Newsroom

Los Angeles, Seattle rank among top destinations for digital nomads in the US

By ·
·

Key Takeaways

  • Airbnb compiled the top destinations in the United States and Canada for long-term guests and their Hosts, based on affordability, hospitality, popularity and Host income.
  • Airbnb is working with destinations across North America to make it easier to live and work anywhere.

Key Takeaways

  • Airbnb compiled the top destinations in the United States and Canada for long-term guests and their Hosts, based on affordability, hospitality, popularity and Host income.
  • Airbnb is working with destinations across North America to make it easier to live and work anywhere.

With millions of people now more flexible about where they live and work, guests are spreading to thousands of towns and cities this summer – over 72,000 cities and towns, to be exact – with many even “living” on Airbnb for the entire season. About one in five guests reported using Airbnb to work remotely while traveling in 2021 — a trend that has continued into Q1 2022. 

For those looking to plan their own long-term adventures this summer – or for those considering the opportunity to earn by hosting digital nomads – Airbnb is today sharing some of the top destinations in the United States and Canada for long-term guests and Hosts, based on affordability, hospitality, popularity and Host income.

Top Earning for Long-Term Stays

The trend of living and working from anywhere is an opportunity not only for digital nomads, but also for current and prospective Hosts who have the space to share with them. Earnings from hosting continue to support families across the US and Canada amidst a rising cost of living, with 41 percent of Hosts in the US and 45 percent in Canada sharing that one of the reasons they host is to earn money to help navigate rising prices. In fact, Hosts in the US earned a combined total of more than $2 billion from long-term stays alone, from Q1 2021 through Q1 2022 – and Hosts in Canada earned more than $280 million from long-term stays over the same time period. 

In addition, Airbnb has identified the top destinations in both countries for Hosts to earn by welcoming long-term stays guests, based on median Host earnings income in Q1 2022. In the US:

  • La Quinta, California
  • Delray Beach, Florida
  • Marco Island, Florida
  • Palm Springs, California
  • Indio, California

And in Canada:

  • Whistler, British Columbia
  • Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Mont-Tremblant, Québec
  • Toronto, Ontario
  • Kitchener, Ontario

Those interested in getting started in hosting long-term or short-term guests can visit airbnb.com/host.

Best Equipped

With Hosts across the US and Canada already earning by welcoming long-term stays guests, Airbnb has pulled together the destinations with the highest share of long-term stay ready listings, based on cities and towns with at least 1,000 active listings as of Q1 2022. In the US:

  • Irvine, California
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Cincinnati, Ohio
  • Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Seattle, Washington

And in Canada:

  • Toronto, Ontario
  • Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Edmonton, Alberta
  • Gatineau, Québec
  • Victoria, British Columbia

Still, guests are not limited to destinations with a high share of long-term ready listings. In May, Airbnb introduced Split Stays, an innovative feature that provides more options for longer stays by splitting a trip between two homes. When searching a specific destination, Split Stays automatically appear in search results – meaning guests will typically see around 40 percent more listings when looking for longer stays.

Most Hospitable

Airbnb looked at cities across the US and Canada with some of the highest percentages of five-star reviews from long-term stays, identifying some of the ‘most hospitable’ cities for digital nomads. In the US:

  • Bend, Oregon (93.7%)
  • Santa Fe, New Mexico (91.7%)
  • Boulder, Colorado (91%)
  • Key West, Florida (90.2%)
  • Fresno, California (90%)

And in Canada: 

  • Halifax, Nova Scotia (92.6%)
  • Winnipeg, Manitoba (87.7%)
  • Nanaimo, British Columbia (87.1%)
  • Surrey, British Columbia (86.1%)
  • Kelowna, British Columbia (86.1%)

Most Affordable

Airbnb studied the average price per night for long-term stays, considering destinations that had 1,000 or more long-term stay nights booked in Q1 2022, to determine some of the most affordable destinations for nomadic living in the US and Canada. In the US: 

  • Tulalip, Washington ($16.9 USD per night)
  • Catlett, Virginia ($21.8 USD per night)
  • Garretson, South Dakota ($24.3 USD per night)
  • Lamberton, Minnesota ($24.4 USD per night)
  • Angleton, Texas ($24.5 USD per night)

And in Canada:

  • Trois-Rivières, Québec ($35.6 USD per night)
  • Medicine Hat, Alberta ($41.3 USD per night)
  • Gatineau, Québec ($44.5 USD per night)
  • Thorold, Ontario ($46.9 USD per night)
  • Québec City, Québec ($48 USD per night)

Most Popular

Finally, Airbnb compiled the destinations with some of the most long-term stay trips booked in Q1 2022. In the US:

  • Los Angeles, California
  • New York, New York
  • San Francisco, California
  • Houston, Texas
  • Seattle, Washington 

And in Canada:

  • Toronto, Ontario
  • Montréal, Québec
  • Vancouver, British Columbia
  • Calgary, Alberta
  • Victoria, British Columbia

Guests are returning to cities once more – and are choosing to not only stay, but “live” from them. Gross nights booked to high-density urban destinations grew 80 percent in Q1 2022, compared to Q1 2021.

Along with highlighting these destinations, Airbnb is partnering with 20 destinations around the world to make it easier to live and work anywhere – including Palm Springs, California; Tampa Bay, Florida; and Tulsa, Oklahoma in the US. Over the next few months, Airbnb will work closely with each of these destinations to create dedicated custom-built hubs, showcasing the best of local long-term stay listings as well as important information relating to entry requirements and tax policies. Airbnb will also partner with the destinations on educational campaigns to promote responsible hosting and traveling as a remote worker. 

Airbnb has also recently announced its own remote-working policy, where co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky told employees they could work from anywhere. In the first week following the announcement, Airbnb received more than 1 million visitors to our career page – reinforcing the appetite people have to live and work anywhere. 
Read more about: Digital Nomads, Live and Work Anywhere, Work

About Airbnb

Airbnb was born in 2007 when two Hosts welcomed three guests to their San Francisco home, and has since grown to over 4 million Hosts who have welcomed more than 1 billion guest arrivals across over 220 countries and regions. Travel on Airbnb keeps more of the financial benefits of tourism with the people and places that make it happen. Airbnb has generated billions of dollars in earnings for Hosts, most of whom are individuals listing the homes in which they live. Among Hosts who report their gender, more than half are women, and one in five employed Hosts are either teachers or healthcare workers. Travel on Airbnb also has generated more than $4 billion in tax revenue around the world. Airbnb has helped advance more than 1,000 regulatory frameworks for short-term rentals, including in 80% of our top 200 geographies. In late 2020, to support our continued expansion and diversification, we launched the City Portal to provide governments with a one-stop shop that supports data sharing and compliance with local registration rules. We continue to invest in innovations and tools to support our ongoing work with governments around the world to advance travel that best serves communities.

Download logo assets