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

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 Roslindale maximize success.

How much money could a business in Roslindale make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Roslindale could lead to making ~3% more than selecting an average location, and ~5% more than one of the worst locations.

Is Roslindale a good place to start a business?

Roslindale is ranked number 82 across neighborhoods in and around Boston to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~73%. At the strongest addresses in Roslindale, the most viable business types score ~3% higher than the average survivability rate across all locations.

What businesses are most in demand in Roslindale?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Roslindale are Kosher Restaurants, Singaporean Restaurants, and Delis.

What are the best businesses to open in Roslindale?

The top businesses to open in Roslindale include Kosher Restaurant with a ~79% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~82%, followed by Singaporean Restaurant and Deli.

Business Survivability in Roslindale, Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Roslindale is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~79% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Kosher Restaurant in Roslindale (~79% average survival rate, ~82% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #82 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston

Neighborhood average: ~73% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Reviewed: April 28, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder

In this article:

Summary
Is Roslindale 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 Roslindale is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~79% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~82% chance; next is a Singaporean Restaurant with a ~79% chance, followed by a Deli with a ~79% chance.

Should you open a business in Roslindale?

**Where else does Roslindale look like?** The strongest demographic and amenity-density matches are **Marina Area (Los Angeles)** and **Wrigleyville (Chicago)**, sharing older housing stock, longer commutes, and low poverty. If you've worked in either of those neighborhoods, expect Roslindale to behave similarly on the dimensions that drive survival.

**What goes wrong in Roslindale.** Across 93 subtypes we track, **Deli averages 79%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Delis range from **71% to 87%** across Roslindale — a 16-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).

Out of all neighborhoods analyzed in and around Boston, Roslindale ranks #82 for business survivability with a ~73% average Survivability Score.

At the strongest addresses in Roslindale, the most viable business types score ~3% higher than the average survivability rate across all locations.
But these same concepts at less optimal addresses within Roslindale can score meaningfully below average. Survivability data shows that even the highest-demand business types fail at the wrong location.
The 94.9% employment rate in Roslindale supports consumer spending, while a 4.9% 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.

How to choose a specific location in Roslindale

The right address in Roslindale can mean a 20-point survivability difference from an average one — StreetSpring identifies exactly which addresses are worth pursuing. Here is the top survivability address for a Kosher Restaurant in Roslindale, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

The highlighted area represents the address in Roslindale that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Kosher Restaurant survivability. Block-level dynamics move daily, so the live StreetSpring tool is the most accurate source for a specific address right now. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates 100 inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility data.

Check if this location is still available →

What kinds of businesses thrive in Roslindale?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Roslindale

Kosher Restaurant — ~77%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~79% across Roslindale.
Opening a Singaporean Restaurant in Roslindale shows ~79% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
Deli (Ranked #3): ~79% average in Roslindale. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
Indian Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Roslindale: ~78% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~76%.
Japanese / Sushi Restaurant — ~76%–~80% survivability range, with an average of ~78% across Roslindale.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Roslindale

Opening a Filipino Restaurant in Roslindale shows ~78% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #7): ~78% average in Roslindale. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
Gym is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Roslindale: ~78% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~76%.
Dance Club — ~76%–~80% survivability range, with an average of ~78% across Roslindale.
Opening a Portuguese Restaurant in Roslindale shows ~78% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~76%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Deli — See how this compares to other cities →

What you could earn opening a business in Roslindale

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting a storefront that StreetSpring ranks in the top tier for your business type in Roslindale could lead to you making ~3% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

StreetSpring calculates survivability for each business type separately at each address — so the best location for your concept may differ from the neighborhood's overall top-ranked site.
Survivability data consistently shows location accounts for more variance in business outcomes than any other controllable factor.
Our data shows that the single highest-impact decision a business owner makes is the address they choose — and Survivability Score is the best guide to that decision.
StreetSpring analyzes your specific address against comparable businesses to forecast success.

