Here are the US counties with the most hotel rooms

Have you ever wondered why some areas seem to have a ton of hotels, resorts, and entertainment options that have only 20,000 people while there are areas that have 50,000, 100,000, or even 200,000 that have nowhere near as many?? I have. I have been confused at why certain towns don't have certain places because the town that certain size I live near has this or doesn't have this. I know these reasons are because they are near certain tourist attractions, they have a certain type of scenery that is unique. The reason I bring this up is because I love going on vacations and doing fun things while on vacation. I often look for fun theme parks to visit, beautiful places to see, the fun main streets to walk around, and what areas have the best shopping. And because I thoroughly enjoy visiting the tourist towns and cities and using their amenities, I started going on a pursuit to find more tourist towns that I might have not known about. I started trying to look for a quantitative measure to see how large these cities feel in a certain area. I believe the number of hotel rooms is a good indicator of how large tourist destinations are. 

I started doing this research back in May of 2021, because my previous methods of figuring out tourist destinations didn't seem as satisfactory. Looking at areas with the most visitors, the revenue tourism brings per county looking at the state tourism website, and other methods weren't always there for use in all the counties, and may not always paint an accurate picture of how large these areas are. So I started doing this project, first using an extremely tedious method, going on Hotels.com searching all the hotel properties in each county going through each one to find the number of hotel rooms. Which was extremely time consuming and when I had a higher load of college classes to do in the summer of 2022, this project was abandoned for a year. Until I figured out another method. I realized that since I had studied the number of hotel rooms of the properties from before, I could calculate the number from analyzing the type of hotels operating in the area. Before I go on, here are the different hotel types and the number of rooms these properties usually have:

Bed and Breakfasts- range from 2-10 rooms

Mom and Pop Motels- range from 10-30 rooms

Budget Hotels and Motels- range from 30-70 rooms

Midscale Hotels- range from 70-150 rooms

Large hotels- range from 150-250 rooms

Really large hotels- exceed 250 rooms.

With the information listed, analyzing what types are most common in the area, I could multiply the number of properties by the average number of rooms, which could be as low as 25 for a small county exclusively featuring mom and pop motels, to 140 for a large city with a large number of large hotels and also includes mid scale and small hotels. And so, in November of 2023, I was finally able to research all the major US counties in all 50 states, using this method. So, I hope you enjoy what I am about to show you.

Here are some of my findings when it comes to the number of hotel rooms:

The top 100 counties with the most hotel rooms in the United States:

