Business Survivability in Union Square, Boston
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Union Square is a Deli 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: a Deli in Union Square (~80% average survival rate, ~80% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #41 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 Union 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 Union Square is a Deli with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~80% chance; next is a Hot Pot Restaurant with a 79.21% chance, followed by a Singaporean Restaurant with a 79.13% chance.
Is Union Square a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring's analysis places Union Square at #41 in Boston for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~79%.
- At the strongest addresses in Union Square, the most viable business types score ~2% higher than the average survivability rate across all locations.
- However, these same business types at the worst locations in Union Square can sometimes provide a projected Survivability Score considerably below the average. Thus, even the businesses that are most in need in Union Square could have trouble succeeding if the best location is not selected.
- With 97.0% of the local population employed, Union Square presents a stable consumer base — particularly for food, beverage, and service businesses that depend on repeat discretionary spending.
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 Union Square?
StreetSpring's address-level analysis reveals which specific storefronts in Union Square offer the strongest survivability odds for your business type. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Deli in Union Square:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Deli in Union Square. StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. 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 Union Square?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting 2+ years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deli | 79.80% |
| 2 | Hot Pot Restaurant | 79.21% |
| 3 | Singaporean Restaurant | 79.13% |
| 4 | Vietnamese Restaurant | 79.12% |
| 5 | Salad Shop | 79.11% |
| 6 | Pet Store | 79.10% |
| 7 | Diner | 78.73% |
| 8 | Pet Boarding Facility | 78.72% |
| 9 | Day Care Center | 78.71% |
| 10 | Armenian Restaurant | 78.60% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Union Square
- Opening a Deli in Union Square shows 79.80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~79%.
- Hot Pot Restaurant (Ranked #2): 79.21% average in Union Square. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
- Singaporean Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Union Square: 79.13% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~78%.
- Vietnamese Restaurant — ~78%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 79.12% across Union Square.
- Opening a Salad Shop in Union Square shows 79.11% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~79%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Union Square
- Pet Store (Ranked #6): 79.10% average in Union Square. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
- Diner is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Union Square: 78.73% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~78%.
- Pet Boarding Facility — ~79%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.72% across Union Square.
- Opening a Day Care Center in Union Square shows 78.71% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~79%.
- Armenian Restaurant (Ranked #10): 78.60% average in Union Square. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Deli — See how this compares to other cities →
- Hot Pot Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- Singaporean Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Union Square make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, choosing an address that maximizes your Revenue Capture Score in Union 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
- 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.
- Survivability Score is not just a survival metric — it's a revenue predictor, and the higher the score, the stronger the long-term financial outlook.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.
What businesses should open next in Union Square?
The top businesses to open next in Union Square:
- Delis — 79.80% average survival rate, up to ~80% at best locations
- Hot Pot Restaurants — 79.21% average survival rate
- Singaporean Restaurants — 79.13% average survival rate
StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. We have been studying the businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans. The survivability rankings for Union Square are grounded in real economic conditions: 97.0% employment and 5.7% vacancy are among the key inputs that separate high-scoring locations from low-scoring ones here. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring updates every location's survivability score weekly — you can see current scores for available storefronts in Union Square right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Boston Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Boston Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Deli survivability across Boston neighborhoods
Visual Data
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Union Square.
What type of business should you rent your Union Square storefront to?
If you own commercial space in Union Square, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Delis, Hot Pot Restaurants, and Singaporean Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood. Run your specific address through StreetSpring to see which tenant categories give you the best odds of stable, long-term occupancy.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Boston Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Union Square storefront to a Deli?
Yes, StreetSpring's analysis finds that a Deli would be the best type of business to rent your storefront to, with a potential ~80% chance of lasting more than 2 years; however depending on your location, the chances could drop to a ~79% chance.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.
What should I consider when opening a business in Union Square?
Location decisions in Union Square should be grounded in Survivability Score data, not intuition. The score directly measures the competitive and spending conditions at your exact address.
- Of all the variables StreetSpring analyzes, Revenue Capture Score has the strongest predictive power.
- StreetSpring uses its own proprietary forecasting tools to identify the Revenue Capture Score for each unique business.
- You can check the Survivability Score for any storefront in Union Square at no cost using StreetSpring's live tool.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's AI platform has studied businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans, giving its predictions a scale of validation unmatched in site-selection tools. 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.