What is the best neighborhood in Boston to open a Smoke Shop?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, the best neighborhood in Boston to open a Smoke Shop is Kenmore, with 80% average survivability. 51 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed exceed the 70% two-year survival threshold.

How much more revenue can a Smoke Shop make in the best vs. average Boston neighborhood?

In Kenmore, the best possible Smoke Shop location in Boston offers approximately 14.0% more expected revenue than the average location. The worst-performing neighborhoods could yield approximately 27.9% less than average.

What is the city-wide average survivability for Smoke Shop in Boston?

The city-wide average survivability for Smoke Shop across Boston is 70% for surviving more than 2 years. Top neighborhoods like Kenmore substantially outperform this average, reaching 80%.

What are the worst neighborhoods for Smoke Shop in Boston?

The most challenging neighborhoods in Boston for Smoke Shop include Winchester with 51% average survival chance, Lexington, and Wellesley. A low-ranking neighborhood can still contain high-potential storefronts — the address matters most.

What should I consider when opening a Smoke Shop in Boston?

The most important factor for a business's success is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects. 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.

How accurate are StreetSpring's Smoke Shop 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.

Survivability Rankings for Smoke Shop in Boston

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the best and worst neighborhoods in Boston to open a Smoke Shop, from Kenmore (80% survival) to Winchester (51%).

April 24, 2026•16 min read

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

Quick Summary

#1 Neighborhood: Kenmore — 80% average survivability for Smoke Shop

Neighborhoods at or above 70%: 51 of 88 analyzed

City-wide average: 70% for Smoke Shops

Most challenging area: Winchester at 51%

Revenue advantage (top vs. avg location): ~14.0% more expected revenue in Kenmore

Data freshness: 2026 data · Full methodology →

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

Summary

Of all the neighborhoods in and around Boston, Kenmore ranks #1 for opening a Smoke Shop with 80% average chance of surviving more than 2 years, with the best locations offering 84% and the most challenging locations in Kenmore at 75%. The worst neighborhoods include Winchester with 51% average chance. For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time.

What Are the Best Neighborhoods in Boston to Open a Smoke Shop?

**Cross-metro pattern check:** Looking beyond Boston, Kenmore's profile most closely matches **Downtown (Portland)** and **Sursum Corda Cooperative (Washington DC)**. Common thread: high destination retail density, more renters, and many high-wage jobs nearby. If you operate Smoke Shops in either peer neighborhood, the Kenmore ranking should feel familiar.

**The Boston pattern for Smoke Shops.** Survivability for this subtype spans **51-80%** across 88 tracked neighborhoods (citywide average 70%). **Kenmore** is the leader at 80% (7 existing competitors); **Winchester** trails at 51%. **A 29-point neighborhood gap means location decides the outcome before any operational variable comes into play.**

Kenmore ranks #1 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed in and around Boston for Smoke Shop survivability with a score of 80% as of 2026. The top 10 neighborhoods are:

What separates the top neighborhoods from the rest

Rank	Neighborhood	Best Locations	Average Locations	Challenging Locations
1	Kenmore	81.0% – 85.0%	78.5% – 82.7%	74.0% – 78.0%
2	Cambridge	84.0% – 88.0%	78.1% – 82.4%	68.0% – 72.0%
3	Aggasiz - Harvard North	80.0% – 84.0%	77.9% – 82.2%	73.0% – 77.0%
4	Cambridgeport	80.0% – 84.0%	77.8% – 82.0%	72.0% – 76.0%
5	Haymarket	80.0% – 84.0%	77.6% – 81.9%	76.0% – 80.0%
6	Riverside	83.0% – 87.0%	77.5% – 81.8%	69.0% – 73.0%
7	Government Center	79.0% – 83.0%	76.5% – 80.7%	73.0% – 77.0%
8	Back Bay	79.0% – 83.0%	76.1% – 80.3%	73.0% – 77.0%
9	Mission Hill	80.0% – 84.0%	76.0% – 80.3%	70.0% – 74.0%
10	Peabody	84.0% – 88.0%	76.0% – 80.3%	70.0% – 74.0%

The data signals behind these scores

However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. The live platform incorporates the most recent foot traffic, competitor, and spending data for your exact address.

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.

Boston's Best-Earning Neighborhoods for Smoke Shops

In Kenmore, the best possible location offers the opportunity of making ~14.0% more than the average location in or around Boston.

On the other hand, in Winchester, the worst possible location could result in making ~27.9% less than the average location in the city.

Choosing the right address is the highest-leverage decision for any brick-and-mortar entrepreneur. Opening a Smoke Shop in Boston requires careful location choice. Across 88 neighborhoods analyzed, the overall average survival chance for a new Smoke Shop is 70% for lasting more than 2 years — due to a combination of many factors across competition, consumer spending, and location dynamics. What makes a location ideal varies by business type — foot traffic patterns, competitor proximity, and consumer demographics all play different roles.

