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Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Airbnb says its average rural host earns more per year than its average urban host

While the lodging service Airbnb "is often associated with a cheap lodging alternatives in major cities, those in rural areas seem to benefit almost equally," and perhaps even more so, Fortune magazine reports, citing a report from the San Francisco-based firm. It said the average yearly earnings for a rural host was $6,776, a bit more than the $6,674 median for hosts in urban areas. Part of that difference could be driven by a large rural-urban differential in Hawaii.

Airbnb says its hosts in U.S. rural areas grew by 1,800 percent since 2012, faster than in urban areas. "In the past year, rural hosts earned a total of $494 million by renting out their homes to strangers," Fortune reports. It says that offers economic-development opportunities for rural areas, which have lagged urban areas in recent job creation.

Fortune cites a study at University College London that concluded, “Airbnb can be used as an economic development tool. It has been shown that Airbnb guests spend a considerable part of their money in the hosting communities.” Fortune produced a chart showing the top 10 states where rural hosts make the most money:
Fortune chart of top 10 rural Airbnb states based on data from Airbnb

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