Business Survivability in Wildwood, Chicago
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Wildwood is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~84% 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 Wildwood (~84% average survival rate, ~88% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #39 across all neighborhoods in and around Chicago
- Neighborhood average: ~77% 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 Wildwood 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 Wildwood is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~84% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~88% chance; next is a Chicken Shop with a 81.10% chance, followed by a Dance Club with a 79.00% chance.
Is Wildwood a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring ranks Wildwood #39 among all analyzed neighborhoods in and around Chicago, with a neighborhood-wide average survivability of ~77%.
- The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Wildwood reaches ~11% for the strongest-performing business categories.
- However, those same business types at the weakest addresses in Wildwood can score considerably below average. Even the most in-demand concept in Wildwood will struggle if it opens at the wrong address.
- Wildwood's 4.6% commercial vacancy rate signals the current availability of storefronts and shapes the competitive environment that survivability scores reflect.
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 Wildwood?
StreetSpring's model evaluates every available address in Wildwood for your business type, ranking them by survivability so the best storefront is always identifiable. Here is the top survivability address for a Veterinary Clinic in Wildwood, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Veterinary Clinic in Wildwood. These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Wildwood?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 87.00% |
| 2 | Chicken Shop | 82.70% |
| 3 | Dance Club | 82.40% |
| 4 | American Restaurant | 82.20% |
| 5 | Deli | 82.19% |
| 6 | Grocery Store | 82.10% |
| 7 | Bar | 81.80% |
| 8 | Physical Therapy Clinic | 81.50% |
| 9 | Chiropractor Office | 80.69% |
| 10 | Music Store | 80.10% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Wildwood
- Veterinary Clinic (Ranked #1): 84.30% average in Wildwood. Best-case storefronts: ~88%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
- Chicken Shop is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Wildwood: 81.10% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~78%.
- Dance Club: ~73% to ~83% survivability range, with an average of 79.00% across Wildwood.
- Opening an American Restaurant in Wildwood shows 80.40% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~79%.
- Deli (Ranked #5): 79.90% average in Wildwood. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Wildwood
- Grocery Store is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Wildwood: 78.70% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~72%.
- Bar: ~76% to ~82% survivability range, with an average of 79.60% across Wildwood.
- Opening a Physical Therapy Clinic in Wildwood shows 79.60% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- Chiropractor Office (Ranked #9): 78.49% average in Wildwood. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Music Store is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Wildwood: 74.70% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~67%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chicken Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
- Dance Club: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Wildwood make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, going with one of the top-scoring locations in the neighborhood rather than an average one in Wildwood could lead to you making ~11% more than if you selected an average location, and ~33% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make: it sets every other variable in motion.
- StreetSpring has found that selecting the location with the highest survivability score for a business is the best way to maximize the amount of money you will make.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What businesses should open next in Wildwood?
The top businesses to open next in Wildwood:
- Veterinary Clinics: 84.30% average survival rate, ~88% at the best address
- Chicken Shops: 81.10% average survival rate
- Dance Clubs: 79.00% average survival rate
These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. 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. The 4.6% commercial vacancy rate in Wildwood means there is available space for new entrants, but it also signals that survivability depends heavily on choosing the right address within the neighborhood, not just the neighborhood itself. These rankings are a snapshot; StreetSpring recalculates survivability for every location in Wildwood weekly, incorporating the latest competitive openings, closures, and spending data: check current locations now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Chicago Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Chicago Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Chicago neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Wildwood.
What type of business should you rent your Wildwood storefront to?
The analysis is clear: in Wildwood, Veterinary Clinics, Chicken Shops, and Dance Clubs consistently score highest on survivability, giving landlords the best chance of retaining tenants for two or more years.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make: it sets every other variable in motion.
- 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 Wildwood storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
StreetSpring's data confirms a Veterinary Clinic as the highest-survivability tenant type for Wildwood. The best addresses show a ~88% chance of lasting more than 2 years; less optimal addresses score around ~79%.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What should I consider when opening a business in Wildwood?
In Wildwood, the single most important factor in your site-selection decision is the Survivability Score of the specific address you're evaluating.
- Revenue Capture Score is the single best indicator of whether a business will thrive at a location.
- The underlying models are StreetSpring's own: built, trained, and maintained using data external platforms cannot access.
- Check StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Wildwood, starting with a free 10-minute trial.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring uses AI to predict business survivability across U.S. neighborhoods, trusted by real estate professionals and entrepreneurs nationwide. 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.