Cavmir Market Data · California · July 2026

California Short-Term Rental Permit Data

Short-term rental permit and license records on file with 3 local registries, as of July 2026 — compiled, deduplicated, and free to cite. Part of Cavmir's U.S. STR permit data hub.

See the numbers Where Cavmir works in California

Where The Licenses Are

California's most-licensed markets

California has no statewide short-term rental file — the public picture is stitched from county programs. Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and Marin counties publish theirs, which is why wine country and the Highway 1 corridor dominate the state's numbers here.

01Sonoma County 2,030records

02San Luis Obispo County 1,962records

03Marin County 249records

Every record on this page comes from Sonoma County, San Luis Obispo County and Marin County; no other California jurisdiction publishes a registry we could verify yet. Where a property sits inside those markets still matters: a dense top market and a small permit pool ask for different marketing.

California top markets at a glance

Records are permit and license records on file with the registries named on this page, as of July 2026. Share is each market’s slice of the 4,241 records compiled for California. Free to cite with a link to this page.

#	Market	Records on file	Share of state	Cavmir market page
1	Sonoma County	2,030	47.9%	not covered yet
2	San Luis Obispo County	1,962	46.3%	not covered yet
3	Marin County	249	5.9%	not covered yet

How To Read These Numbers

What this number is — and is not

The headline figure counts short-term rental permit and license records on file with 3 local registries, deduplicated by permit number. A license is not a listing: some licenses cover multiple units, some licensed homes sit unrented, and jurisdictions that publish nothing are missing entirely. Treat it as a verified floor for the size of California's legal short-term rental market — not a census.

County of San Luis Obispo — vacation rentals
County of Sonoma — transient vacation rentals
Marin County Open Data — registered & active STRs

Cavmir Market Guides

Where Cavmir works in California

Twenty-four California markets carry a Cavmir guide, from the wine country of Sonoma and Napa to the Central Coast, the mountains, the desert and the cities. The three published registries on this page are all coastal or wine-country counties, and each shows a small permitted pool relative to the region it covers.

Big Bear LakeMarket guide

Cavmir is an Airbnb marketing agency for Big Bear Lake cabins. Photography, listing strategy and direct-booking website design that fill the midweek calendar.

CambriaMarket guide

Cavmir markets Cambria and North Coast rentals — photography, direct-booking sites and campaigns for a permit-limited stretch of the California coast.

Catalina IslandMarket guide

Cavmir markets Catalina Island and Avalon rentals - photography, direct booking, local SEO and ads for an island where the licence dies when the house sells.

HealdsburgMarket guide

Cavmir markets Healdsburg and Dry Creek Valley stays — permitted wine-country homes, harvest-season pricing and direct-booking website design.

IdyllwildMarket guide

Cavmir markets Idyllwild cabins under Riverside County's 500-certificate cap — compliance-visible listings, storm-surge pricing and direct-booking websites.

Joshua TreeMarket guide

Cavmir is a vacation rental marketing agency for Joshua Tree, CA. Design-cabin photography, listing strategy and direct-booking website design.

Lake ArrowheadMarket guide

Cavmir markets Lake Arrowhead rentals in the San Bernardino Mountains — photography, direct booking, local SEO and ads for a permit-limited mountain market.

Lake TahoeMarket guide

Cavmir is the short-term-rental marketing agency for Lake Tahoe, CA: cinematic photos, sharper pricing and direct bookings for South Lake Tahoe and Tahoe City.

Los AngelesMarket guide

Increase your LA Airbnb bookings with Cavmir. Expert STR marketing across Hollywood, Venice Beach, Silver Lake, DTLA & beyond. More guests, higher revenue.

MalibuMarket guide

Luxury Airbnb marketing for Malibu vacation rentals. Cavmir positions Malibu properties for premium guests seeking oceanfront luxury on the California coast.

Mammoth LakesMarket guide

Cavmir is an Airbnb marketing agency for Mammoth Lakes. Ski-season photography, summer positioning and direct-booking website design for condos and lodges.

MendocinoMarket guide

Cavmir markets Mendocino coast stays — licensed vacation rentals, historic inns, headlands photography and direct-booking website design that cuts OTA fees.

MontecitoMarket guide

Grow your Montecito rental income with Cavmir. Expert marketing for luxury monthly stays, estates and cottages in Montecito, California — the compliant extended-stay market.

Monterey & CarmelMarket guide

Cavmir markets Monterey & Carmel stays: licensed Pacific Grove rentals, 30+ day homes and boutique inns, with direct-booking website design that cuts OTA fees.

