-13,250 today, about a 14 percent increase since April 2020. That's driven by Jackson-area workers priced out of Wyoming housing, plus a newer wave of remote-work buyers from California, Texas, the East Coast, and increasingly Colorado. Victor grew about 13 percent off a 2020 base of 2,157; Driggs, off a smaller 2020 base of 1,984, appears to be growing at least as fast, though current third-party estimates vary.

What are current average daily rates and occupancy for short-term rentals in Driggs, Idaho?

Third-party platforms show a range rather than one settled figure: 2026 ADR estimates fall roughly between $300 and $345, occupancy estimates range from about 46 to 58 percent, and active listing counts for Driggs alone range from roughly 366 to 554 depending on the platform, with at least one report citing over 44 percent year-over-year supply growth. Treat any single number here as a range estimate, not a locked figure, given how much platforms disagree.

Is the housing shortage in Teton Valley a risk for short-term rental buyers, or an opportunity?

Both, depending on how you read it. Regional housing studies cited in 2026 coverage estimate Teton Valley needs 1,165 to 1,580 additional homes by 2027, with at least 60 percent needed at below-market prices -- a gap that's widening as second-home and STR demand competes with workforce housing for the same limited inventory. That's a real community-level risk and a factor worth watching for future local pushback, even though HB 583 currently limits how counties can respond with STR-specific rules.

How is Victor different from Driggs as a short-term rental market?

Both sit in Teton County, Idaho on the opposite side of Teton Pass from Jackson, but they function as somewhat separate submarkets with their own listing pools and price points. Confirm which town's specific data applies before underwriting a purchase, since blending Driggs and Victor figures together, or borrowing a Jackson-side number, will misstate either market -- pull the town-specific AirROI or platform data for the parcel you're actually evaluating.

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 Teton Valley, Idaho.

Sources

Rent Responsibly, "Idaho governor signs bill limiting local restrictions on short-term rentals" , HB 583 signed March 16, 2026, effective July 1, 2026; preempted vs. retained provisions. https://www.rentresponsibly.org/idaho-governor-signs-bill-limiting-local-restrictions-on-short-term-rentals/
Teton Valley News, "Short-term rental bill passes Idaho Senate" , House/Senate vote counts; Driggs Ordinance 450-22 terms; Mayor August Christensen and Fire Marshal Kevin Brown testimony. https://www.tetonvalleynews.net/news/short-term-rental-bill-passes-idaho-senate/article_50884320-80e4-4b2f-b228-f00a19d79383.html
Idaho State Journal, "Report: Teton Valley is home to over 800 vacation rentals" , 2020 UC Denver capstone study (AirDNA data, Feb 2019-Feb 2020) for Valley Advocates for Responsible Development / Jackson Hole Conservation Alliance; 2020-era 3% lodging-tax figure now superseded. https://www.idahostatejournal.com/businessjournal/eastidaho/report-teton-valley-is-home-to-over-800-vacation-rentals/article_d4ea50af-8b92-5fa6-8467-6ce9b4c65ff9.html
City of Victor, Idaho / Teton Valley News, November 2025 Local Option Tax ballot coverage , Driggs and Victor lodging tax increase from 6% to 8%, effective January 1, 2026; Victor's Ordinance O642 (Nov. 4, 2025 election, 60% supermajority, sunset extended to 2050) (victoridaho.gov/2025-lot-ballot-measure; victoridaho.gov/news/lot-open-house).
Grand Targhee Resort, "Getting to the Ghee" , confirms Driggs-only road access, no direct Jackson-side route, shuttle service. https://www.grandtarghee.com/plan-your-trip/planning-tools/getting-here
U.S. Census Bureau Quick Facts (Teton County, Idaho) plus secondary population reporting (worldpopulationreview.com, Neilsberg, Data Commons) , 2020 Census baselines and post-2020 growth estimates. Flag: post-2020 figures are third-party estimates, not Census-verified, and should be read as directional.
Tributary Idaho market coverage and Redfin Teton County housing data (2026) , median sold price comparison, days-on-market, year-over-year appreciation, regional housing-need estimate.
AirDNA, Rabbu, and AirROI Driggs, Idaho market data pages (2026) , ADR, occupancy, and listing-count ranges; figures vary by platform and sample window.
Property management company sites (Wydaho Properties, Teton Valley Property Management, Teton Homestead, PMI Grand Tetons) and Vacasa/Business Wire press materials (November 2020) on the Mountain Property Management acquisition. Current listing pages (Vacasa.com, Evolve.com) confirmed active Driggs and Victor inventory for both platforms; Vacasa's Jackson Hole, WY listing pages checked for current portfolio scale (~355 listings (AirROI Victor as of 2026-07-31)).

Flagged as unverified/lower-confidence: exact current-year total STR listing count for all of Teton County (only the 2020 baseline of 800+ is independently sourced); Victor's specific ordinance repeal plans post-HB 583 (inferred from Driggs' pattern, not independently confirmed); precise current ADR/occupancy for Victor and Tetonia specifically (available data was Driggs-specific). Victor's parallel business-license requirement for STRs faces the same exposure, though we found no equivalent on-record Victor official statement confirming repeal plans , treat that piece as inferred, not confirmed.

Work with Crest & Cove Creative

A Teton Valley listing that only pitches Jackson Hole overflow misses the relocator now choosing Victor and Driggs on their own merits. Idaho's 2026 regulatory rewrite changes what that listing needs to say.

We help Teton Valley hosts write listing copy that speaks to both the Jackson spillover guest and the Grand Targhee winter visitor, instead of one generic mountain-town pitch.

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