In-depth analysis

Should you buy an STR in Jackson in 2026?

Only with substantial capital, a clearly-zoned target parcel, and a long horizon. Jackson’s fundamentals are extraordinary: ADR around $445, 63% occupancy, RevPAR around $280, full-year demand from both Yellowstone/Grand Teton summer visitation and Jackson Hole Mountain Resort winter skiing. But the entry price is among the steepest in the country, and the legal pathway is narrow.

Regulation: where the city stands

The Town of Jackson and Teton County have one of the most restrictive STR regimes among premier resort towns:

STRs are permitted only in specific zones — primarily Lodging Overlay, Auto-Urban Residential (AR), and certain commercial / mixed-use districts. Most single-family residential zones do not allow non-owner-occupied STRs.
Owner-occupied home-sharing has more flexibility but still requires permitting.
Teton County outside town limits has its own rules, similarly restrictive in residential zones.
Lodging taxes are real — state 4% + Teton County 2% lodging + Jackson 2% lodging stack to roughly 8% in lodging-specific tax on top of sales tax.

See Town of Jackson planning department for the current zone overlay map and permit requirements.

The market by the numbers

Metric	Jackson	Aspen	Vail
ADR	$445	$432	$397
Occupancy	63%	56%	59%
RevPAR	~$280	~$242	~$234
Median acquisition (entry condo, 2025)	~$2.5M	~$3M	~$2M

Jackson’s RevPAR leads the pack among elite western markets. Acquisition cost is commensurate.

Submarkets that matter

Town of Jackson / Downtown — walkable to the Town Square, character lodging, premium ADR, cleanest STR pathway in the Lodging Overlay zone.
Teton Village (county jurisdiction) — Jackson Hole Mountain Resort base, purpose-built nightly-rental condos, top-of-market acquisition.
Wilson / Hoback / South Park — residential pockets, mostly STR-restricted, transfer-only or grandfathered entries.
Alpine / Star Valley (Lincoln County, downvalley) — lower acquisition, longer commute, looser regulation.
Driggs / Victor, ID (over Teton Pass) — Wyoming demand basis, Idaho regulation, materially lower acquisition.

The 3 mistakes buyers make here

Assuming any Jackson address can run as an STR. Most cannot. Verify zone before offer.
Underwriting peak weeks without modeling shoulder collapse. April and November are deep troughs.
Missing the cap-rate compression. $280 RevPAR on a $2.5M condo is a sub-5% gross yield before opex.

What to do next

Pressure-test comps + verify zoning in /comp-analyzer/.
Market score: /market-score/.
Financing: /dscr-loan-calculator/.
Year-one cash: /year-1-cash-needs/.

Not investment advice. Jackson is a premium-capital market — under-leveraged underwriting is the norm here, not the exception.

Last reviewed 2026-05-07 · Estimated — community-sourced · Population 10,760