County	State	Population	Number of hotel rooms	Population equivalent (ROOMS)	Population equivalent (divided by both real pop. and pop. Measured by rooms)	People per hotel room
Clark	NEVADA	2322985	169100	10146000	6234493	13.73734
Orange/Osceola	FLORIDA	1939740	126,254	7575240	4757490	15.36379
Los Angeles	CALIFORNIA	9818605	98600	165780	87775	99.58017
New York	NEW YORK	1726765	78580	4714800	3220783	21.97461
Cook	ILLINOIS	5109292	74910	144300	77620.5	68.20574
Maricopa	ARIZONA	4551524	65129	1110900	599928.5	69.88475
Harris	TEXAS	4780913	62975	14400	7787.5	75.91763
San Diego	CALIFORNIA	3095313	62304	357000	193763	49.68081
Miami-Dade	FLORIDA	2763366	58,125	594,000	323,382	47.54178
Orange	CALIFORNIA	3010232	55081	28740	15693	54.651
King	WASHINGTON	2266789	43490	170100	93373.5	52.12207
Fulton/DeKalb	GEORGIA	1896678	43290	957480	529203.5	43.81331
Dallas	TEXAS	2600840	41455	96900	53559	62.73887
Broward	FLORIDA	2003268	37,828	134,640	74,421	52.95728
Honolulu	HAWAII	995638	37210	2232600	1614119	26.75727
San Francisco	CALIFORNIA	873695	34000	2040000	1456848	25.69691
Total	RHODE ISLAND	8370119	193783	634500	360154	43.19326
Bexar	TEXAS	2059530	32440	43140	24521.5	63.48736
Davidson	TENNESSEE	742644	30800	1848000	1295322	24.11182
Franklin	OHIO	1371924	28470	102420	58833	48.18841
Pinellas	FLORIDA	971875	28,320	1699200	1335538	34.31762
Travis	TEXAS	1326436	28120	105000	60938	47.17055
Santa Clara	CALIFORNIA	1781642	27521	1014780	589565.5	64.73755
Tarrant	TEXAS	2154595	27370	16200	9414	78.72104
Orleans Parish	LOUISIANA	369749	25270	1516200	942974.5	14.63194
City and County of Denver	COLORADO	713252	25132	1507920	1110586	28.38023
Atlantic	NEW JERSEY	274528	25037	1502220	888374	10.96489
Riverside	CALIFORNIA	2189641	24639	104760	61506	88.86891
Hennepin	MINNESOTA	1260121	24290	246300	144668	51.87818
Washington D.C.	DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA	689545	23,800	1428000	1058773	28.97248
Palm Beach	FLORIDA	1543809	21,720	281,400	166,097	71.07776
Saint Louis County+City	MISSOURI	1276992	21640	76500	45204	59.01072
Hillsborough	FLORIDA	1528924	21,280	49,500	29,253	71.84793
Mecklenburg	NORTH CAROLINA	1174237	19700	1502220	888374	59.60594
Wayne	MICHIGAN	1757043	19634	227580	134637.5	89.48981
Alameda	CALIFORNIA	1510271	19162	294720	174383	78.81594
Taney/Stone	MISSOURI	88957	18515	1110900	599928.5	4.804591
Horry	SOUTH CAROLINA	375551	18020	1081200	728375.5	20.84079
Cuyahoga	OHIO	1260227	17950	143460	85337	70.20763
Salt Lake	UTAH	1186257	17927	160560	95539	66.17153
Multnomah	OREGON	795083	17889	74400	44279.5	44.44536
Marion	INDIANA	999346	17660	131640	78790	56.58811
Suffolk	MASSACHUSETTS	820709	17410	126180	75593.5	47.14009
San Bernardino	CALIFORNIA	2171602.854	17370	72360	43548	125.0203
Washoe	NEVADA	496745	17268	1036080	766412.5	28.76679
Oklahoma	OKLAHOMA	802559	17000	704040	424050	47.20935
Maui	HAWAII	164351	16913	1014780	589565.5	9.717436
Shelby	TENNESSEE	930374	16380	44460	26901.5	56.79939
