Beach townsLake Michigan2026

Lake Michigan Beach Towns

Towns on Lake Michigan in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana

Traverse City, Saugatuck and South Haven were the most booked of the 24 beach towns on Lake Michigan on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 23,856, 14,738 and 11,213 stays. July is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.3 nights.

Source: AirROI Reviewed by Jun Zhou, Founder @ AirROI Updated November 4, 2026

Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made

Among the 12 towns with 200+ homes

Most booked of these 12: Traverse City 23,856 stays
Highest revenue per home of these 12: Saugatuck $68,120 a year
Highest rated of these 12: Sturgeon Bay and Muskegon 4.89 out of 5
Lowest nightly rate of these 12: Sheboygan $305 a night
Longest typical stay of these 12: Sheboygan 5.3 nights

Ranking

Lake Michigan Beach Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays

Every one of the beach and shore towns on Lake Michigan with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.

Lake Michigan Beach Towns ranked by Airbnb stays, with homes, typical stay, busiest month, nightly rate, occupancy, revenue per home and guest rating

1	Traverse City, Michigan	23,856	800	4.2 nights	July	$352	43%	$44,628	4.87
2	Saugatuck, Michigan	14,738	452	3.4 nights	July	$509	44%	$68,120	4.85
3	South Haven, Michigan	11,213	557	4.3 nights	July	$576	38%	$57,913	4.87
4	Michigan City, Indiana	11,175	505	4.6 nights	July	$455	36%	$41,339	4.83
5	New Buffalo, Michigan	10,562	410	3.5 nights	July	$633	38%	$64,793	4.85
6	Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin	8,547	289	3.8 nights	July	$327	43%	$39,030	4.89
7	Muskegon, Michigan	5,920	244	4.8 nights	July	$309	42%	$36,178	4.89
8	Sheboygan, Wisconsin	5,880	210	5.3 nights	July	$305	44%	$37,540	4.88
9	Chikaming Township, Michigan. Includes Lakeside, Union Pier and Harbert.	5,725	261	4.5 nights	July	$589	37%	$58,723	4.87
10	Grand Haven, Michigan	5,005	208	4.7 nights	July	$368	44%	$39,197	4.83
11	East Bay Township, Michigan	4,893	214	4.7 nights	July	$416	40%	$47,293	4.83
12	Douglas, Michigan	4,417	186	3.6 nights	July	$491	39%	$51,793	4.86
13	Charlevoix, Michigan	4,234	203	4.0 nights	July	$401	36%	$41,313	4.81
14	Holland, Michigan	3,504	110	4.8 nights	July	$348	48%	$46,524	4.90
15	Sister Bay, Wisconsin	3,324	111	3.9 nights	July	$484	46%	$67,267	4.84
16	Ludington, Michigan	3,315	168	4.4 nights	July	$329	40%	$28,804	4.86
17	Suttons Bay Township, Michigan	3,014	144	4.6 nights	July	$459	39%	$44,695	4.87
18	Manistee, Michigan	2,962	142	5.0 nights	July	$279	42%	$31,062	4.85
19	Casco Township, Michigan	2,907	127	3.5 nights	July	$546	37%	$60,987	4.74
20	Egg Harbor, Wisconsin	2,903	105	3.5 nights	July	$496	42%	$55,683	4.88
21	Acme Township, Michigan	2,523	144	5.7 nights	July	$360	36%	$30,605	4.83
22	Harbor Springs, Michigan	2,308	116	4.6 nights	July	$484	37%	$46,452	4.87
23	Frankfort, Michigan	2,029	111	4.5 nights	July	$360	42%	$33,796	4.87
24	Glen Arbor, Michigan	1,816	119	5.3 nights	August	$535	40%	$46,416	4.78

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. Airbnb data files some places as one district or township, so Chikaming Township and rows like it cover several towns.

By region

Stays and Top Town by Region

Lake Michigan Beach Towns by region: towns, Airbnb stays and the top town in each
Region	Towns	Stays	Top town
Michigan	19	114,941	Traverse City
Wisconsin	4	20,654	Sturgeon Bay
Indiana	1	11,175	Michigan City

Town by town

Where the Top Towns Stand Out

All 8 are busiest in July. Among guests who left a review, Chicago is the top home city in 7 of the 8. Houses are the largest home type in 7 of the 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.

