Is Davis Square a good place to start a business?

Davis Square is ranked number 17 across neighborhoods in and around Boston to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~78%. The top business types in Davis Square, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.

How much money could a business in Davis Square make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Davis Square could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~4% more than one of the worst locations.

What businesses are most in demand in Davis Square?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Davis Square are Hot Pot Restaurants, Watch & Repair Shops, and Pet Stores.

What are the best businesses to open in Davis Square?

The top businesses to open in Davis Square include Hot Pot Restaurant with a ~88% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~89%, followed by Watch Store or Repair Shop and Pet Store.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Davis Square?

StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility patterns to pinpoint which blocks in Davis Square maximize success.

Business Survivability in Davis Square, Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Davis Square is a Hot Pot Restaurant with a ~88% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Hot Pot Restaurant in Davis Square (~88% average survival rate, ~89% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #17 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston

Neighborhood average: ~78% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 14, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Davis Square a good place to start a business?
How to find the best location
Best businesses to open
How much money could a business make?
What businesses should open next?
Frequently Asked Questions

Summary

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Davis Square is a Hot Pot Restaurant with a ~88% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~89% chance; next is a Watch Store or Repair Shop with a ~87% chance, followed by a Pet Store with a ~87% chance.

How business-friendly is Davis Square right now?

**Where else does Davis Square look like?** The strongest demographic and amenity-density matches are **Inner Sunset (San Francisco)** and **Fairmount (Philadelphia)**, sharing high high-earner share, higher-income, and more college-educated. If you've worked in either of those neighborhoods, expect Davis Square to behave similarly on the dimensions that drive survival.

**What goes wrong in Davis Square.** Across 93 subtypes we track, **Hot Pot Restaurant averages 88%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Hot Pot Restaurants range from **83% to 91%** across Davis Square — a 8-point window where the address, not the concept, decides the outcome. For competitive density: Italian Restaurants are the most-concentrated tracked subtype (17 within 0.5 miles).

In Boston's neighborhood survivability rankings, Davis Square comes in at #17, with an average Survivability Score of ~78% across all business types.

The top business types in Davis Square, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
However, these same business types at the worst locations in Davis Square can sometimes provide a projected Survivability Score considerably below the average. Thus, even the businesses that are most in need in Davis Square could have trouble succeeding if the best location is not selected.
StreetSpring's model incorporates Davis Square's 10.3% vacancy rate as a direct input: higher vacancy concentrations suppress foot traffic and reduce survivability for nearby businesses.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

How to choose a specific location in Davis Square

The right address in Davis Square can mean a 20-point survivability difference from an average one — StreetSpring identifies exactly which addresses are worth pursuing. StreetSpring's 2026 model ranks this area #1 in Davis Square for a Hot Pot Restaurant:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Hot Pot Restaurant in Davis Square. These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. The model evaluates 100 factors — from primary and secondary competition to forecasted spend, mobility flows, and local market share potential.

Check if this location is still available →

The strongest business categories for Davis Square

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Davis Square

Hot Pot Restaurant is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Davis Square: ~88% chance on average, best at ~89%, challenging at ~85%.
Watch Store or Repair Shop — ~84%–~90% survivability range, with an average of ~87% across Davis Square.
Opening a Pet Store in Davis Square shows ~87% average survivability. Top locations reach ~89%; lower-end sites show ~85%.
Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #4): ~86% average in Davis Square. Best-case storefronts: ~88%. Challenging locations: ~84%.
Dance Club is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Davis Square: ~85% chance on average, best at ~87%, challenging at ~83%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Davis Square

South American Restaurant — ~83%–~87% survivability range, with an average of ~85% across Davis Square.
Opening a Music Store in Davis Square shows ~85% average survivability. Top locations reach ~87%; lower-end sites show ~82%.
Bangladeshi Restaurant (Ranked #8): ~84% average in Davis Square. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~83%.
Filipino Restaurant is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Davis Square: ~84% chance on average, best at ~86%, challenging at ~83%.
Polish Restaurant — ~83%–~86% survivability range, with an average of ~84% across Davis Square.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

The revenue potential of a Davis Square location

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Davis Square could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~4% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
Across every business type we've analyzed, location quality as measured by Survivability Score is the strongest predictor of financial performance.
StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.

Which business types are most underserved in Davis Square?

The top businesses to open next in Davis Square:

Hot Pot Restaurants — ~88% average survival rate, up to ~89% at best locations
Watch & Repair Shops — ~87% average survival rate
Pet Stores — ~87% average survival rate

These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. Our analysis covers every major metro in the country — 24 cities and 180 million++ consumers. Davis Square sits at 97.4% employment and 10.3% commercial vacancy — conditions that set the ceiling and floor for Revenue Capture potential across all business types here. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in Davis Square today may score differently than it did last month — check StreetSpring's live tool for the current picture.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Boston Business Survivability Rankings
See the Boston Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Davis Square.

