How does the American Community Survey (ACS) count vacation homes or short-term rentals like Airbnbs?

The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a housing unit occupied if the residents of the home are staying there for at least two months from the interview date. We call this concept current residence. If they do not plan to be there longer than two months, the ACS will consider that housing unit to be "vacant - temporarily occupied" and that housing unit will then be given one of the following vacancy statuses below:

• For rent
• Rented, not yet occupied
• For sale only
• Sold, not yet occupied
• Seasonal, occasional, or recreational use
• For migrant workers
• Other

If a unit is an Airbnb, it will most likely be categorized in the "seasonal, occasional, or recreational use" vacant category.

There are no data collected by the Census Bureau that specifically covers short term rentals. For more information, check out the ACS Subject Definitions Guide.