Wake	NORTH CAROLINA	1197936	16380	208980	126470.5	73.13407
Chatham	GEORGIA	304339	16200	972000	638169.5	18.78636
Charleston	SOUTH CAROLINA	425644	16055	963300	694472	26.51162
Pima	ARIZONA	1057597	16032	35580	21736.5	65.96788
Sevier	TENNESSEE	100927	15958	957480	529203.5	6.324539
Volusia	FLORIDA	571228	15,680	940800	756014	36.43036
Philadelphia	PENNSYLVANIA	1627134	15640	10146000	6234493	104.0367
Milwaukee	WISCONSIN	918661	15625	13500	8318.5	58.7943
San Mateo	CALIFORNIA	718451	15542	36900	22844	46.22642
Allegheny	PENNSYLVANIA	1258747	15400	1516200	942974.5	81.73682
Bernalillo	NEW MEXICO	672508	15226	275280	171280	44.1684
Richmond/Chesterfield/Henrico	VIRGINIA	954995	15215	201180	125404	62.76668
Jefferson	KENTUCKY	795530	15070	49380	30813	52.78898
Oakland	MICHIGAN	1269431	14925	219000	137398	85.054
Sacramento	CALIFORNIA	1418788	14620	7575240	4757490	97.04432
DuPage	ILLINOIS	920901	14170	66780	42285	64.98948
Sarasota/Mantee	FLORIDA	873148	13,840	7,200	4,578	63.08873
Duval	FLORIDA	1034957	13,345	26,520	16,924	77.55392
Collin	TEXAS	1158696	13187	71460	45668	87.86654
Fairfax(/city)/Falls Church	VIRGINIA	1210860	13090	103200	65971	92.50267
Jefferson/Shelby	ALABAMA	911005	12935	410040	262250.5	70.42945
Hamilton	OHIO	839117	12090	92400	59393	69.40587
Queens	NEW YORK	2457886	11890	607500	392312	206.7188
Coconino	ARIZONA	144060	11734	704040	424050	12.27714
Cobb	GEORGIA	789570	11610	75480	48900	68.00775
Richland/Lexington	SOUTH CAROLINA	729110	11360	37740	24488.5	64.18222
Harrison	MISSISSIPPI	215077	11022	661320	438198.5	19.51343
Monterey	CALIFORNIA	415057	10855	651300	533178.5	38.23648
Okaloosa/Walton	FLORIDA	302306	10,725	643500	472903	28.18704
Monroe	FLORIDA	85808	10,575	634500	360154	8.114232
Lee	FLORIDA	803443	10,560	65,280	42,846	76.08362
Barnstable	MASSACHUSETTS	232929	10450	627000	429964.5	22.28986
Dane	WISCONSIN	568203	10440	77700	51322	54.42557
Jackson	MISSOURI	716531	10440	95580	63155.5	68.63324
Suffolk	NEW YORK	1535691	10290	661320	438198.5	149.2411
El Paso	COLORADO	740567	10210	208800	138985.5	72.5335
Santa Barbara	CALIFORNIA	423895	10180	59460	39716.5	41.63998
Sauk/Columbia	WISCONSIN	123970	10140	608400	366185	12.22584
Bay	FLORIDA	177124	10,125	607500	392312	17.49373
Tulsa	OKLAHOMA	677358	9991	111000	74606	67.79682
Johnson	KANSAS	619195	9951	97620	65652.5	62.2244
El Paso	TEXAS	868763	9908	1081200	728375.5	87.68298
Kent	MICHIGAN	659083	9904	180000	121502	66.54715
Worcester	MARYLAND	52763	9900	594000	323381.5	5.329596
Kern	CALIFORNIA	839631	9870	92520	62661.5	85.069
Nueces	TEXAS	351674	9779	586740	469207	35.96216
Polk	IOWA	501089	9600	114000	77672.5	52.19677
Hinds/Rankin/Madison	MISSISSIPPI	497461	9460	90000	61323.5	52.58573
Douglas	NEBRASKA	586327	9443	4714800	3220783	62.09118
York	MAINE	216424	9425	565500	390962	22.96276
Montgomery/Greene	OHIO	707840	9393	129900	89041	75.35825
Brevard	FLORIDA	625584	9,360	627,000	429,965	66.8359

