Short answer: a typical operating RV park brings in somewhere around $4,600 to $10,000 per site per year, and keeps roughly 30% to 65% of that as net operating income, depending on who does the work and how the park is run. The long answer is where the money is, because two parks with the same site count can differ by six figures of profit.
Every benchmark below comes from a source we opened and link at the bottom. Where we show our own math, we label it.
RV park revenue per site: the benchmarks
The best public dataset is Newmark's RV Park Expense Analysis: actual financial statements from 62 RV parks with 10,682 sites across 13 states, reviewed from 2015 to 2021. It excludes parks with a lot of permanent residents and distressed parks. Average revenue: $4,645 per site per year.
MMCG Invest's August 2026 market outlook adds portfolio-level estimates that show how much the operating model matters:
| Park type | Revenue per site per year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Newmark 62-park sample (2015–2021 statements) | $4,645 | Newmark |
| Annual-heavy RV portfolio (Equity LifeStyle) | ~$5,000 | MMCG Invest, citing Innowave |
| KOA franchise portfolio, transient-heavy | ~$7,000 (reservation revenue) | MMCG Invest, citing Innowave |
| Resort-style portfolio (Sun Communities) | ~$10,000 | MMCG Invest, citing Innowave |
| Typical operating parks | $5,000–$10,000 | MMCG Invest |
Keep in mind the Newmark figures come from statements that predate today's rates and today's insurance market, and the portfolio numbers are big operators with revenue managers. A small family park with flat rates will usually land at the low end.
Revenue by stay type: nightly, monthly, seasonal
Revenue per site is just rate times occupied nights, plus extras. Here's what the data says about each piece.
Nightly and weekly (transient) sites
Innowave's July 2026 pricing index, as reported by MMCG Invest, put the national median RV site at $62 a night and the average at $69.72. Sites designated premium averaged $84.05, about 24.5% above standard sites, and waterfront sites ran about 22.5% higher.
Occupancy is the hard part. An Outdoor Hospitality Industry benchmarking report (2022 data, cited by MMCG) found full-hookup RV sites averaged 68% occupancy during operating months, and rustic and tent sites averaged 25%. Across a whole booking network the picture is much lower: Campspot's U.S. network ran about 30.1% occupancy, versus 30.2% a year earlier. "During operating months" is doing a lot of work in that first number. Full benchmarks and the right way to measure it are in our RV park occupancy rates guide.
What that means per site (our arithmetic on the $62 median, not a benchmark):
| Annual occupancy | Occupied nights | Revenue per site at $62 |
|---|---|---|
| 30% | 110 | $6,789 |
| 45% | 164 | $10,184 |
| 60% | 219 | $13,578 |
Transient sites have the most upside and the most cost: turnover, cleaning, check-ins, reviews and marketing. That's why transient-heavy franchise parks run the highest expense ratios (below).
Monthly and seasonal sites
Monthly guests pay less per night but fill the calendar and cost less to serve. Annual-heavy portfolios bring in less revenue per site (about $5,000 at Equity LifeStyle) but keep more of it, at around 46.5% expenses. Seasonality cuts both ways: MMCG describes Sun Belt snowbird parks running near capacity from October through April and dropping to 25–40% in summer, while northern parks run 20–40% in winter.
For how to price and run monthly sites, see our monthly stay strategy.
Ancillary revenue
Store, propane, laundry, rentals, cabins and fees. MMCG cites industry benchmarks of 15–25% of total revenue at well-run parks versus about 9% at under-managed ones. Cabins and glamping units are where the big numbers live: Innowave's index put glamping inside conventional campgrounds at $158.80 a night.
RV park expenses: where the money goes
Here is Newmark's per-site expense breakdown, in dollars per site per year:
| Expense | Per site | Share of $4,645 revenue (our math) |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | $721 | 15.5% |
| Utilities | $671 | 14.4% |
| Repairs & maintenance | $310 | 6.7% |
| Administrative | $250 | 5.4% |
| Management fee | $237 | 5.1% |
| Property taxes | $191 | 4.1% |
| Insurance | $124 | 2.7% |
| Marketing | $69 | 1.5% |
| Professional fees | $38 | 0.8% |
| Total operating expenses | $2,611 | 56.2% |
| Implied NOI | $2,034 | 43.8% |
A note on that table: Newmark's report states a 53.7% total expense ratio, but its own dollar figures add up to 56.2% of revenue. We show the dollar math. Also missing from Newmark's schedule: a replacement reserve, which MMCG recommends at 3–5% of revenue, and franchise royalties.
Two lines deserve attention. Utilities at older, non-sub-metered transient parks can reach 30–35% of revenue, per MMCG, more than double Newmark's average. And insurance at 2.7% is, in MMCG's words, a floor, since the data predates the current hard insurance market. Coastal parks can face named-storm deductibles of 2–5% of insured value.
Expense ratio and NOI margin by operating model
| Operating model | Expense ratio | NOI margin |
|---|---|---|
| Owner-operated, unpaid labor, no reserve | 35–40% | 60–65% |
| Annual-heavy REIT portfolio | ~46.5–47% | ~53% |
| Paid management plus reserve | 50–55% | 45–50% |
| Transient-heavy franchise park | ~70% | ~30% |
Ranges from MMCG Invest; margins are 100% minus the ratio. Sun Communities reported a 46.8% same-property expense ratio for its RV segment in fiscal 2025, per MMCG.
