Renting a whole place is the default family move, but is it the better deal in your town? We checked real vacation rental rates for the same week in every town we cover, then lined them up against our hotel index for the same dates. The answer varies by town. Each row also shows the average daytime high, because an off-season bargain is only a bargain if you can go outside. Use the season tabs to see the week you are traveling. The figures above change with them.
The index, from most affordable to most expensive
Every town is measured against the same family standard, rentals with two or more bedrooms, the size where a family of four stops sharing one room. Each figure is the median nightly rate across that tier, and the weekly total is that median times seven nights. The comparison column shows how the rental week compares with a week at the same town’s kid-friendly 3-star hotels. A dash there means the town is listed but not ranked on the hotel index that week, so there is no hotel week to set against it.
Median nightly rates for the week of August 8 to 15, 2026. Collected by hand on 2026-07-14.
Read the weather column before the price column. It is the average daytime high for the week priced, from NOAA normals. All 26 towns in this index are warm enough to actually use the beach that week, so here the price column is a straight value comparison with nothing hidden behind it. That is not true year round, which is the whole reason this column exists. Check the winter tab for the same towns.Beach weather 70°F and up Mild 60 to 69 Cold 45 to 59 Too cold under 45
| Rank | Town | Weather that week | Median nightly rate | 7-night rental total | vs. hotel week* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galveston, TX | 92°FBeach weather | $140 | $980 | +$28 | Check rates |
| 2 | Orlando, FL | 92°FBeach weather | $145 | $1,015 | +$420 | Check rates |
| 3 | Hilton Head Island, SC | 90°FBeach weather | $160 | $1,120 | −$119 | Check rates |
| 4 | South Padre Island, TX | 90°FBeach weather | $191 | $1,337 | +$245 | Check rates |
| 5 | Gulf Shores, AL | 89°FBeach weather | $209 | $1,463 | — | Check rates |
| 6 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 87°FBeach weather | $232 | $1,624 | +$483 | Check rates |
| 7 | Siesta Key, FL | 92°FBeach weather | $235 | $1,645 | — | Check rates |
| 8 | Sanibel Island, FL | 92°FBeach weather | $237 | $1,659 | −$546 | Check rates |
| 9 | Destin, FL | 91°FBeach weather | $260 | $1,820 | +$546 | Check rates |
| 10 | San Diego, CA | 77°FBeach weather | $273 | $1,911 | +$574 | Check rates |
| 11 | Ocean City, MD | 83°FBeach weather | $276 | $1,932 | +$21 | Check rates |
| 12 | Clearwater Beach, FL | 91°FBeach weather | $291 | $2,037 | +$994 | Check rates |
| 13 | Anaheim, CA | 89°FBeach weather | $292 | $2,044 | +$1,092 | Check rates |
| 14 | Virginia Beach, VA | 87°FBeach weather | $297 | $2,079 | +$553 | Check rates |
| 15 | Key West, FL | 91°FBeach weather | $309 | $2,163 | +$945 | Check rates |
| 16 | St. George Island, FL | 89°FBeach weather | $312 | $2,184 | — | Check rates |
| 17 | Santa Monica, CA | 70°FBeach weather | $319 | $2,233 | — | Check rates |
| 18 | Amelia Island, FL | 90°FBeach weather | $320 | $2,240 | +$1,239 | Check rates |
| 19 | Kitty Hawk, NC (Outer Banks) | 83°FBeach weather | $432 | $3,024 | — | Check rates |
| 20 | Ogunquit, ME | 79°FBeach weather | $497 | $3,479 | +$1,428 | Check rates |
| 21 | Cape May, NJ | 84°FBeach weather | $544 | $3,808 | — | Check rates |
| 22 | Coronado, CA | 77°FBeach weather | $621 | $4,347 | — | Check rates |
| 23 | Chatham, MA (Cape Cod) | 76°FBeach weather | $900 | $6,300 | — | Check rates |
| 24 | Provincetown, MA (Cape Cod) | 78°FBeach weather | $904 | $6,328 | — | Check rates |
Carried but not ranked (2)
These towns are part of the index but cannot be given a fair rank for this week, so they are listed rather than scored.
- Asbury Park, NJ 82°F, only 2 qualifying rentals
- Mackinac Island, MI 76°F, only 1 qualifying rental
Median nightly rates for the week of October 24 to 31, 2026. Collected by hand on 2026-07-31.