 

Number of hotel rooms in the 58 California Counties:

County	State	Population	Number of hotel rooms	Population equivalent (ROOMS)	Population equivalent (divided by both real pop. and pop. Measured by rooms)	People per hotel room
Los Angeles	CALIFORNIA	9818605	98600	1110900	599929	99.58017
San Diego	CALIFORNIA	3095313	62304	96900	53559	49.68081
Orange	CALIFORNIA	3010232	55081	554400	324532	54.651
San Francisco	CALIFORNIA	873695	34000	2040000	1456848	25.69691
Santa Clara	CALIFORNIA	1781642	27521	70680	49810.5	64.73755
Riverside	CALIFORNIA	2189641	24639	49140	34916	88.86891
Alameda	CALIFORNIA	1510271	19162	58500	43605	78.81594
San Bernardino	CALIFORNIA	2171603	17370	182400	137091	125.0203
San Mateo	CALIFORNIA	718451	15542	26400	20363.5	46.22642
Sacramento	CALIFORNIA	1418788	14620	7200	5862.5	97.04432
Monterey	CALIFORNIA	415057	10855	651300	533178.5	38.23648
Santa Barbara	CALIFORNIA	423895	10180	54600	45500	41.63998
Kern	CALIFORNIA	839631	9870	142800	120891	85.069
San Luis Obispo	CALIFORNIA	269637	9144	548640	409138.5	29.48786
Fresno	CALIFORNIA	930450	8341	96000	84916	111.5514
Ventura	CALIFORNIA	823318	7252	1020000	911279.5	113.5298
Sonoma	CALIFORNIA	483878	6991	190080	170423.5	69.21442
Contra Costa	CALIFORNIA	1049025	5964	205200	187487.5	175.8929
Napa	CALIFORNIA	136484	5539	332340	234412	24.64055
Placer	CALIFORNIA	348432	4857	91020	85617.5	71.73811
El Dorado	CALIFORNIA	181058	4797	287820	234439	37.74401
San Joaquin	CALIFORNIA	704379	3931	24000	23285.5	179.1857
Solano	CALIFORNIA	413344	3789	252420	250143	109.0905
Shasta	CALIFORNIA	177223	3135	54600	56475.5	56.53046
Tulare	CALIFORNIA	442179	3068	22800	23678	144.1261
Stanislaus	CALIFORNIA	514453	2887	850200	885550.5	178.1964
Santa Cruz	CALIFORNIA	262382	2778	26640	28669	94.44996
Mendocino	CALIFORNIA	87841	2697	161820	124830.5	32.56989
Yolo	CALIFORNIA	200849	2667	55800	62877.5	75.30896
Humboldt	CALIFORNIA	132646	2508	1149720	1329996	52.88915
Marin	CALIFORNIA	252409	2439	2994360	3462288	103.4887
Mono	CALIFORNIA	14202	2244	134640	74421	6.328877
Merced	CALIFORNIA	255793	2082	424200	499666.5	122.8593
Butte	CALIFORNIA	220000	1928	42900	50893	114.1079
Madera	CALIFORNIA	150865	1913	895500	1082466	78.86304
Imperial	CALIFORNIA	174528	1805	81900	101591	96.69141
Mariposa	CALIFORNIA	18251	1746	104760	61505.5	10.45304
Siskiyou	CALIFORNIA	44900	1467	88020	66460	30.60668
Inyo	CALIFORNIA	18546	1431	85860	52203	12.96017
Nevada	CALIFORNIA	98764	1198	471360	616210.5	82.44073
Tuolumne	CALIFORNIA	54539	1141	138720	184427.5	47.7993
Tehama	CALIFORNIA	63463	1076	120120	159797.5	58.98048
Kings	CALIFORNIA	152982	980	67500	91933	156.1041
Lake	CALIFORNIA	64665	725	72000	101080.5	89.1931
Del Norte	CALIFORNIA	28610	715	42900	35755	40.01399
Calaveras	CALIFORNIA	40349	620	268800	387761	65.07903
Sutter	CALIFORNIA	94737	469	25740	37323.5	201.9979
Amador	CALIFORNIA	38091	467	183600	279117	81.56531
Yuba	CALIFORNIA	72155	458	12480	19240.5	157.5437
Colusa	CALIFORNIA	21419	413	313500	532765.5	51.86199
Glenn	CALIFORNIA	28122	351	19500	35113.5	80.11966
Lassen	CALIFORNIA	34895	350	27480	49817.5	99.7
Plumas	CALIFORNIA	20007	312	4860	9323	64.125
San Benito	CALIFORNIA	64209	279	357840	703432.5	230.1398
Alpine	CALIFORNIA	1175	240	14400	7787.5	4.895833
Modoc	CALIFORNIA	9686	205	235860	470119.5	47.24878
Trinity	CALIFORNIA	13786	81	28140	61438.5	170.1975
Sierra	CALIFORNIA	3240	77	16740	40474.5	42.07792

For comparison, The United States has 331,449,281 people and 5,290,000 hotel rooms. Which is 1 hotel room per 63 people in this country. The county with the fewest people per hotel room of the ones researched is Garfield County, Utah with 1 per 3 people and the one with the most is Clinton County, Missouri with 1 per 5,332 people.

Well, that's all for now. If you want more information about this subject, my Excel spreadsheet US Counties Hotel Rooms has all of the counties I have researched. So if your county didn't make it on there, it may be in this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1vf7FSaTEQMxa910PuoHDO1q9dqeEimJC/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=104587737052444755566&rtpof=true. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this blogpost and God bless!!

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Hebrews 13:2