Business Survivability in Somerville, Boston
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Somerville is an Indonesian Restaurant with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.
Quick Summary
- Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
- Best business: an Indonesian Restaurant in Somerville (~80% average survival rate, ~81% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #43 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston
- Neighborhood average: ~79% two-year survival across all business types
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: September 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Somerville 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 Somerville is an Indonesian Restaurant with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~81% chance; next is a Pet Boarding Facility with a 79.97% chance, followed by a Pet Store with a 79.96% chance.
Is Somerville a good place to start a business?
Out of all neighborhoods analyzed in and around Boston, Somerville ranks #43 for business survivability with a ~79% average Survivability Score.
- The top business types in Somerville, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
- Yet even the strongest business types in Somerville see survivability scores drop significantly at the worst addresses. No business type is immune to the consequences of poor location selection within this neighborhood.
- With a 95.0% employment rate, Somerville has the consumer spending foundation that supports a range of brick-and-mortar business types.
Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
How can you find the best location to open a business in Somerville?
StreetSpring can pinpoint which exact blocks in Somerville maximize a business's chances of success. Below is the best location for an Indonesian Restaurant in Somerville:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for an Indonesian Restaurant in Somerville. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Somerville?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting 2+ years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesian Restaurant | 79.98% |
| 2 | Pet Boarding Facility | 79.97% |
| 3 | Pet Store | 79.96% |
| 4 | Dance Club | 79.95% |
| 5 | Japanese / Sushi Restaurant | 79.34% |
| 6 | Music Store | 79.33% |
| 7 | Deli | 79.13% |
| 8 | Pet Grooming Shop | 79.12% |
| 9 | Taiwanese Restaurant | 79.11% |
| 10 | Veterinary Clinic | 79.10% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Somerville
- Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #1): 79.98% average in Somerville. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
- Pet Boarding Facility is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Somerville: 79.97% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~80%.
- Pet Store — ~80%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 79.96% across Somerville.
- Opening a Dance Club in Somerville shows 79.95% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurant (Ranked #5): 79.34% average in Somerville. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Somerville
- Music Store is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Somerville: 79.33% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~79%.
- Deli — ~78%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 79.13% across Somerville.
- Opening a Pet Grooming Shop in Somerville shows 79.12% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
- Taiwanese Restaurant (Ranked #9): 79.11% average in Somerville. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
- Veterinary Clinic is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Somerville: 79.10% chance on average, best at ~86%, challenging at ~84%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Indonesian Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- Pet Boarding Facility — See how this compares to other cities →
- Pet Store — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Somerville make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, going with one of the top-scoring locations in the neighborhood rather than an average one in Somerville 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
- 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.
- Nothing influences a business's future more than its location.
- Businesses in high-scoring locations consistently outperform those in average or low-scoring sites.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.
What businesses should open next in Somerville?
The top businesses to open next in Somerville:
- Indonesian Restaurants — 79.98% average survival rate, up to ~81% at best locations
- Pet Boarding Facilities — 79.97% average survival rate
- Pet Stores — 79.96% average survival rate
Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. Somerville's combination of 95.0% employment and 4.3% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. These rankings are a snapshot; StreetSpring recalculates survivability for every location in Somerville weekly, incorporating the latest competitive openings, closures, and spending data — check current locations now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Boston Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Boston Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Indonesian Restaurant survivability across Boston neighborhoods
Visual Data
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Somerville.
What type of business should you rent your Somerville storefront to?
For landlords in Somerville, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Indonesian Restaurants, Pet Boarding Facilities, and Pet Stores as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Nothing influences a business's future more than its location.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category. With StreetSpring, you can rank every potential tenant type by survivability score at your property address before committing to a lease.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Boston Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Somerville storefront to an Indonesian Restaurant?
StreetSpring's data confirms an Indonesian Restaurant as the highest-survivability tenant type for Somerville. The best addresses show a ~81% chance of lasting more than 2 years; less optimal addresses score around ~79%.
- 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 Somerville?
Survivability Score is the North Star metric for any location decision in Somerville: it aggregates 100+ factors so you don't have to evaluate each one individually.
- The most important driver of a high Survivability Score is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects.
- Every survivability score is produced by StreetSpring's private prediction engine — not available through any other platform.
- You can access the most up-to-date forecasts with StreetSpring for free.
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.
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.