Study reveals the most profitable Canadian cities for Airbnb hosts

The most profitable Canadian cities for Airbnb hosts

1. Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver is the most profitable city for Airbnb hosts. The average cost of a one-night stay is $325. Keep in mind, all short-term rental operators in Vancouver must apply for a business licence and attach a copy of this license to their online listing. The city also requires strata and/or landlord approval for short-term rentals, if a suite or unit is being subletted or part of a strata board. In general, the Money.ca found:

• One-bedroom property costs $233 per night — the highest in the country
• Per night rental cost for a two-bedroom is the highest in the country at an average cost of $315
• Vancouver has the second-highest cost per night for renting an entire three-bedroom property, at an average of $426

2. Toronto, Ontario

Toronto ranks as the second most profitable city for Airbnb hosts. However, Toronto residents can only rent out a portion of their principal residence (or their entire principal residence) for short-term rentals.

• The average cost of a single night's stay in the city is $315
• Toronto has the second-highest average costs for renting out one and two-bedroom apartments, at $225 and $305, respectively

On average, it costs $415 per night to rent a three-bedroom apartment in Toronto, the fourth highest Airbnb cost in Canada for a three-bedroom suite

3. Mississauga, Ontario

Mississauga follows closely in third place with an average cost per night of $305. Keep in mind, short-term rental hosts that earn more than $30,000 annually in Mississauga must register for and remit GST/HST in addition to income tax.

• One-bedroom nightly rentals are $218Two-bedroom nightly rentals earn, on average, $292 — the third-highest average cost for this type of unit

Three-bedroom rentals cost, on average, $405 per night, the fifth-highest average cost in Canada.

4. Kelowna, British Columbia

Kelowna ranks fourth with an average per night cost of $286. However, potential short-term landlords may be prevented from earning as the city stopped accepting application for secondary-use, short-term business license as of January 2024.

• Kelowna has the most expensive three-bedroom properties on Airbnb at an average of $492 per night — 90% higher than the average national per night rental for a three-bedroom property. One-bedroom properties, however, cost less than other cities with an average rental rate of $141.

4. Lévis, Quebec 

Lévis, QC ties Kelowna, BC to take fourth place in the Money.ca ranking of best places to earn revenue from short-term rentals. In Levis, the average Airbnb nightly rental is $286. Like all Quebecois cities, Lévis requires hosts to include their registration numbers and certificate expiration dates in all Airbnb and short-term rental listings.

• Average cost for a three-bedroom property in Lévis is $422
• Nightly rental rates for one- and two-bedroom properties in Levis are higher than average rental rates in Kelowna — with Levis, QC hosts collecting an average of $180 for a one-bedroom and $256 for a two-bedroom.

5. Quebec City, Quebec

Quebec City rounds out the top five, with properties on Airbnb costing $274 on average per night in the city.

6. Montreal, Quebec

Montreal follows in sixth place, with an average night's stay at an Airbnb in the city costing $264.

7. Richmond, British Columbia

Richmond is very close behind, with the cost of an Airbnb just $6 less than Montreal, at $258 per night.

8. Laval, Quebec

Ranking in eighth place is Laval. The city in ****Quebec has an average Airbnb cost per night of $252.

9. Saanich, British Columbia

Saanich ranks ninth, with an average Airbnb cost of $249 per night.

10. Kingston, Ontario,

An average night in an Airbnb in Kingston costs $234**,** making it the tenth most profitable city for Airbnb hosts.

Edmonton, Alberta was found to be the city with the lowest average Airbnb property costs per night at $118.

What the research findings show:

"This study offers insight into the most lucrative cities for Canadian homeowners who choose to list their properties on Airbnb,” explains VP of Marketing at Money.ca, Kris Bruynson.

“As expected, Canada’s largest and most populous provinces, Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, are home to the most profitable cities for Airbnb hosts.” Bruynson adds, “Residents in these cities can conveniently earn extra income by listing their properties on Airbnb when they are going to be away."

Methodology:

The study gathered the average cost of a night in an Airbnb across Canada’s 50 most populous cities, using this as a basis of profitability ranking for Airbnb hosts in the country.

First, a list of the 50 most populated Canadian cities was acquired from Statistics Canada. Then, Airbnb’s earnings tool was used to find the average earning potential for each location when renting out a private room, an entire one-bedroom property, an entire two-bedroom property, or an entire three-bedroom property.

Then, the average earning potentials for each location's private properties were averaged together to get a final value, which is the basis for the final ranking.

The 50 most populated Canadian cities ranked by average nightly cost of entire property on Airbnb

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Sources

Statistics Canada: Census Profile