Traverse City, Michigan
Of the 12 beach towns on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, Traverse City (Michigan) had the most Airbnb homes, at 800, and had the biggest share of apartments and condos, at 65%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
South Haven, Michigan
Of the 12 beach towns on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, South Haven (Michigan) had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 68%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
5
New Buffalo, Michigan
Of the 12 beach towns on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, New Buffalo (Michigan) had the highest nightly rate, at $633, in the 12 months to October 2026.
8
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Of the 12 beach towns on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, Sheboygan (Wisconsin) had the longest typical stay, at 5.3 nights, and had the lowest nightly rate, at $305, in the 12 months to October 2026.

When to go

Busiest and Quietest Months

July, August and June rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the beach towns on Lake Michigan, and January and February as the quietest. July is the busiest month in 23 of the 24, while Glen Arbor peaks in August. Across the 24 towns, nightly rates run lowest in March, at about $369, and highest in July, at about $585. Across the 24 towns, stays run longest in July, at 5.2 nights, and shortest in September and October, at 3.1 nights.

July ranks first, February 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

Months on Lake Michigan by rank
Rank	Month	Typical stay	Nightly rate
1	July	5.2 nights	$585
2	August	3.8 nights	$547
3	June	4.5 nights	$528
4	September	3.1 nights	$449
5	October	3.1 nights	$402
6	May	3.9 nights	$428
7	November	3.5 nights	$382
8	April	5.0 nights	$377
9	December	3.7 nights	$385
10	March	4.6 nights	$369
11	January	3.8 nights	$378
12	February	3.7 nights	$373

Who comes

Where Guests Come From

Among guests who left a review, 98.2% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Chicago, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis. Muskegon (Michigan) draws the most from abroad, at 2.9%, among towns with 200 or more homes.

Top home cities

Among guests who left a review

98.2% from within the United States

Chicago 10%
Grand Rapids 2.2%
Indianapolis 1.7%
Ann Arbor 1.6%
Michigan 1%

The money view

Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate

Among the 12 towns with 200 or more Airbnb homes, Saugatuck has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $68,120 a year. Of those 12, Sheboygan has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $305. The most booked of the 24, Traverse City, earns about $44,628 per home.

Highest revenue per home of these 12

A year, AirROI estimate

Saugatuck $68,120
Michigan
New Buffalo $64,793
Michigan
Chikaming Township $58,723
Michigan
South Haven $57,913
Michigan
East Bay Township $47,293
Michigan

Highest occupancy of these 12

Nights booked, AirROI estimate

Sheboygan 44%
Wisconsin
Saugatuck 44%
Michigan
Grand Haven 44%
Michigan
Sturgeon Bay 43%
Wisconsin
Traverse City 43%
Michigan

Lowest nightly rate of these 12

On Airbnb, AirROI estimate

Sheboygan $305
Wisconsin
Muskegon $309
Michigan
Sturgeon Bay $327
Wisconsin
Traverse City $352
Michigan
Grand Haven $368
Michigan

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular beach town on Lake Michigan?

By AirROI's estimates, Traverse City (Michigan) is the most booked of the 24 beach towns on Lake Michigan, with 23,856 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Saugatuck is second, with 14,738. This counts Airbnb bookings only.

What is the most affordable beach town on Lake Michigan?

By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among beach towns on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, the lowest are Sheboygan (Wisconsin) ($305), Muskegon (Michigan) ($309) and Sturgeon Bay (Wisconsin) ($327). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.

What are some small beach towns on Lake Michigan?

By AirROI's count of active Airbnb homes as of October 2026, the smallest of the 24 beach towns it lists on Lake Michigan are Egg Harbor (Wisconsin) (105), Holland (Michigan) (110) and Sister Bay (Wisconsin) (111). AirROI's list starts at 100 homes, so smaller places are not on it.

What beach towns on Lake Michigan 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 on Lake Michigan with 200 or more homes, the highest are Saugatuck (Michigan) ($68,120), New Buffalo (Michigan) ($64,793) and Chikaming Township (Michigan) ($58,723).

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 398,986 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.