Business Survivability in Waltham, Boston
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Waltham is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~82% 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 Veterinary Clinic in Waltham (~82% average survival rate, ~89% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #10 across all neighborhoods in and around Boston
- Neighborhood average: ~78% two-year survival across all business types
- Coverage: This ranking carries one row per business type and neighborhood. Its score is the projected chance of lasting two or more years, averaged across the price points StreetSpring scores separately in the tool (most types have 5). The 10 business types here are base types; the tool offers 500+ business types, counting each type at each of its price points.
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: September 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
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 Veterinary Clinic with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~89% chance; next is a Salad Shop with a 80.01% chance, followed by a Hawaiian Restaurant with a 78.96% chance.
Is Waltham a good place to start a business?
Waltham is the #10 most survivable neighborhood for new businesses in and around Boston, with an average score of ~78% across all analyzed categories.
- At the strongest addresses in Waltham, the most viable business types score ~22% higher than the average survivability rate across all locations.
- 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.
- Commercial vacancy in Waltham sits at 4.4%, a figure that factors into survivability scores for every business type in 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?
StreetSpring narrows the decision down to the exact address — showing which blocks in Waltham produce the highest survivability scores for your concept. Below is the best location for a Veterinary Clinic in Waltham:
The highlighted area represents the address in Waltham that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Veterinary Clinic survivability. For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates hundreds of inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and local demand patterns.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Waltham?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.28% |
| 2 | Salad Shop | 80.01% |
| 3 | Hawaiian Restaurant | 78.96% |
| 4 | French Restaurant | 78.75% |
| 5 | Smoke Shop | 76.70% |
| 6 | Grocery Store | 76.18% |
| 7 | Gym | 76.16% |
| 8 | Liquor Store | 75.82% |
| 9 | Coffee Shop | 74.96% |
| 10 | Pet Grooming Shop | 74.52% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Waltham
- Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Waltham shows 82.28% average survivability. Top locations reach ~89%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Salad Shop (Ranked #2): 80.01% average in Waltham. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Hawaiian Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Waltham: 78.96% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~74%.
- French Restaurant — ~73%–~84% survivability range, with an average of 78.75% across Waltham.
- Opening a Smoke Shop in Waltham shows 76.70% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~69%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Waltham
- Grocery Store (Ranked #6): 76.18% average in Waltham. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~69%.
- Gym is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Waltham: 76.16% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~71%.
- Liquor Store — ~69%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 75.82% across Waltham.
- Opening a Coffee Shop in Waltham shows 74.96% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~67%.
- Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #10): 74.52% average in Waltham. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~68%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Salad Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
- Hawaiian Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Waltham make?
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 Waltham could lead to you making ~22% more than if you selected an average location, and ~53% 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.
- Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
- Across every business type we've analyzed, location quality as measured by Survivability Score is the strongest predictor of financial performance.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What businesses should open next in Waltham?
The top businesses to open next in Waltham:
- Veterinary Clinics — 82.28% average survival rate, ~89% at the best address
- Salad Shops — 80.01% average survival rate
- Hawaiian Restaurants — 78.96% average survival rate
For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time. StreetSpring's accuracy is built on studying businesses that serve more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 cities. StreetSpring scores 500+ business types: 153 base business types, most of them at 5 price points, which is 569 type-and-price combinations you can choose in the tool. Waltham's combination of 96.5% employment and 4.4% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Waltham 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
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Boston neighborhoods
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 Veterinary Clinics, Salad Shops, and Hawaiian Restaurants at the top of the survivability rankings for Waltham — making them the safest long-term tenant bets for landlords here.
- Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. StreetSpring's free tool lets you check the survivability score for any business type at any address in Waltham — a powerful filter when evaluating prospective tenants.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Boston Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Waltham storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Yes, StreetSpring's analysis finds that a Veterinary Clinic would be the best type of business to rent your storefront to, with a potential ~89% chance of lasting more than 2 years; however depending on your location, the chances could drop to a ~76% chance.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What should I consider when opening a business in Waltham?
When selecting a location in Waltham it is crucial to select a location with a very high Survivability Score.
- Among all the inputs that shape survivability, Revenue Capture Score carries the most predictive weight.
- No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
- StreetSpring's live scoring tool is free: enter any address in Waltham to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's models are built from millions of real business outcomes, making predictions grounded in what actually happened. 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.