Read the weather column before the price column. It is the average daytime high for the week priced, from NOAA normals. Only 18 of the 26 towns in this index are warm enough to actually use the beach that week, so a low price often means the town is out of season rather than good value.Beach weather 70°F and up Mild 60 to 69 Cold 45 to 59 Too cold under 45
| Rank | Town | Weather that week | Median nightly rate | 7-night rental total | vs. hotel week* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hilton Head Island, SC | 79°FBeach weather | $92 | $644 | −$287 | Check rates |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 76°FBeach weather | $113 | $791 | +$182 | Check rates |
| 3 | Destin, FL | 81°FBeach weather | $131 | $917 | −$21 | Check rates |
| 4 | Gulf Shores, AL | 79°FBeach weather | $132 | $924 | +$245 | Check rates |
| 5 | South Padre Island, TX | 85°FBeach weather | $138 | $966 | +$175 | Check rates |
| 6 | Clearwater Beach, FL | 84°FBeach weather | $156 | $1,092 | −$336 | Check rates |
| 7 | Galveston, TX | 82°FBeach weather | $157 | $1,099 | +$315 | Check rates |
| 8 | Ocean City, MD | 68°FMild | $167 | $1,169 | +$462 | Check rates |
| 9 | Orlando, FL | 85°FBeach weather | $168 | $1,176 | +$448 | Check rates |
| 10 | Siesta Key, FL | 86°FBeach weather | $183 | $1,281 | — | Check rates |
| 11 | San Diego, CA | 75°FBeach weather | $211 | $1,477 | +$308 | Check rates |
| 12 | Chatham, MA | 61°FMild | $241 | $1,687 | — | Check rates |
| 13 | Virginia Beach, VA | 72°FBeach weather | $249 | $1,743 | +$854 | Check rates |
| 14 | Kitty Hawk, NC | 70°FBeach weather | $257 | $1,799 | — | Check rates |
| 15 | Cape May, NJ | 68°FMild | $266 | $1,862 | +$301 | Check rates |
| 16 | Provincetown, MA | 61°FMild | $269 | $1,883 | +$392 | Check rates |
| 17 | Sanibel Island, FL | 87°FBeach weather | $269 | $1,883 | — | Check rates |
| 18 | St. George Island, FL | 81°FBeach weather | $288 | $2,016 | — | Check rates |
| 19 | Santa Monica, CA | 68°FMild | $318 | $2,226 | +$651 | Check rates |
| 20 | Amelia Island, FL | 80°FBeach weather | $376 | $2,632 | — | Check rates |
| 21 | Ogunquit, ME | 60°FMild | $416 | $2,912 | — | Check rates |
| 22 | Key West, FL | 86°FBeach weather | $429 | $3,003 | +$770 | Check rates |
| 23 | Anaheim, CA | 83°FBeach weather | $459 | $3,213 | +$1,946 | Check rates |
Carried but not ranked (3)
These towns are part of the index but cannot be given a fair rank for this week, so they are listed rather than scored.
- Asbury Park, NJ 66°F, every entire place listed that week is under two bedrooms
- Mackinac Island, MI 54°F, only 1 qualifying rental
- Coronado, CA 75°F, every entire place listed that week is under two bedrooms
Median nightly rates for the week of January 23 to 30, 2027. Collected by hand on 2026-07-29.
