Is Waltham a good place to start a business?

Waltham is ranked number 69 across neighborhoods in and around Boston to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~75%. The highest-scoring business types in Waltham — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~2%.

How much money could a business in Waltham make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Waltham 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 Waltham?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Waltham are Delis, French Restaurants, and Ukrainian Restaurants.

Business Survivability in Waltham, Boston

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

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Deli in Waltham (~83% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #69 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 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring — May 5, 2026

In this article:

Summary
Is Waltham 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 Waltham is a Deli with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~84% chance; next is a French Restaurant with a ~83% chance, followed by an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~83% chance.

How business-friendly is Waltham right now?

**Peer neighborhoods:** Looking at demographic mix and amenity density across the 24 metros StreetSpring covers, Waltham clusters most tightly with **Stonefield (San Antonio)** and **South Park (San Diego)**. Common thread: high high-earner share, low vacancy, and low poverty. Survival outcomes for those neighborhoods provide a useful comparison set for Waltham.

**Where Waltham businesses actually fail.** Among the 93 tracked subtypes, **Ukrainian Restaurants** post the highest average survivability (83%). But across Waltham's sites, the spread for this subtype runs **69% to 97%** — a 28-point gap that says *the address matters more than the subtype*. For saturation context, Kosher Restaurants are the most densely-clustered tracked subtype in the neighborhood (9 competitors within 0.5 miles).

In Boston's neighborhood survivability rankings, Waltham comes in at #69, with an average Survivability Score of ~75% across all business types.

The highest-scoring business types in Waltham — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~2%.
But these same concepts at less optimal addresses within Waltham can score meaningfully below average. Survivability data shows that even the highest-demand business types fail at the wrong location.
Waltham's employment rate of 96.5% and commercial vacancy of 4.4% are two of the inputs StreetSpring's model uses to differentiate survivability within this neighborhood.

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 Waltham?

With StreetSpring, location selection in Waltham moves from guesswork to a precise, address-level survivability score for any business type you're considering. StreetSpring's 2026 model ranks this area #1 in Waltham for a Deli:

Walking the neighborhood: what to look for

Loading live map preview...

This map shows the optimal location for a Deli in Waltham based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. The prediction model incorporates 100 location-specific factors, including competitive density, forecasted consumer spending, mobility patterns, and Revenue Capture Score.

Check if this location is still available →

What are the best businesses to open in Waltham?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Waltham

Deli is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Waltham: ~83% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~81%.
French Restaurant — ~81%–~84% survivability range, with an average of ~83% across Waltham.
Opening an Ukrainian Restaurant in Waltham shows ~83% average survivability. Top locations reach ~85%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
South American Restaurant (Ranked #4): ~83% average in Waltham. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~81%.
Kosher Restaurant is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Waltham: ~82% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~80%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Waltham

Bangladeshi Restaurant — ~81%–~84% survivability range, with an average of ~82% across Waltham.
Opening a Chinese Restaurant in Waltham shows ~82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
Chicken Shop (Ranked #8): ~82% average in Waltham. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~81%.
Brunch Restaurant is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Waltham: ~82% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~80%.
Russian Restaurant — ~81%–~84% survivability range, with an average of ~82% across Waltham.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Deli — See how this compares to other cities →

How location selection in Waltham affects revenue

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, securing a location with maximum Revenue Capture potential in Waltham 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

However, each business concept should be evaluated for fit within each potential location.
Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
Businesses in high-scoring locations consistently outperform those in average or low-scoring sites.
StreetSpring analyzes your specific address against comparable businesses to forecast success.

What businesses should open next in Waltham?

The top businesses to open next in Waltham:

Delis — ~83% average survival rate, up to ~84% at best locations
French Restaurants — ~83% average survival rate
Ukrainian Restaurants — ~83% average survival rate

The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. We apply advanced machine learning to one of the largest commercial real estate outcome datasets in the country. Waltham sits at 96.5% employment and 4.4% commercial vacancy — conditions that set the ceiling and floor for Revenue Capture potential across all business types here. Survivability scores are live, not static — StreetSpring updates them weekly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in Waltham and how each address is scoring right now.

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 Waltham.

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

StreetSpring's 2026 model places Delis, French Restaurants, and Ukrainian Restaurants at the top of the survivability rankings for Waltham — making them the safest long-term tenant bets for landlords here.

Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
StreetSpring analyzes your specific address against comparable businesses to forecast success. StreetSpring allows property owners to evaluate any address against 700+ tenant types — so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.

Should you rent your Waltham storefront to a Deli?

The data shows a Deli is the safest long-term bet for a Waltham storefront. Top locations reach ~84% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~81%.

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

What should I consider when opening a business in Waltham?

When evaluating potential locations in Waltham, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.

High Revenue Capture Score is the clearest signal that a location can sustain a business over the long term.
No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
StreetSpring is free to use — see the current survivability score for any address in Waltham right now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

Real estate professionals and business owners across 24 major metros use StreetSpring to ground their site-selection decisions in data, not guesswork. Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

The hidden costs of operating in this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
Build-out budget	Underestimating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — the "hidden" 30-50% of build-out cost.	Get 3 quotes from licensed contractors and pad budget by +20% for surprises. Confirm landlord TI allowance in writing.
Anchor co-tenancy	Signing next to a high-traffic anchor that closes 6 months later, leaving you orphaned.	Ask for a co-tenancy clause — rent abatement or termination right if the anchor leaves. Standard for strong markets.
Lease term	Locking into 7-10 years without break clauses, then needing to relocate after year 2.	Negotiate a relocation or termination clause. Confirm assignment + sublease rights are in writing.

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 Waltham, Boston — Top business types scored in Waltham, Boston — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Most retail competition operates within a 500-meter radius — outside that, behavioral economics show customers don't routinely switch.

**Waltham at a glance.** Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, and was an early center for the labor movement as well as a major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waltham%2C_Massachusetts))

**Daytime population context (Waltham):** Per US Census LEHD LODES, the median 1-mile workplace-jobs population within Waltham is **10,419** — about **0.2× the resident population**, which qualifies as a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic. Retail-sector jobs in that radius: **500**. This shapes which business models have a natural demand floor here.

Landmark anchor: Waltham hosts Watch Factory Exhibit, a history-museum that gives the neighborhood a cultural-destination layer most blocks don't have.

**Waltham economic snapshot:** ACS reports neighborhood unemployment at **3.5%** (below the 24-metro neighborhood median we track). The Boston metro's BLS QCEW average weekly wage is **$1,631** (above our metro median), and the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey logged **2,338** new residential permits in Suffolk County in 2025 — useful triangulation for population-growth and labor-cost assumptions in this neighborhood.

**Authoritative baseline:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release publishes 5-year survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range runs from **47.8%** (Active Life) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical), with restaurants at **50.0%** and retail at **47.9%**. Location-specific factors drive the actual variance around these baselines.

Related Resources

Related:

Local Context FAQ

Additional questions with answers drawn directly from local data sources.

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

59% of Waltham adults have at least a bachelor's degree — above the Boston metro median of 58%. Education attainment is close to the metro median, so business-type signals come more from income and density.

Is Waltham mostly renters or owners?

ACS housing data shows 49% home ownership in Waltham, compared to 56% metro-wide. The ownership profile is typical for the metro.

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

ACS data shows median household income in Waltham at roughly $132K, 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.

What does the employment picture in Waltham look like for new businesses?

Waltham's employment rate is approximately 96%, compared to a Boston metro median of 96%. Employment is close to the metro median, suggesting stable underlying demand.