What Should I Consider When Opening a Smoke Shop in or Around Boston?

Choosing the right storefront is what separates the businesses that survive from the ones that don't. Use Survivability Score as the primary filter before anything else. The most important factor for a business's success is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects. StreetSpring computes this by projecting the business's market share, which is based on the quality and quantity of primary, secondary, and tertiary competitors. StreetSpring's training dataset includes millions of transactions and business lifecycle events. Clustering works when it draws more customers to the area than any single business could alone. Our prediction system is built from scratch using proprietary data pipelines and validated against actual business lifecycles.

Consideration	Common pitfall	What to verify before signing
Parking & visibility	Storefront looks great from the sidewalk but is invisible from the road.	Drive past at 30 mph from both directions. Count street parking + nearest paid lot capacity at peak hours.
Permitted hours	Late-night or early-morning ops blocked by zoning, neighborhood association, or shared-wall restrictions.	Confirm the permitted hours-of-operation are in your lease AND in the local code. Pull recent variances or complaints from the zoning portal.
Workforce availability	Hiring radius is smaller than you think — many neighborhoods can't staff a full team at standard wages.	Pull BLS wage data for your industry in this metro. Walk through your staffing plan with a local restaurant/retail operator before signing.

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

Pinpointing the Right Neighborhood for a Smoke Shop in Boston

The highest-performing areas for this business type are Kenmore, Cambridge, and Aggasiz - Harvard North, while the most challenging neighborhoods would be Winchester, Lexington, and Wellesley. These averages are directional, not definitive; the best decision comes from analyzing your specific storefront. Static rankings provide a useful baseline, but the live tool captures changes that have occurred since publication.

Related Articles:

Where in Boston Should You Open a Smoke Shop?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, the top neighborhood for a Smoke Shop in Boston is Kenmore with 80% average survivability, followed by Cambridge and Aggasiz - Harvard North. 51 of 88 neighborhoods analyzed exceed 70% two-year survival.

However, market conditions change daily, and it's best to use StreetSpring's live data to check the Survivability Score for a specific address.

Are Bottom-Tier Boston Neighborhoods a No-Go for Smoke Shops?

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.

The Update Schedule for Boston Smoke Shops Data

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.

Is a Smoke Shop a Good Tenant for Boston Landlords?

In Kenmore, StreetSpring forecasts a 78.5% – 82.7% average chance for a new Smoke Shop to survive more than 2 years, depending on the exact storefront. Check the current Survivability Score for any address instantly.

Landlord Survivability Data for Smoke Shop in Boston

From a risk-assessment perspective, a Smoke Shop tenant in Kenmore carries the lowest risk with average survivability of 78.5% – 82.7%. Cambridge presents moderate risk (78.1% – 82.4%), and Aggasiz - Harvard North carries comparatively higher risk at 77.9% – 82.2%. Check the current Survivability Score for any address instantly.

StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.

Which Boston Neighborhoods Are Strongest for Smoke Shops?

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 Smoke Shop relative to its peers.

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

Headline survivability statistic for Smoke Shop in Boston — Headline survivability stat for Smoke Shop in Boston.

How we measure this: Some lots are zoned for limited business types only. We cross-reference the building's use designation against our subtype compatibility map.

**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 data point:** Per EIA Form 861, US DOL, and Tax Foundation 2024, Boston's state-level operating costs read: commercial electricity **10.9¢/kWh** (above the 10.8¢ 24-metro median), state minimum wage **$15.00/hr** (below $15.00), combined sales tax **6.2%** (below 7.7%), and effective commercial property tax **1.20%** (above 0.96%). Composite tier vs peers: **average**.

**National baseline:** Per BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025), **47.9%** of Smoke Shops nationally survive 5 years. StreetSpring's location-specific **survivability score** for Smoke Shops in Boston averages **76%** — measuring site quality across 100+ factors rather than national cohort survival.

Related:

Local Context FAQ

More questions answered with neighborhood-specific data from our 2026 corpus.

Which Boston subtypes have comparable survivability to Smoke Shops?

In Boston, business subtypes with survivability averages within 2 points of Smoke Shops (76%) include Veterinary Clinic, Brewery, Pet Grooming Shop. Comparable averages suggest similar competitive and demographic drivers at the metro level.

How does Boston Smoke Shop survivability compare to the national BLS baseline?

Smoke Shops have a national 5-year survival rate of 48% per BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025). StreetSpring's Boston corpus shows an average survivability score of 76% for this subtype, above the BLS baseline by 28 points.

Do Smoke Shops need walkable locations in Boston?

Boston's metro median commute is 32 minutes. Accessibility is one of ~100 factors in the survivability model — Smoke Shops in Boston score 76% on average, with the spread (46-94%) driven heavily by per-location accessibility differences.

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