Read the weather column before the price column. It is the average daytime high for the week priced, from NOAA normals. Only 6 of the 26 towns in this index are warm enough to actually use the beach that week, so a low price often means the town is out of season rather than good value.Beach weather 70°F and up Mild 60 to 69 Cold 45 to 59 Too cold under 45
| Rank | Town | Weather that week | Median nightly rate | 7-night rental total | vs. hotel week* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hilton Head Island, SC | 61°FMild | $101 | $707 | −$140 | Check rates |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 56°FCold | $131 | $917 | +$182 | Check rates |
| 3 | Ocean City, MD | 45°FCold | $152 | $1,064 | +$350 | Check rates |
| 4 | Galveston, TX | 63°FMild | $171 | $1,197 | +$364 | Check rates |
| 5 | Destin, FL | 63°FMild | $176 | $1,232 | +$595 | Check rates |
| 6 | Gulf Shores, AL | 61°FMild | $184 | $1,288 | +$770 | Check rates |
| 7 | Kitty Hawk, NC | 50°FCold | $192 | $1,344 | — | Check rates |
| 8 | South Padre Island, TX | 68°FMild | $196 | $1,372 | +$483 | Check rates |
| 9 | Orlando, FL | 72°FBeach weather | $198 | $1,386 | +$525 | Check rates |
| 10 | Virginia Beach, VA | 51°FCold | $244 | $1,708 | +$896 | Check rates |
| 11 | Provincetown, MA | 38°FToo cold | $258 | $1,806 | — | Check rates |
| 12 | San Diego, CA | 66°FMild | $258 | $1,806 | +$693 | Check rates |
| 13 | Cape May, NJ | 43°FToo cold | $268 | $1,876 | — | Check rates |
| 14 | St. George Island, FL | 64°FMild | $286 | $2,002 | — | Check rates |
| 15 | Santa Monica, CA | 62°FMild | $322 | $2,254 | +$574 | Check rates |
| 16 | Siesta Key, FL | 73°FBeach weather | $340 | $2,380 | — | Check rates |
| 17 | Clearwater Beach, FL | 70°FBeach weather | $345 | $2,415 | +$644 | Check rates |
| 18 | Chatham, MA | 39°FToo cold | $356 | $2,492 | — | Check rates |
| 19 | Sanibel Island, FL | 75°FBeach weather | $403 | $2,821 | +$455 | Check rates |
| 20 | Amelia Island, FL | 63°FMild | $422 | $2,954 | — | Check rates |
| 21 | Ogunquit, ME | 32°FToo cold | $589 | $4,123 | — | Check rates |
| 22 | Anaheim, CA | 71°FBeach weather | $634 | $4,438 | +$2,933 | Check rates |
| 23 | Key West, FL | 76°FBeach weather | $768 | $5,376 | +$2,667 | Check rates |
Carried but not ranked (3)
These towns are part of the index but cannot be given a fair rank for this week, so they are listed rather than scored.
- Asbury Park, NJ 41°F, one qualifying property, and it is an eight bedroom house
- Mackinac Island, MI 24°F, one qualifying property on the whole island
- Coronado, CA 66°F, every rental listed here that week is a one bedroom
Median nightly rates for the week of March 13 to 20, 2027. Collected by hand on 2026-07-31.
Read the weather column before the price column. It is the average daytime high for the week priced, from NOAA normals. Only 12 of the 26 towns in this index are warm enough to actually use the beach that week, so a low price often means the town is out of season rather than good value.Beach weather 70°F and up Mild 60 to 69 Cold 45 to 59 Too cold under 45
| Rank | Town | Weather that week | Median nightly rate | 7-night rental total | vs. hotel week* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ocean City, MD | 53°FCold | $127 | $889 | +$21 | Check rates |
| 2 | Myrtle Beach, SC | 64°FMild | $157 | $1,099 | +$21 | Check rates |
| 3 | Hilton Head Island, SC | 72°FBeach weather | $179 | $1,253 | +$126 | Check rates |
| 4 | Kitty Hawk, NC | 57°FCold | $202 | $1,414 | — | Check rates |
| 5 | Provincetown, MA | 44°FToo cold | $210 | $1,470 | — | Check rates |
| 6 | Chatham, MA | 43°FToo cold | $215 | $1,505 | — | Check rates |
| 7 | Galveston, TX | 72°FBeach weather | $216 | $1,512 | +$518 | Check rates |
| 8 | Virginia Beach, VA | 60°FMild | $222 | $1,554 | +$511 | Check rates |
| 9 | Orlando, FL | 79°FBeach weather | $237 | $1,659 | +$735 | Check rates |
| 10 | Cape May, NJ | 52°FCold | $288 | $2,016 | — | Check rates |
| 11 | Gulf Shores, AL | 69°FMild | $296 | $2,072 | +$1,120 | Check rates |
| 12 | San Diego, CA | 67°FMild | $306 | $2,142 | +$798 | Check rates |
| 13 | Destin, FL | 71°FBeach weather | $328 | $2,296 | +$1,085 | Check rates |
| 14 | Santa Monica, CA | 62°FMild | $336 | $2,352 | +$385 | Check rates |
| 15 | South Padre Island, TX | 75°FBeach weather | $345 | $2,415 | +$910 | Check rates |
| 16 | Clearwater Beach, FL | 77°FBeach weather | $375 | $2,625 | +$182 | Check rates |
| 17 | St. George Island, FL | 71°FBeach weather | $470 | $3,290 | — | Check rates |
| 18 | Siesta Key, FL | 78°FBeach weather | $500 | $3,500 | — | Check rates |
| 19 | Amelia Island, FL | 72°FBeach weather | $525 | $3,675 | — | Check rates |
| 20 | Ogunquit, ME | 42°FToo cold | $589 | $4,123 | — | Check rates |
| 21 | Sanibel Island, FL | 81°FBeach weather | $605 | $4,235 | — | Check rates |
| 22 | Anaheim, CA | 74°FBeach weather | $661 | $4,627 | +$2,919 | Check rates |
| 23 | Key West, FL | 80°FBeach weather | $1,163 | $8,141 | +$5,082 | Check rates |
Carried but not ranked (3)
These towns are part of the index but cannot be given a fair rank for this week, so they are listed rather than scored.
