Sources and method

Each rate, rule and date on this site links to the official page we read: the Texas Comptroller, the city or county, or the official filing portal. Airbnb's and Vrbo's own help pages are the only other sources, used only for what those platforms collect.

Last checked Nov 2026.

How we chose the 25 cities

Texas markets ranked by AirDNA active listing count, read 2026-11-10. AirDNA groups some towns into one market and repeats its figures for each, so we kept one city per group. We left out unincorporated places with no city hotel tax (Comfort, Bergheim, Port Bolivar, Spicewood, Canyon Lake, Concan, Driftwood, Fulton, Terlingua) and the Pharr, Mission and Edinburg duplicates of McAllen. We also left out Montgomery: the city reported only $4,714 in hotel tax for FY2025, so AirDNA's figure likely covers Montgomery County. Wimberley, Freeport, Amarillo and Frisco were next in line. Source: AirDNA (market listing counts only).

1. Austin — about 16,852 listings
2. Houston — about 15,719 listings
3. Dallas — about 13,368 listings
4. San Antonio — about 10,207 listings
5. Corpus Christi — about 7,372 listings
6. Galveston — about 6,578 listings
7. Fort Worth — about 6,009 listings
8. Port Aransas — about 4,548 listings
9. South Padre Island — about 4,244 listings
10. Fredericksburg — about 2,755 listings
11. El Paso — about 2,468 listings
12. McAllen — about 1,636 listings
13. College Station — about 1,473 listings
14. Lubbock — about 1,413 listings
15. Leander — about 1,375 listings
16. Arlington — about 1,248 listings
17. Killeen — about 1,230 listings
18. Rockport — about 1,203 listings
19. Abilene — about 1,157 listings
20. New Braunfels — about 1,139 listings
21. Waco — about 979 listings
22. Wimberley — about 883 listings
23. Freeport — about 789 listings
24. Amarillo — about 740 listings
25. Frisco — about 732 listings

What "Unconfirmed" means

We mark a figure Unconfirmed when we couldn't find it on an official page or the page couldn't be opened. Rates marked as a city's own report come from the city's yearly hotel tax report to the Texas Comptroller (Texas open data).

Everything unconfirmed, by city

Austin

• County hotel tax rate: None found in effect

Houston

• Ordinance: Houston Code of Ordinances Chapter 44, Article III (Hotel Occupancy Tax)
• County filing: Harris County filing frequency, due date and penalty (hctax.net did not respond to our checks)

Dallas

• County hotel tax rate: None found

San Antonio

• Ordinance: San Antonio City Code hotel occupancy tax article (section not cited on the city's HOT pages)

Corpus Christi

• County hotel tax rate: None found

Galveston

• County hotel tax rate: None found

Fort Worth

• County hotel tax rate: None found

South Padre Island

• Late penalty: Late penalties apply; the amount isn't stated on the city pages we read
• Interest: Interest applies; the rate isn't stated on the city pages we read

El Paso

• Local registration / permit: City STR hotel-tax registration steps not found
• $0 returns required?: Not stated on the pages we read
• Late penalty: The city says penalties may apply; amounts not stated
• Interest: Accrues on unpaid tax; rate not stated
• Ordinance: El Paso City Code Chapter 3.12 (Hotel Room Tax)
• City filing: City of El Paso STR filing frequency, due date and portal (city STR collection approved in 2026; instructions not found)

McAllen

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Local registration / permit: City STR rules exist; registration details not confirmed

College Station

• County hotel tax rate: 3% Brazos County (county's FY2025 self-report to the Comptroller)
• Combined total rate: 16% (6% state + 7% city + 3% county)
• Interest: Not stated for the city tax
• Filing portal: City filing method not confirmed (report goes to the City's Accounting Office)

Lubbock

• Ordinance: Lubbock Code Article 18.03 (Hotel Occupancy Tax)

Leander

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Combined total rate: 13% (6% state + 7% city)
• Local registration / permit: Not confirmed (city site blocked our checks)
• Local filing frequency: Not confirmed
• $0 returns required?: Not confirmed
• Local due date: Not confirmed
• Late penalty: Not confirmed
• Interest: Not confirmed
• Filing portal: Not confirmed
• Ordinance: Not confirmed

Arlington

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Local registration / permit: City STR application exists; details not confirmed

Killeen

• Late penalty: Not stated on the city or county pages we read
• Interest: Not stated on the city or county pages we read

Rockport

• Local registration / permit: Not confirmed
• $0 returns required?: Not stated on the pages we read
• Filing portal: City filing method not confirmed (report goes to the director of finance)

Abilene

• Local registration / permit: Not confirmed
• Late penalty: Late payments are delinquent and may owe penalties under Section 30-21; the amount isn't on the form
• Interest: Rate not stated on the form

New Braunfels

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Interest: Not stated in the city FAQ
• Filing portal: City STR portal (Deckard), found by search but not opened
• Ordinance: New Braunfels Code of Ordinances (section not cited)
• Venue tax: The city FAQ mentions a 'Venue Tax' but gives no rate

Waco

• $0 returns required?: Not stated on the city page
• Ordinance: Waco City Code hotel occupancy tax article (section not cited on the city page)

Wimberley

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Interest: Not stated on the city page

Freeport

• County hotel tax rate: None found
• Combined total rate: 13% (6% state + 7% city)
• Local registration / permit: Not confirmed
• Local filing frequency: Not confirmed
• $0 returns required?: Not confirmed
• Local due date: Not confirmed
• Late penalty: Not confirmed
• Interest: Not confirmed
• Filing portal: Not confirmed
• Ordinance: Freeport Code of Ordinances (section not confirmed)

Amarillo

• Ordinance: Amarillo Code of Ordinances (section not confirmed)

Frisco

• County hotel tax rate: None found