That first row is the trap. If your park shows a 38% expense ratio because you and your spouse do the work, your "profit" includes your wages. A buyer will restate it. MMCG walks through one case where a seller's 38% ratio became 58% in underwriting. More on that in how to value an RV park.
Worked example: a 40-site park
This is an example with illustrative inputs, not a real park or a benchmark. The nightly rate uses MMCG's composite blended transient rate of $55; the other inputs are assumptions you should replace with your own.
| Line | Math | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 25 nightly sites | 25 × 365 nights × 40% occupancy × $55 | $200,750 |
| 15 monthly sites | 15 × $600 × 12 months × 85% occupancy | $91,800 |
| Ancillary (laundry, propane, fees) | assumed | $15,000 |
| Gross revenue | $307,550 ($7,689/site) |
Now two versions of the same park:
| Owner-run (38% expenses) | Paid management (55% expenses) | |
|---|---|---|
| Operating expenses | $116,869 | $169,152 |
| NOI | $190,681 | $138,398 |
| NOI per site | $4,767 | $3,460 |
| Value at a 9% cap rate | $2,118,678 | $1,537,750 |
The owner-run version isn't wrong. That $52,283 difference is real money the owner earns. It's just wages for work, not a return on the real estate, and a buyer won't pay a cap-rate multiple for it. Plug your own numbers into the RV park valuation calculator and try both expense ratios.
Also: NOI isn't cash in your pocket. Debt service comes out next. MMCG puts typical bank loans for RV parks at 65–75% loan-to-value with 1.25x debt coverage, so a lender wants NOI to be at least 1.25 times the annual loan payment.
Is an RV park a good investment?
It can be. Here's the honest scorecard.
In its favor
- Lenders have done well. MMCG's tabulation of SBA loan data (FY2010 through March 2026) shows RV park 7(a) loans charged off at 0.91% of disbursed dollars versus 4.66% for SBA's entire loan book.
- Expensive to build, which protects existing parks. MMCG, citing Outdoor Hospitality Weekly, puts development at roughly $30,000–$40,000 per site excluding land.
- Lots of operating upside in small parks. Flat rates, unmetered utilities and no online booking are fixable, and every $1 of NOI is worth about $11 at a 9% cap.
Against it
- It's a hospitality business. Payroll is the biggest expense line in Newmark's data. Someone has to answer the phone at 9pm.
- Seasonality. Three great months don't pay twelve months of insurance and taxes.
- Cost pressure. Insurance, utilities and labor have all moved faster than the 2015–2021 benchmarks.
- Paying for upside you haven't created. Buy on trailing, adjusted NOI at a cap rate that fits the park. Check current RV park cap rates before you make an offer.
The operator's take: Brian Zmich has done three RV parks of his own, two bought and one built from raw land, all cash, every closing under 45 days. The parks that made money weren't the prettiest. They were the ones where rates, utilities and labor were under control. Want us to benchmark your park against these numbers? Ask for a confidential review below, or read about our RV park consulting services.
FAQ: RV park revenue and profit
How much does an RV park make per site?
Newmark's study of 62 operating parks found average revenue of $4,645 per site per year and implied NOI of about $2,034 per site. MMCG Invest's 2026 outlook puts typical operating parks at $5,000 to $10,000 of revenue per site, with resort-style portfolios near the top of that range.
What is a typical RV park expense ratio?
It depends on who runs the park and how. MMCG Invest cites about 35 to 40 percent for owner-operated parks with unpaid labor and no reserve, 50 to 55 percent for parks with paid management and a reserve, and about 70 percent for transient-heavy franchise parks. Newmark's 62-park sample works out to about 56 percent from its dollar figures.
How much profit does a small RV park make?
Take revenue per site times your site count, then subtract operating expenses. A 40-site park doing $5,000 per site at a 55 percent expense ratio would net about $90,000 of NOI before debt service. Your result depends on occupancy, rates, utilities and whether you pay for labor.
Is an RV park a good investment?
It can be, if you buy at the right cap rate and can raise NOI. Lenders have done well on the asset class: MMCG Invest's tabulation of SBA data shows RV park 7(a) loans charged off at 0.91 percent of disbursements versus 4.66 percent for SBA's entire loan book. The risks are seasonality, labor, insurance and utility costs, and paying a price that assumes upside you have not created yet.
What occupancy do RV parks run?
It varies widely by market and season. An Outdoor Hospitality Industry benchmarking report cited by MMCG Invest found full-hookup RV sites averaged 68 percent occupancy during operating months, while rustic and tent sites averaged 25 percent. Campspot's network-wide U.S. occupancy figure was about 30 percent.
Sources
- Newmark, RV Park Expense Analysis (inaugural edition; 62 parks, 10,682 sites, 13 states, statements 2015–2021): revenue and expenses per site.
- MMCG Invest (Michal Mohelsky), US RV Park and Campground Market Outlook 2026: Full Campgrounds, Unforgiving Math (Aug 1, 2026): portfolio revenue per site, expense ratios by model, Innowave July 2026 rates, OHI and Campspot occupancy, ancillary share, reserves, utilities, insurance, loan terms, SBA charge-off tabulation, development cost. Figures MMCG attributes to Innowave, OHI, Campspot, Sun Communities and Equity LifeStyle are reported as MMCG presents them.