- Asbury Park, NJ 49°F, only 1 qualifying rental
- Mackinac Island, MI 36°F, only 1 qualifying rental
- Coronado, CA 67°F, every entire place listed that week is under two bedrooms
*Difference between a 7-night 2+ bedroom rental and 7 nights at the town’s median kid-friendly 3-star hotel. A minus sign means the rental week costs less.
What stands out
- Hotels win on sticker price almost everywhere. In the August week, 15 of the 24 ranked rental towns also have a hotel week to compare against, and the rental comes in lower in just two of them, Sanibel Island ($546 less) and Hilton Head Island ($119 less). October is the rental’s best week, with Clearwater Beach ($336 less), Hilton Head ($287 less) and Destin ($21 less). In March the hotel week is lower in every town with a comparison. Hilton Head is the only town where the rental beats the hotel in more than one season, and it does so in August, October and January.
- Galveston and Orlando are the rental bargains of the summer. Both median under $150 a night for a whole place with two or more bedrooms in peak season, less than many towns charge for a single hotel room.
- Cape Cod rentals cost the most in summer. Chatham ($900 a night) and Provincetown ($904) close out the August ranking at $6,300 and $6,328 for the week. Neither town had enough qualifying hotels that week to rank on the hotel index, so the comparison column shows a dash for both. In the March week they rank fifth and sixth, Provincetown at $210 and Chatham at $215, with daytime highs in the low 40s.
- Some towns only show up as rentals. St. George Island had no qualifying 3-star hotel in any of the four weeks, so the rental table is the only place these pages price it, and its August rental median is $312 a night. Kitty Hawk had too few qualifying hotels to rank in any of the four weeks. Where both figures exist, Ogunquit shows the widest August gap, with the rental week $1,428 above the hotel week.
Methodology
Every rate here was collected by hand, one town at a time. Nothing is estimated, modeled or pulled from an API. Each season prices the same 26 towns for one Saturday to Saturday week, using identical filters for every town in that season, which is what makes the ranking within a season a fair comparison. The index is anchored to rentals with two or more bedrooms, the size where a family of four stops sharing one room, so studios and one-bedroom units cannot drag a town’s number below what a family would actually pay. The town figure is the median of that tier.
| Season | Week priced | Source | Collected | Rentals priced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summer 2026 | August 8 to 15, 2026 | Google Vacation Rentals | 2026-07-14 | 304 |
| Fall 2026 | October 24 to 31, 2026 | Booking.com | 2026-07-31 | 335 |
| Winter 2027 | January 23 to 30, 2027 | Booking.com | 2026-07-29 | 357 |
| Spring 2027 | March 13 to 20, 2027 | Booking.com | 2026-07-31 | 338 |
How far the seasons can be compared with each other. Within a season, every town is priced for the identical week from a single source, so the table is a true apples-to-apples index. Across seasons it is less simple. Summer 2026 came from Google about three weeks ahead of the stay, before we moved to pricing each season six to eight months out, which is when families book. Fall, winter and spring all come from Booking. Winter against spring is the cleanest pairing in the set, same source, same filters, and a similar booking lead. Fall 2026 was collected around three months ahead rather than six, so its own table is sound while its change figures against other seasons carry that shorter lead.
Each row also carries the average daytime high for the week priced, from NOAA and National Weather Service monthly normals. That column exists because outside summer the most affordable towns are frequently the ones nobody can swim in, and a price with no weather next to it quietly misleads. Rates are snapshots and change daily. We refresh this index each season.
Nightly rates are before cleaning and service fees, which vary by property and typically add 15 to 30 percent to a rental booking. The 2+ bedroom tier also means a town supplied mostly by large houses reads higher than a town of two-bedroom condos, so Anaheim’s figure reflects group houses near Disneyland rather than a like-for-like beach rental. Towns with too few qualifying rentals to compute an honest median are listed under each table rather than ranked.
This index is refreshed each season alongside the hotels edition, which prices the same towns for the same weeks so the two can be read against each other.
Planning one of these towns? Every town name in the table links to our full hub of family guides, or start from the full destinations directory.