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

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 Lawrence maximize success.

What businesses are most in demand in Lawrence?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Lawrence are Indonesian Restaurants, South American Restaurants, and Bangladeshi Restaurants.

How much money could a business in Lawrence make?

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

What are the best businesses to open in Lawrence?

The top businesses to open in Lawrence include Indonesian Restaurant with a ~83% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~85%, followed by South American Restaurant and Bangladeshi Restaurant.

Is Lawrence a good place to start a business?

Lawrence is ranked number 63 across neighborhoods in and around Boston to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~75%. The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~2% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.

Business Survivability in Lawrence, Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Lawrence is an Indonesian Restaurant with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: an Indonesian Restaurant in Lawrence (~83% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #63 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston

Neighborhood average: ~75% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 10, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Lawrence 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 Lawrence is an Indonesian Restaurant with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~85% chance; next is a South American Restaurant with a ~83% chance, followed by a Bangladeshi Restaurant with a ~83% chance.

What does the data say about opening in Lawrence?

**How Lawrence compares:** Lawrence's profile most resembles **Mountain View (Portland)** and **Princeton Lakes (Atlanta)** based on the demographic and density signatures we use to model location quality — all three share less college-educated, more renters, and low high-earner share. Patterns from those neighborhoods are directly relevant for businesses evaluating Lawrence.

**Failure pattern in Lawrence.** Across the 93 business subtypes we track here, the strongest is **Indonesian Restaurant** at 83% average survivability — but the best and worst sites for this subtype within Lawrence span **68% to 95%**, a 27-point gap. **The dominant failure mode in Lawrence isn't subtype choice — it's site selection within the neighborhood.** Saturation context: American Restaurants are the most-concentrated tracked subtype in the area, with 3 competitors within a 0.5-mile radius.

Lawrence earns the #63 spot in Boston for new business survivability, with an average score of ~75% across all business types analyzed.

The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~2% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.
Even so, the weakest addresses in Lawrence for those same business types can underperform considerably. StreetSpring's address-level scoring exists precisely to identify which specific storefronts make the difference.
The 92.1% employment rate in Lawrence supports consumer spending, while a 2.3% vacancy rate reflects available storefronts — both of which shape the survivability landscape for any new business here.

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

Where in Lawrence should you open a business?

StreetSpring narrows the decision down to the exact address — showing which blocks in Lawrence produce the highest survivability scores for your concept. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for an Indonesian Restaurant in Lawrence:

The locations that show up in our top-10 lists

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Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 100 location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for an Indonesian Restaurant in Lawrence. Market dynamics shift in days, not months, so StreetSpring's live tool is the most current source for any specific address. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.

Check if this location is still available →

Top-ranked business types for Lawrence

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Lawrence

Opening an Indonesian Restaurant in Lawrence shows ~83% average survivability. Top locations reach ~85%; lower-end sites show ~82%.
South American Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~83% average in Lawrence. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~81%.
Bangladeshi Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Lawrence: ~83% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~81%.
Chinese Restaurant — ~81%–~84% survivability range, with an average of ~83% across Lawrence.
Opening a Deli in Lawrence shows ~83% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~81%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Lawrence

Brunch Restaurant (Ranked #6): ~83% average in Lawrence. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~81%.
Chicken Shop is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Lawrence: ~83% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~82%.
Pet Grooming Shop — ~81%–~85% survivability range, with an average of ~83% across Lawrence.
Opening a Kosher Restaurant in Lawrence shows ~83% average survivability. Top locations reach ~85%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
Japanese / Sushi Restaurant (Ranked #10): ~83% average in Lawrence. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~81%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Bangladeshi Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

The revenue potential of a Lawrence location

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, choosing an address that maximizes your Revenue Capture Score in Lawrence 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

Site selection requires evaluating the specific combination of your business type and the exact address — neighborhood-level data is only the starting point.
Where you open matters more than anything else.
The businesses that outperform their category averages most consistently are those that scored highest on survivability before opening.
StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.

The biggest opportunity gaps in Lawrence

The top businesses to open next in Lawrence:

Indonesian Restaurants — ~83% average survival rate, up to ~85% at best locations
South American Restaurants — ~83% average survival rate
Bangladeshi Restaurants — ~83% average survival rate

Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. We apply advanced machine learning to one of the largest commercial real estate outcome datasets in the country. With Lawrence's 92.1% employment rate factored in, the businesses best positioned to succeed here are those that benefit from a well-employed, spending-capable local consumer base. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Lawrence are available right now and how they rank.

