Lake townsFlorida2026
Florida Lake Towns
Winter Haven, Mount Dora and Sebring were the most booked of the 8 lake towns in Florida on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 6,894, 6,711 and 4,078 stays. March is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 6.1 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
- Most booked of these 8
- Winter Haven 6,894 stays
- Highest revenue per home of these 8
- Mount Dora $29,860 a year
- Highest rated of these 8
- Mount Dora and Okeechobee 4.90 out of 5
- Lowest nightly rate of these 8
- Winter Haven $195 a night
- Longest typical stay of these 8
- Leesburg 7.6 nights
Ranking
Florida Lake Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the lake towns in Florida with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | Winter Haven | 6,894 | $195 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Mount Dora | 6,711 | $229 |
| 3 | Sebring | 4,078 | $252 |
| 4 | Lake Placid | 3,489 | $302 |
| 5 | Lake Wales | 2,777 | $216 |
| 6 | Inverness | 2,387 | $201 |
| 7 | Okeechobee | 2,322 | $248 |
| 8 | Leesburg | 1,826 | $218 |
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
5 of 8 are busiest in March. Sebring, Lake Placid and Okeechobee peak in February. Among guests who left a review, Miami is the top home city in 7 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 towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- Winter Haven
Of the 8 lake towns in Florida with 100 or more homes, Winter Haven had the most Airbnb homes, at 285, and had the highest occupancy, at 45%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 4Lake Placid
Of the 8 lake towns in Florida with 100 or more homes, Lake Placid had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 48%, and had the highest nightly rate, at $302, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 8Leesburg
Of the 8 lake towns in Florida with 100 or more homes, Leesburg had the longest typical stay, at 7.6 nights, in the 12 months to October 2026.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
March, February and January rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the lake towns in Florida, and August and September as the quietest. March is the busiest month in 5 of the 8, while Sebring, Lake Placid and Okeechobee peak in February. Across the 8 towns, nightly rates run lowest in August and September, at about $208, and highest in March, at about $240. Across the 8 towns, stays run longest in January, at 8.1 nights, and shortest in September, at 3.8 nights.
March ranks first, September 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 | March | 5.7 nights | $240 |
| 2 | February | 8.0 nights | $233 |
| 3 | January | 8.1 nights | $230 |
| 4 | December | 5.3 nights | $231 |
| 5 | July | 5.5 nights | $214 |
| 6 | June | 4.9 nights | $217 |
| 7 | April | 4.5 nights | $225 |
| 8 | May | 4.7 nights | $224 |
| 9 | November | 4.5 nights | $225 |
| 10 | October | 4.8 nights | $223 |
| 11 | August | 5.0 nights | $208 |
| 12 | September | 3.8 nights | $208 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 96.1% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Miami, Tampa and Orlando. Sebring draws the most from abroad, at 6.1%, among towns with 100 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
96.1% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 8 towns on this list, Mount Dora has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $29,860 a year. Of those 8, Winter Haven has the highest occupancy, at 45%, and the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $195. The most booked of the 8, Winter Haven, earns about $26,317 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 8
A year, AirROI estimate
- Mount Dora $29,860
- Lake Placid $28,403
- Winter Haven $26,317
- Leesburg $25,457
- Okeechobee $22,789
Highest occupancy of these 8
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
- Winter Haven 45%
- Leesburg 44%
- Mount Dora 44%
- Okeechobee 39%
- Inverness 39%
Lowest nightly rate of these 8
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
- Winter Haven $195
- Inverness $201
- Lake Wales $216
- Leesburg $218
- Mount Dora $229
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular lake town in Florida?
By AirROI's estimates, Winter Haven is the most booked of the 8 lake towns in Florida, with 6,894 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Mount Dora is second, with 6,711. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable lake town in Florida?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among lake towns in Florida with 100 or more homes, the lowest are Winter Haven ($195), Inverness ($201) and Lake Wales ($216). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What are some small lake towns in Florida?
By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 8 lake towns it lists in Florida are Leesburg (107), Lake Wales (130) and Okeechobee (136). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.
What lake towns in Florida 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 lake towns in Florida with 100 or more homes, the highest are Mount Dora ($29,860), Lake Placid ($28,403) and Winter Haven ($26,317). Among the same towns, Winter Haven has the highest occupancy, at 45%.
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 the shore of a lake or large reservoir, and the lake has to be a main reason to come. The town's own listings can back that up, with 35% of its homes listing lake access, or 25% of its titles naming the lake with 10% of homes listing it. 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 73,800 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.