What is the best neighborhood in Boston to open an Irish Pub?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, the best neighborhood in Boston to open an Irish Pub is Downtown Crossing, with 79% average survivability. 12 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed exceed the 70% two-year survival threshold.

How much more revenue can an Irish Pub make in the best vs. average Boston neighborhood?

In Downtown Crossing, the best possible Irish Pub location in Boston offers approximately 34.9% more expected revenue than the average location. The worst-performing neighborhoods could yield approximately 31.1% less than average.

What is the city-wide average survivability for Irish Pub in Boston?

The city-wide average survivability for Irish Pub across Boston is 58% for surviving more than 2 years. Top neighborhoods like Downtown Crossing substantially outperform this average, reaching 79%.

What are the worst neighborhoods for Irish Pub in Boston?

The most challenging neighborhoods in Boston for Irish Pub include Belmont with 40% average survival chance, Lexington, and Wellesley. However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well.

How accurate are StreetSpring's Irish Pub survivability predictions?

StreetSpring's models achieve 95–99% accuracy across business types, analyzing 100+ factors with a ±3% margin of error. StreetSpring delivers address-level predictions, showing how likely hundreds of different businesses are to last at that exact spot.

What should I consider when opening an Irish Pub in Boston?

Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes. StreetSpring computes Revenue Capture Score by projecting the business's market share based on competitor quality and quantity, mobility patterns, and forecasted consumer spending for the specific business type.

Survivability Rankings for Irish Pub in Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the best and worst neighborhoods in Boston to open an Irish Pub, from Downtown Crossing (79% survival) to Belmont (40%).

April 24, 2026•16 min read

By Bobby Koons | Last reviewed: May 14, 2026 | New data weekly | Methodology

Quick Summary

#1 Neighborhood: Downtown Crossing — 79% average survivability for Irish Pub

Neighborhoods at or above 70%: 12 of 88 analyzed

City-wide average: 58% for Irish Pubs

Most challenging area: Belmont at 40%

Revenue advantage (top vs. avg location): ~34.9% more expected revenue in Downtown Crossing

Data freshness: 2026 data · Full methodology →

Summary
10 Best Neighborhoods
Where Would an Irish Pub Make the Most Money?
What Should I Consider?
Where Should I Start?
FAQ: Best Neighborhoods
FAQ: Can an Irish Pub Succeed in Lower-Ranked Areas?
FAQ: How Often Are Rankings Updated?
FAQ: Is an Irish Pub a Good Tenant?
Landlord Survivability Data
Best Neighborhoods for Any Business

Summary

Downtown Crossing leads Boston's 2026 survivability rankings for Irish Pub operators with 79% average chance of surviving more than 2 years, with the best locations offering 83% and the most challenging locations in Downtown Crossing at 74%. The worst neighborhoods include Belmont with 40% average chance. Remember that a neighborhood average smooths over wide variation — your exact block could significantly outperform.

Where in Boston Should You Open an Irish Pub?

**Peer-neighborhood context:** Downtown Crossing's neighborhood signature — captured across demographics, employment density, and amenity mix — most closely matches **Yerba Buena (San Francisco)** and **Center City (Philadelphia)**. They share busier daytime population, many anchor tenants, and high office density, so Irish Pubs outcomes in those neighborhoods are a useful sanity-check on the Boston rankings above.

**Where Irish Pubs fail in Boston.** Across 88 neighborhoods, the citywide average is 57% — but neighborhood-level scores range **37% to 79%**. Top: **Downtown Crossing** at 79% (11 existing competitors). Bottom: **Winchester** at 37%. The 42-point gap is the failure surface: getting the neighborhood wrong costs more than getting the address right.

