Beach townsCentral California2026
Central California Beach Towns
Santa Cruz, Carmel-by-the-Sea and Seaside were the most booked of the 10 beach towns in Central California on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 11,233, 10,458 and 6,699 stays. July is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.8 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
Among the 5 towns with 200+ homes
- Most booked of these 5
- Santa Cruz 11,233 stays
- Highest revenue per home of these 5
- Carmel-by-the-Sea $106,830 a year
- Highest rated of these 5
- Carmel-by-the-Sea and Pacific Grove 4.87 out of 5
- Lowest nightly rate of these 5
- Morro Bay $321 a night
- Longest typical stay of these 5
- Pacific Grove 5.6 nights
Ranking
Central California Beach Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the beach and coastal towns in Central California with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | Santa Cruz | 11,233 | $453 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Carmel-by-the-Sea | 10,458 | $715 |
| 3 | Seaside | 6,699 | $344 |
| 4 | Morro Bay | 6,699 | $321 |
| 5 | Pacific Grove | 6,656 | $484 |
| 6 | Cambria | 6,564 | $404 |
| 7 | Cayucos | 5,266 | $469 |
| 8 | Rio del Mar | 5,049 | $507 |
| 9 | Capitola | 4,302 | $486 |
| 10 | Monterey | 2,757 | $287 |
Figures are AirROI estimates for the 12 months to October 2026, and stays count Airbnb bookings only. Typical stay is a booking's length, occupancy the share of available nights booked, and revenue the yearly average per home, before costs. Guest rating is out of 5.
Town by town
Where the Top Towns Stand Out
6 of 8 are busiest in July. Santa Cruz and Morro Bay peak in August. Among guests who left a review, San Francisco is the top home city in 4 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in all 8. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the 8 most booked towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- Santa Cruz
Of the 5 beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, Santa Cruz had the most Airbnb homes, at 339, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Carmel-by-the-Sea
Of the 5 beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, Carmel-by-the-Sea had the highest nightly rate, at $715, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 4Morro Bay
Of the 5 beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, Morro Bay had the lowest nightly rate, at $321, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, Los Angeles was the top home city for Morro Bay, at 6.1%.
- 5Pacific Grove
Of the 5 beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, Pacific Grove had the longest typical stay, at 5.6 nights, and had the highest occupancy, at 50%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 6Cambria
Of the 5 beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, Cambria had the biggest share of houses, at 77%, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, Los Angeles was the top home city for Cambria, at 11%.
- 7Cayucos
In the 12 months to October 2026, among guests who left a review, Los Angeles was the top home city for Cayucos, Central California, at 6.4%.
- 8Rio del Mar
In the 12 months to October 2026, among guests who left a review, San Jose was the top home city for Rio del Mar, Central California, at 5.8%.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
July, August and June rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the beach towns in Central California, and February and January as the quietest. July is the busiest month in 8 of the 10, while Santa Cruz and Morro Bay peak in August. Across the 10 towns, nightly rates run lowest in January, at about $418, and highest in August, at about $508. Across the 10 towns, stays run longest in July, at 5.6 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.6 nights.
July ranks first, January last
Airbnb months in calendar order. The number is the month's rank, and 1 is the busiest. The bar shows its part of Airbnb nights.
- Three busiest months
- Other months
Month by month: rank, typical stay and nightly rate
| Rank | Month | Typical stay | Nightly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July | 5.6 nights | $497 |
| 2 | August | 4.6 nights | $508 |
| 3 | June | 4.7 nights | $482 |
| 4 | September | 3.6 nights | $441 |
| 5 | October | 4.4 nights | $439 |
| 6 | March | 4.5 nights | $428 |
| 7 | April | 4.4 nights | $447 |
| 8 | May | 4.3 nights | $452 |
| 9 | November | 4.1 nights | $437 |
| 10 | December | 4.6 nights | $439 |
| 11 | February | 4.7 nights | $426 |
| 12 | January | 5.1 nights | $418 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 92.8% come from within the United States. Among those guests, the largest group from abroad comes from the United Kingdom. The top home cities among those guests are San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento. Carmel-by-the-Sea draws the most from abroad, at 8.2%, among towns with 200 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
92.8% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 5 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Carmel-by-the-Sea has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $106,830 a year. Of those 5, Pacific Grove has the highest occupancy, at 50%, and Morro Bay has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $321. The most booked of the 10, Santa Cruz, earns about $66,273 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 5
A year, AirROI estimate
- Carmel-by-the-Sea $106,830
- Pacific Grove $82,005
- Santa Cruz $66,273
- Cambria $49,452
- Morro Bay $49,098
Highest occupancy of these 5
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
- Pacific Grove 50%
- Santa Cruz 46%
- Morro Bay 44%
- Cambria 43%
Lowest nightly rate of these 5
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
- Morro Bay $321
- Cambria $404
- Santa Cruz $453
- Pacific Grove $484
- Carmel-by-the-Sea $715
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular beach town in Central California?
By AirROI's estimates, Santa Cruz is the most booked of the 10 beach towns in Central California, with 11,233 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Carmel-by-the-Sea is second, with 10,458. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable beach town in Central California?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Morro Bay ($321), Cambria ($404) and Santa Cruz ($453). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What are some small beach towns in Central California?
By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 10 beach towns it lists in Central California are Capitola (114), Monterey (154) and Seaside (165). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.
What beach towns in Central California offer the strongest Airbnb returns?
Returns depend on what a home costs to buy and run, which AirROI's figures do not cover. On AirROI's estimated revenue per home in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns in Central California with 200 or more homes, the highest are Carmel-by-the-Sea ($106,830), Pacific Grove ($82,005) and Santa Cruz ($66,273). Among the same towns, Pacific Grove has the highest occupancy, at 50%.
Method
How These Lists and Numbers Are Made
How a town gets on this list. A town needs 100 or more Airbnb homes with recent stays. A language model then judges the place from its name, state, country and coordinates, not from words in its name: it has to be on an ocean or sea coast with its own beach, seafront or harbour, or on a Great Lake with a public beach, and within about 10 km of the shore. The town's own listings can back that up, with 30% of its homes listing beach access, or 10% with ocean views, waterfront homes or beach in their titles besides. A town whose listings do not gets a second, stricter check, which asks whether people go there for that or mainly for something else. Big cities stay off. Corrections come last: places the checks got wrong are added or taken off, and rows that name one place are joined.
How the figures are made. Stays, occupancy, nightly rate and revenue are AirROI estimates built from Airbnb listing data, and cover Airbnb only. A town's stays are its bookings in the period, and the typical stay and busiest month come from the same data. Guest ratings, home sizes and how far ahead guests book are the latest figures in each town's AirROI data. Month ranks compare each month's part of Airbnb nights. Origin rests on 259,911 reviews and describes guests who left a review, not everyone who stayed. A town needs 1,000 reviews before this page gives its share from abroad.