What Roslindale needs more of (per our model)

The top businesses to open next in Roslindale:

Kosher Restaurants — ~79% average survival rate, up to ~82% at best locations
Singaporean Restaurants — ~79% average survival rate
Delis — ~79% average survival rate

Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points. StreetSpring's model accounts for Roslindale's 94.9% employment rate when projecting survivability — businesses reliant on discretionary spend benefit disproportionately in well-employed neighborhoods. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in Roslindale. StreetSpring's weekly updates mean you can always see the current score for any available storefront.

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 Roslindale.

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

Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Roslindale, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Kosher Restaurants, Singaporean Restaurants, and Delis.

Survivability data consistently shows location accounts for more variance in business outcomes than any other controllable factor.
StreetSpring analyzes your specific address against comparable businesses to forecast success. Use StreetSpring to see the survivability score for any business type at your exact storefront address before you sign a lease.

Should you rent your Roslindale storefront to a Kosher Restaurant?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Kosher Restaurant ranks as the top tenant type for your Roslindale storefront — best-case locations show a ~82% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~77%.

StreetSpring analyzes your specific address against comparable businesses to forecast success.

What should I consider when opening a business in Roslindale?

In Roslindale, the single most important factor in your site-selection decision is the Survivability Score of the specific address you're evaluating.

Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes.
These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
StreetSpring offers free access to its survivability scores — see how your shortlisted Roslindale addresses rank right now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Our analysis covers businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 major US metros. Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Lease structure questions to ask first

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
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.
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.
Parking & visibility	Storefront looks great from the sidewalk but is invisible from the road.	Drive past at 30 mph from both directions. Count street parking + nearest paid lot capacity at peak hours.

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 Roslindale, Boston — Top business types scored in Roslindale, 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.

**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.

**Roslindale at a glance.** Roslindale is a primarily residential neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, bordered by Jamaica Plain, Hyde Park, West Roxbury and Mattapan. It is served by an MBTA Commuter Rail line, several MBTA bus lines and the MBTA Orange Line in nearby Jamaica Plain. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roslindale))

**Daytime worker density (Roslindale):** LEHD LODES Workplace Area Characteristics show a **0.1:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** for Roslindale — a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic. Median workplace jobs within a 1-mile radius across Roslindale: **4,474**, of which roughly **554** are retail-sector. Higher daytime ratios favor weekday-lunch / commuter-traffic businesses; balanced ratios favor residential + weekend demand patterns.

Landmark anchor: Bay State Model Railroad Museum is Roslindale's museum landmark, shaping weekend visitor traffic for nearby storefronts.

**Economic indicators for Roslindale:** Three local signals — neighborhood unemployment **5.1%** (ACS; in line with 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:

Neighborhood-Specific Questions

More questions answered with neighborhood-specific data from our 2026 corpus.

Does ownership stability in Roslindale support steady local spending?

Home ownership in Roslindale is approximately 60%, versus the Boston metro median of 56%. The ownership profile is typical for the metro.

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

ACS data shows median household income in Roslindale at roughly $126K, compared to $135K across the Boston metro. Income is close to the metro median, so business-type fit depends more on local demographics and competition.

How does economic hardship in Roslindale compare to the metro?

ACS data shows 7% of Roslindale residents below the federal poverty line, versus 8% metro-wide. The poverty rate tracks the metro median; business-type fit depends more on competition and demographic specifics.

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

BLS Business Employment Dynamics data (March 2025 release) shows 5-year survival rates spanning 47.8% (Active Life) to 61.8% (Health & Medical) across the 11 sectors StreetSpring tracks. Restaurants — the most studied category — survive at 50% nationally, well above the often-cited "80% fail" myth.

How big is the Roslindale market in terms of resident population?

Approximately 38.9K people live in Roslindale, which puts it in the top quintile by population among Boston neighborhoods. A larger resident base supports a broader range of business types and can absorb more direct competitors.