Napa ValleyMarket guide

Cavmir is the Airbnb marketing agency for Napa Valley, CA. We help legal short-term rentals across the City of Napa and wine country win bookings and top rates.

OjaiMarket guide

Cavmir markets Ojai stays the legal way — permitted valley homes, hosted rooms and inns, pink-moment photography and direct-booking website design.

Palm SpringsMarket guide

Expert Airbnb marketing for Palm Springs vacation rentals. Cavmir maximizes bookings for desert modern, mid-century, and luxury pool homes in the Coachella Valley.

Paso RoblesMarket guide

Cavmir markets Paso Robles wine country rentals - photography, direct booking, local SEO and ads for a town where the rental permit cap is already full.

San DiegoMarket guide

Grow your San Diego vacation rental revenue with Cavmir. STR marketing for La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Mission Beach & Coronado properties.

San FranciscoMarket guide

Cavmir markets San Francisco short-term rentals, 30-day furnished stays and boutique hotels. Photography, listing strategy and direct-booking website design.

Santa BarbaraMarket guide

Cavmir markets Santa Barbara stays the legal way: coastal-zone rentals, 30+ day furnished homes and boutique hotels, with direct-booking website design.

Santa CruzMarket guide

Cavmir markets Santa Cruz short-term rentals - photography, direct booking, local SEO and ads where the city and the county are two different rulebooks.

SolvangMarket guide

Cavmir markets Solvang and Santa Ynez Valley rentals — photography, direct booking, local SEO and ads for a town capping permits at 40.

YosemiteMarket guide

Grow your Yosemite vacation rental income with Cavmir. Expert STR marketing for cabins and homes in Oakhurst, Bass Lake, Mariposa, Groveland and Yosemite West.

What It Means For Hosts

Reading California like a marketer

These are permit-capped coastal and wine-country markets where a license is a scarce, valuable asset. Guests are paying for setting and story — vineyard views, a coastal drive, a slow weekend two hours from the Bay Area — and the listings that name real places in real neighborhoods take the bookings.

Because supply is limited and rates are high, the leverage is in brand and direct bookings: a site and a photo set that justify the nightly rate, and a channel that keeps repeat guests from booking through a platform every time. Cavmir builds that for Sonoma, San Luis Obispo, and Marin owners — presentation that matches the price, and a direct path that protects the margin.

Questions

California STR data, answered

How many licensed short-term rentals are in California?

The official registries we compiled show 4,241 short-term rental permit and license records on file with 3 local registries as of July 2026. Not every California jurisdiction publishes its data, so the true statewide figure is higher.

Who licenses short-term rentals in California?

In the California markets covered here, short-term rental permitting runs through city and county programs. The registries in this compilation: County of San Luis Obispo — vacation rentals, County of Sonoma — transient vacation rentals, Marin County Open Data — registered & active STRs. Rules and requirements vary by jurisdiction — always confirm with the local program directly.

Which California cities have the most short-term rentals?

By records on file: Sonoma County (2,030), San Luis Obispo County (1,962), Marin County (249). Sonoma County leads with 2,030.

Where does this data come from?

Directly from the official registries listed on this page, pulled and deduplicated in July 2026. No records are estimated or modeled — see the methodology on the national data page for what was excluded and why.

How many California communities have ten or more licensed short-term rentals on file?

3 communities in California have ten or more permit or license records on the registries we compiled, as of July 2026. Sonoma County leads with 2,030 records, followed by San Luis Obispo County (1,962), Marin County (249).

What share of California's licensed records sit in Sonoma County?

About 48%. Sonoma County holds 2,030 of the 4,241 records on file for California. One license can cover several units, so the share of rentable inventory can differ from the share of licenses.

Which California markets does Cavmir publish guides for?

24 market guides: Big Bear Lake, Cambria, Catalina Island, Healdsburg, Idyllwild, Joshua Tree and 18 more. Each one covers the season, who books there, what wins in that market and how Cavmir markets rentals in it. They are listed on this page under "Where Cavmir works in California".

Cite this data

These numbers are free to use in articles, research, and reports — no permission needed. We ask for one thing: credit Cavmir and link to this page so readers can check the source.

Cavmir, “California Short-Term Rental Permit Data,” compiled from official state, city, and county registries, July 2026. https://cavmir.com/data/california-short-term-rental-permits/

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Where to go from here

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Work With Cavmir

Marketing for California's licensed hosts

Cavmir markets short-term rentals in California — photography-led listings, direct-booking websites, and local SEO built around how guests actually search. The registry tells you how many competitors you have; we make sure you do not look like any of them.

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