Downtown Crossing ranks #1 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed in and around Boston for Irish Pub survivability with a score of 79% as of 2026. The top 10 neighborhoods are:

Why these rankings reflect real survival outcomes

Rank	Neighborhood	Best Locations	Average Locations	Challenging Locations
1	Downtown Crossing	80.0% – 84.0%	77.4% – 80.0%	73.0% – 77.0%
2	Beacon Hill	76.0% – 80.0%	75.6% – 78.2%	72.0% – 76.0%
3	Bay Village	76.0% – 80.0%	74.2% – 76.8%	67.0% – 71.0%
4	Government Center	76.0% – 80.0%	73.9% – 76.5%	70.0% – 74.0%
5	Haymarket	75.0% – 79.0%	73.5% – 76.1%	70.0% – 74.0%
6	Downtown	77.0% – 81.0%	72.5% – 75.1%	67.0% – 71.0%
7	Chinatown	77.0% – 81.0%	72.4% – 75.0%	64.0% – 68.0%
8	West End	76.0% – 80.0%	72.2% – 74.9%	64.0% – 68.0%
9	East Cambridge	76.0% – 80.0%	72.2% – 74.8%	68.0% – 72.0%
10	Back Bay	74.0% – 78.0%	71.6% – 74.2%	67.0% – 71.0%

Where the rankings might surprise you

Our data shows that roughly 15% of top-performing locations sit in neighborhoods ranked below the city median. StreetSpring's Survivability Scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool.

Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each neighborhood. See our full methodology →

Try StreetSpring to see if this location is still the best and see if there are locations to rent in this area right now.

Where in or Around Boston Would an Irish Pub Make the Most Money?

In Downtown Crossing, the best possible location offers the opportunity of making ~34.9% more than the average location in or around Boston.

On the other hand, in Belmont, the worst possible location could result in making ~31.1% less than the average location in the city.

Our data consistently shows that location accounts for more variance in outcomes than any other single factor. Opening an Irish Pub in Boston requires careful location choice. Across 88 neighborhoods analyzed, the overall average survival chance for a new Irish Pub is 58% for lasting more than 2 years — due to a combination of many factors across competition, consumer spending, and location dynamics. The interplay between location characteristics and business type produces unique survivability scores for every combination.

The Most Important Factors for an Irish Pub in Boston

The right address sets the ceiling on every other variable. Filtering candidate locations by Survivability Score first protects against the most common cause of business failure. Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes. StreetSpring computes this by projecting the business's market share, which is based on the quality and quantity of primary, secondary, and tertiary competitors. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. Clustering works when it draws more customers to the area than any single business could alone. The prediction engine behind these rankings is entirely proprietary — developed in-house over years of research.

Consideration	Common pitfall	What to verify before signing
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.
CAM + hidden costs	Stated rent looks great, then CAM fees, signage charges, and after-hours utilities add 15-30%.	Get the full operating expense breakdown for the past 2 years. Ask which costs are landlord-capped vs. uncapped.
Outdoor seating / sidewalk use	Signing assuming you can add patio seating, then learning the city requires a separate sidewalk-cafe permit with long lead times.	Check the city's sidewalk-cafe permit process up front. Confirm landlord allows outdoor build-out in the lease language.

This can be summarized as:

Revenue Capture Score = Projected Market Share × Forecasted Spend on Specific Business

StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data. Our live tool reflects the latest competitive landscape — these static rankings may already be slightly out of date.

Pinpointing the Right Neighborhood for an Irish Pub in Boston

According to StreetSpring's data, optimal neighborhoods include Downtown Crossing, Beacon Hill, and Bay Village, while the most challenging neighborhoods would be Belmont, Lexington, and Wellesley. Remember that a neighborhood average smooths over wide variation — your exact block could significantly outperform. Market dynamics shift frequently; validate these insights with real-time data from StreetSpring.

Related Articles:

Which Boston Neighborhoods Are Strongest for Irish Pubs?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, the top neighborhood for an Irish Pub in Boston is Downtown Crossing with 79% average survivability, followed by Beacon Hill and Bay Village. 12 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed exceed 70% two-year survival.

The live platform incorporates the most recent foot traffic, competitor, and spending data for your exact address.

Are Bottom-Tier Boston Neighborhoods a No-Go for Irish Pubs?

