Lake townsTennessee2026
Tennessee Lake Towns
Dandridge, Winchester and Smithville were the most booked of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, with an estimated 4,786, 4,031 and 3,087 stays. July is the busiest month across them, and the typical stay is 4.6 nights.
Figures are AirROI estimates. How they are made
- Most booked of these 7
- Dandridge 4,786 stays
- Highest revenue per home of these 7
- LaFollette $49,086 a year
- Highest rated of these 7
- Winchester 4.93 out of 5
- Lowest nightly rate of these 7
- Counce $264 a night
- Longest typical stay of these 7
- Gallatin 6.1 nights
Ranking
Tennessee Lake Towns Ranked by Airbnb Stays
Every one of the lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more Airbnb homes and recent stays, most booked first.
| 1 | Dandridge | 4,786 | $383 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Winchester | 4,031 | $425 |
| 3 | Smithville | 3,087 | $317 |
| 4 | Gallatin | 2,889 | $331 |
| 5 | LaFollette | 2,411 | $558 |
| 6 | Butler | 2,034 | $271 |
| 7 | Counce | 1,703 | $264 |
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
4 of 7 are busiest in July. Winchester and Gallatin peak in June, and Counce in March. Among guests who left a review, Nashville is the top home city in 3 of the 7. Houses are the largest home type in 6 of the 7. The lines below add what the table can't show, where one of the towns leads its peers or differs from the rest.
- Dandridge
Of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, Dandridge had the most Airbnb homes, at 218, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- Winchester
Of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, Winchester had the highest guest rating, at 4.93, and had the biggest share of houses, at 91%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 4Gallatin
Of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, Gallatin had the longest typical stay, at 6.1 nights, and had the highest occupancy, at 47%, in the 12 months to October 2026.
- 5LaFollette
Of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, LaFollette had the biggest share of homes that sleep 8 or more, at 80%, and had the highest nightly rate, at $558, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, Cincinnati was the top home city for LaFollette, at 7.5%.
- 6Butler
In the 12 months to October 2026, cabins, campers and other outdoor stays were the largest home type in Butler, Tennessee, at 56% of homes.
- 7Counce
Of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, Counce had the lowest nightly rate, at $264, in the 12 months to October 2026. Among guests who left a review, Memphis was the top home city for Counce, at 11%.
When to go
Busiest and Quietest Months
July, June and August rank as the busiest months for Airbnb nights across the lake towns in Tennessee, and February and January as the quietest. July is the busiest month in 4 of the 7, while Winchester and Gallatin peak in June, and Counce in March. Across the 7 towns, nightly rates run lowest in February, at about $330, and highest in July, at about $421. Across the 7 towns, stays run longest in March, at 5.5 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 | 4.7 nights | $421 |
| 2 | June | 4.6 nights | $418 |
| 3 | August | 4.2 nights | $378 |
| 4 | October | 3.8 nights | $357 |
| 5 | May | 4.3 nights | $373 |
| 6 | September | 3.6 nights | $346 |
| 7 | March | 5.5 nights | $341 |
| 8 | April | 4.6 nights | $347 |
| 9 | December | 4.3 nights | $364 |
| 10 | November | 4.0 nights | $359 |
| 11 | February | 5.2 nights | $330 |
| 12 | January | 4.6 nights | $344 |
Who comes
Where Guests Come From
Among guests who left a review, 98.4% come from within the United States. The top home cities among those guests are Nashville, Murfreesboro and Franklin. Gallatin draws the most from abroad, at 3.2%, among towns with 100 or more homes.
Top home cities
Among guests who left a review
98.4% from within the United States
The money view
Revenue, Occupancy and Nightly Rate
Among the 7 towns on this list, LaFollette has the highest estimated revenue per home, at $49,086 a year. Of those 7, Gallatin has the highest occupancy, at 47%, and Counce has the lowest nightly rate on Airbnb, at $264. The most booked of the 7, Dandridge, earns about $43,171 per home.
Highest revenue per home of these 7
A year, AirROI estimate
- LaFollette $49,086
- Winchester $48,089
- Gallatin $44,359
- Dandridge $43,171
- Smithville $29,683
Highest occupancy of these 7
Nights booked, AirROI estimate
- Gallatin 47%
- Dandridge 36%
- Winchester 36%
- Counce 35%
- Butler 33%
Lowest nightly rate of these 7
On Airbnb, AirROI estimate
- Counce $264
- Butler $271
- Smithville $317
- Gallatin $331
- Dandridge $383
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the most popular lake town in Tennessee?
By AirROI's estimates, Dandridge is the most booked of the 7 lake towns in Tennessee, with 4,786 Airbnb stays in the 12 months to October 2026. Winchester is second, with 4,031. This counts Airbnb bookings only.
What is the most affordable lake town in Tennessee?
By AirROI's estimated nightly rate on Airbnb in the 12 months to October 2026, among lake towns in Tennessee with 100 or more homes, the lowest are Counce ($264), Butler ($271) and Smithville ($317). That is the average asking price on booked nights, not what it costs to live or buy there.
What lake towns in Tennessee 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 Tennessee with 100 or more homes, the highest are LaFollette ($49,086), Winchester ($48,089) and Gallatin ($44,359). Among the same towns, Gallatin has the highest occupancy, at 47%.
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 43,695 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.