What type of business should you rent your Davis Square storefront to?

StreetSpring's 2026 model places Hot Pot Restaurants, Watch & Repair Shops, and Pet Stores at the top of the survivability rankings for Davis Square — making them the safest long-term tenant bets for landlords here.

Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types. Rather than guessing which tenant type will last, landlords can verify survivability for each category at their exact address using StreetSpring.

Should you rent your Davis Square storefront to a Hot Pot Restaurant?

Yes, StreetSpring's analysis finds that a Hot Pot Restaurant would be the best type of business to rent your storefront to, with a potential ~89% chance of lasting more than 2 years; however depending on your location, the chances could drop to a ~85% chance.

StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.

What should I consider when opening a business in Davis Square?

The Survivability Score for your specific address in Davis Square is the most reliable signal you have before signing a lease — prioritize it above foot traffic estimates and demographic summaries.

A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
The most current survivability data for Davis Square is free to access on StreetSpring — no account required to check your specific address.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Powered by machine learning models trained on real business outcomes, StreetSpring delivers actionable insights. Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Lease structure questions to ask first

Consideration	Common pitfall	What to verify before signing
Outdoor seating / sidewalk use	Signing assuming you can add patio seating, then learning the city requires a separate sidewalk-cafe permit with long lead times.	Check the city's sidewalk-cafe permit process up front. Confirm landlord allows outdoor build-out in the lease language.
Permitted hours	Late-night or early-morning ops blocked by zoning, neighborhood association, or shared-wall restrictions.	Confirm the permitted hours-of-operation are in your lease AND in the local code. Pull recent variances or complaints from the zoning portal.
Permits & licensing	Assuming a 30-day permit timeline, hitting 90+ days, paying rent on a non-operating storefront.	Call the local zoning office before signing. Confirm your use is already permitted; if not, factor a 2-3 month variance timeline.

Full dataset for Boston: /resources/data/boston-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Visual Data

Bubble chart of business subtypes in Boston by survivability score and location density — Every business subtype in Boston plotted by score vs location count — bubble size shows market depth.

Dumbbell chart comparing best vs worst locations for businesses in Boston — Best vs worst neighborhood per business type in Boston — the gap shows how much location choice matters for each subtype.

How we measure this: Annual rent / estimated annual revenue = rent burden ratio. Industry rule of thumb: above 12% is uncomfortable, above 18% is fatal.

**Why these baselines matter:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025) reports 5-year survival rates of **47.8-61.8%** across the industries StreetSpring covers. Restaurants survive at **50.0%** nationally — not 20%. The location decision is what separates the 30% above the baseline from the 30% below.

**Daytime vs. resident population (Davis Square):** US Census LEHD workplace data shows Davis Square carries a **2.0× daytime/resident ratio** (a balanced mixed-use pattern), with median 1-mile workplace jobs of **17,595** (and **1,493** retail-sector jobs within that radius). A useful read on demand timing for any new storefront concept here.

Landmark anchor: Davis Square's cultural-anchor is Museum of Bad Art, an art-museum that pulls weekend and tourist foot-traffic into the surrounding blocks.

**Three local anchors for Davis Square:** **2.6%** neighborhood unemployment (below the 24-metro median, ACS), **$1,631/week** average wage in the Boston area (above our metro median, BLS QCEW), and **2,338** new residential units permitted in Suffolk County in 2025 (Census BPS). These three together describe the demand-and-labor environment any new Davis Square business operates within.

Related Resources

Related:

Local Data Questions

Further questions, with answers anchored on this neighborhood's actual data.

How big is the Davis Square market in terms of resident population?

Davis Square has approximately 9K residents, putting it in the lower-middle range among Boston neighborhoods we track. The resident base is smaller than typical; survivability is highest for businesses that draw beyond the immediate neighborhood.

Is Davis Square's population younger or older than the Boston average?

ACS data puts Davis Square's median age at 32, compared to the Boston metro median of 41. That's younger by 8 years — A younger profile tends to drive demand for nightlife, fitness, and casual dining over family-oriented services.

What share of Davis Square residents have a bachelor's degree or higher?

ACS data shows 81% of adults in Davis Square with a bachelor's degree or higher, versus the metro median of 58%. A highly educated population tends to support specialty retail, premium services, and professional offices.

What's the typical commute pattern in Davis Square?

Davis Square's median commute (~33 min) is above the Boston metro median (32 min). Commute patterns are typical for the metro, so foot traffic timing should not be a primary differentiator.

What's the vacancy picture in Davis Square?

ACS data shows a housing vacancy rate of approximately 10% in Davis Square, versus the Boston metro median of 5%. Elevated vacancy can mean softening demand or short-term opportunity to negotiate rent — verify against commercial-corridor activity before committing.