Yes — neighborhood averages mask significant block-by-block variation. Even in neighborhoods ranked outside the top 10, individual storefronts with strong foot traffic, low direct competition, and favorable lease terms can outperform the area average. However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. Always check your specific address in StreetSpring's live platform for the most accurate prediction.

How Often Are Irish Pub Rankings in Boston Updated?

StreetSpring recalculates survivability scores regularly using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data. Rankings are updated quarterly; the live tool always reflects the most current predictions for any address in Boston.

Should You Rent Your Boston Storefront to an Irish Pub?

In Downtown Crossing, StreetSpring forecasts a 77.4% – 80.0% average chance for a new Irish Pub to survive more than 2 years, depending on the exact storefront. Check the current Survivability Score for any address instantly.

Landlord Survivability Data for Irish Pub in Boston

Should you rent your storefront to an Irish Pub? The answer depends heavily on your neighborhood. Downtown Crossing offers the strongest outlook at 77.4% – 80.0% average survivability, followed by Beacon Hill at 75.6% – 78.2%, and Bay Village at 74.2% – 76.8%. Check the current Survivability Score for any address instantly.

Our tool delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location for any business category.

Top-Survivability Boston Neighborhoods for Irish Pubs

You can see the best neighborhoods in or around Boston to open any type of business in our article Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Boston.

Technical note: Aggregated survivability rankings for Boston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

View technical data for Boston

StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.

Visual Data

Bubble chart of business subtypes in Boston by survivability score and location density — Every business subtype in Boston plotted by score vs location count — bubble size shows market depth. Find Irish Pub relative to its peers.

Waterfall chart of best and worst Irish Pub neighborhoods in Boston — Top and bottom neighborhoods for Irish Pub in Boston — each step shows the gap from the city average. Wider spread = location matters more.

How we measure this: Address-level scoring decomposes into Site Economics, Market Demand, Competition, Accessibility, Neighborhood Character, and Performance History — six axes.

**City context.** Boston is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. It serves as a cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston).

**Daytime/resident distribution (Boston):** LEHD LODES data across 129 Boston neighborhoods: median ratio **0.25:1**, top-quartile **2.36:1** — a strongly-residential commercial-corridor profile. Use this to triangulate which neighborhood matches your concept's natural demand-timing (weekday-commuter vs. evening-and-weekend).

**Operating-cost context (Boston):** Commercial electricity in Boston runs about **10.9¢/kWh** (above the 24-metro median of 10.8¢), the state minimum wage is **$15.00/hr** (below the 15.00 median), combined sales tax averages **6.2%** (below the 7.7% median), and effective commercial property tax is **1.20%** (above the 0.96% median). On operating costs alone, Boston sits in the **average** tier of US metros we track.

**BLS context:** The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release) reports a **50.0% 5-year survival rate** for Irish Pubs nationally. StreetSpring's Boston model — which weights site-specific factors like competitive saturation, demographics, and accessibility — produces an average **survivability score of 85%** for Irish Pubs across the city.

Same business type in other cities:

Related:

Survivability Rankings for Acupuncture Clinic in Atlanta

Neighborhood-Specific Questions

Local-context questions, answered with neighborhood-specific numbers.

What factors drive the Boston Irish Pubs score?

The Boston survivability score for Irish Pubs (85% average) combines ~100 location factors: competitive density, demographic fit, accessibility, visibility, lease economics, and historical business outcomes. The score is calibrated against 500K+ historical business outcomes and refreshed quarterly.

Where in the US do Irish Pubs survive best?

The three highest-scoring metros for Irish Pubs are Portland, San Antonio, St. Louis (StreetSpring 2026 corpus). Boston sits at #19 with a 85% average survivability score.

How current is the Irish Pubs data for Boston?

StreetSpring refreshes the Boston Irish Pubs corpus quarterly. The current 2026 release shows a 85% average across Boston; the next refresh will integrate fresh competitor and ACS data.

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