Business Survivability in Chinatown, Chicago
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Chinatown is a Singaporean Restaurant with a ~81% 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 Singaporean Restaurant in Chinatown (~81% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #79 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago
- Neighborhood average: ~79% 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 Chinatown 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 Chinatown is a Singaporean Restaurant with a ~81% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~84% chance; next is an Indonesian Restaurant with a 80.59% chance, followed by an Italian Restaurant with a 80.52% chance.
Is Chinatown a good place to start a business?
Among all neighborhoods in and around Chicago, Chinatown ranks #79 for business survivability, with an average ~79% chance of lasting two or more years.
- Top-performing business types at the best addresses in Chinatown show a ~3% survival rate advantage over the neighborhood average.
- Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Chinatown can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
- A 92.0% employment rate in Chinatown means a large share of local consumers have steady income — a strong underlying condition for discretionary spending businesses.
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 Chinatown?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Chinatown — so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. The location below represents the address in Chinatown with the highest projected survivability for a Singaporean Restaurant:
The highlighted area represents the address in Chinatown that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Singaporean Restaurant 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 Chinatown?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting 2+ years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Singaporean Restaurant | 80.67% |
| 2 | Indonesian Restaurant | 80.59% |
| 3 | Italian Restaurant | 80.52% |
| 4 | Kosher Restaurant | 80.47% |
| 5 | Ukrainian Restaurant | 80.45% |
| 6 | Bangladeshi Restaurant | 80.36% |
| 7 | Chicken Shop | 80.35% |
| 8 | French Restaurant | 80.33% |
| 9 | Filipino Restaurant | 80.30% |
| 10 | Chinese Restaurant | 80.29% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Chinatown
- Opening a Singaporean Restaurant in Chinatown shows 80.67% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
- Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #2): 80.59% average in Chinatown. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Italian Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Chinatown: 80.52% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~73%.
- Kosher Restaurant — ~74%–~84% survivability range, with an average of 80.47% across Chinatown.
- Opening an Ukrainian Restaurant in Chinatown shows 80.45% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Chinatown
- Bangladeshi Restaurant (Ranked #6): 80.36% average in Chinatown. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Chicken Shop is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Chinatown: 80.35% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~74%.
- French Restaurant — ~73%–~84% survivability range, with an average of 80.33% across Chinatown.
- Opening a Filipino Restaurant in Chinatown shows 80.30% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~74%.
- Chinese Restaurant (Ranked #10): 80.29% average in Chinatown. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Singaporean Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- Indonesian Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- Italian Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Chinatown make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in Chinatown could lead to you making ~3% 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.
- Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
- Businesses in high-scoring locations consistently outperform those in average or low-scoring sites.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What businesses should open next in Chinatown?
The top businesses to open next in Chinatown:
- Singaporean Restaurants — 81% on average and 84% at the best address
- Indonesian Restaurants — 80.59% average survival rate
- Italian Restaurants — 80.52% average survival rate
For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. The survivability rankings for Chinatown are grounded in real economic conditions: 92.0% employment and 6.8% vacancy are among the key inputs that separate high-scoring locations from low-scoring ones here. Survivability scores are recalculated weekly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift — visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in Chinatown right now. 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.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Chicago Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Chicago Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Singaporean Restaurant survivability across Chicago neighborhoods
Visual Data
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Chinatown.
What type of business should you rent your Chinatown storefront to?
For landlords in Chinatown, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Singaporean Restaurants, Indonesian Restaurants, and Italian Restaurants as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Chicago Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Chinatown storefront to a Singaporean Restaurant?
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Singaporean Restaurant ranks as the top tenant type for your Chinatown storefront — best-case locations show a ~84% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~73%.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What should I consider when opening a business in Chinatown?
Among all the criteria to weigh when opening a business in Chinatown, Survivability Score carries the most predictive weight — choose the address with the highest score your budget allows.
- Among all the inputs that shape survivability, Revenue Capture Score carries the most predictive weight.
- These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
- StreetSpring's live survivability scores are available for free — check your specific address now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Our analysis covers businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 major US metros. Aggregated survivability rankings for Chicago are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Chicago: /resources/data/chicago-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.