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 Lawrence.

What type of business should you rent your Lawrence storefront to?

If you own commercial space in Lawrence, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Indonesian Restaurants, South American Restaurants, and Bangladeshi Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.

Where you open matters more than anything else.
StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.

Should you rent your Lawrence storefront to an Indonesian Restaurant?

Yes — our 2026 model places an Indonesian Restaurant at the top of the survivability rankings for Lawrence storefronts, with a best-case score of ~85% and a floor of ~82% at the most challenging addresses.

StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.

What should I consider when opening a business in Lawrence?

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

The Revenue Capture Score at a specific address explains more about likely business success than any other available metric.
StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
You can check the Survivability Score for any storefront in Lawrence at no cost using StreetSpring's live tool.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Using predictive analytics, StreetSpring helps entrepreneurs and landlords make smarter location decisions. Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Build-out budget rules-of-thumb for this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
Insurance + compliance	General liability quoted at a starter rate, then jumping 2-3x once you add property + workers' comp + business interruption.	Get binding quotes from 2 insurers before signing the lease. Most landlords require minimum coverage levels — read those terms first.
Workforce availability	Hiring radius is smaller than you think — many neighborhoods can't staff a full team at standard wages.	Pull BLS wage data for your industry in this metro. Walk through your staffing plan with a local restaurant/retail operator before signing.
Foot traffic seasonality	Looking at a peak-summer Tuesday and assuming year-round volume.	Walk the block at 3 different times across 2 different weeks. Ask neighboring tenants for their slow-season % drop.

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

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.

Treemap of Boston business mix by survivability score — Treemap of business mix in Boston — cell size = number of locations, color = average survivability score.

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Lawrence, Boston — Top business types scored in Lawrence, Boston — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Foot traffic measured at the city-block level using a combination of pedestrian-network analysis and Walk Score.

**BLS sector context:** Across the 11 industries StreetSpring tracks, 5-year survival rates from BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release range from **47.8%** (Active Life — gyms, studios) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical). Restaurants — the largest single category in our corpus — average **50.0%** nationally, and retail averages **47.9%**.

**Daytime vs. resident population (Lawrence):** US Census LEHD workplace data shows Lawrence carries a **0.1× daytime/resident ratio** (a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic), with median 1-mile workplace jobs of **9,778** (and **812** retail-sector jobs within that radius). A useful read on demand timing for any new storefront concept here.

Landmark anchor: Lawrence History Center sits in Lawrence as a history-museum anchor — the kind of cultural draw that shapes weekend foot-traffic patterns nearby.

**Economic indicators for Lawrence:** Three local signals — neighborhood unemployment **7.9%** (ACS; above the median we track), Boston-area average weekly wage **$1,631** (BLS QCEW; above our metro median), and **2,338** new residential units permitted in Suffolk County in 2025 (Census BPS). Use these to ground demand and labor-cost assumptions for your specific business plan.

Related Resources

Related:

Local Data Questions

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

What survival rates does the federal government track for small businesses?

BLS publishes 5-year cohort survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range is 47.8-61.8% — Active Life low, Health & Medical high, Restaurants and Retail in the middle around 47.9-50%. Location-specific factors drive most of the variance around these baselines.

Does Lawrence's education level matter for picking a business type?

Approximately 21% of Lawrence adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 58% across the Boston metro. Lower education attainment shifts demand toward value retail, services, and everyday needs.

Is Lawrence a high-employment or high-unemployment area?

ACS labor-force data shows an employment rate of about 92% in Lawrence, versus 96% across Boston. Below-average employment can constrain discretionary spending — value-oriented and essential services tend to fare better.

How does income in Lawrence compare to the rest of Boston?

ACS data shows median household income in Lawrence at roughly $83K, compared to $135K across the Boston metro. Lower median income tends to favor value-oriented retail, fast-casual food, and necessity-driven services.

Is Lawrence more a residential or work-destination neighborhood?

Lawrence's median commute (~26 min) is below the Boston metro median (32 min). A shorter commute usually means residents work close to home — that boosts mid-day weekday demand for cafes, lunch spots, and convenience services.