Is Fitzgerald a good place to start a business?

Fitzgerald is ranked number 40 across neighborhoods in and around Detroit to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~71%. The highest-scoring business types in Fitzgerald — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~2%.

What businesses are most in demand in Fitzgerald?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Fitzgerald are Salad Shops, Kosher Restaurants, and Brunch Restaurants.

How much money could a business in Fitzgerald make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Fitzgerald could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~5% more than one of the worst locations.

Business Survivability in Fitzgerald, Detroit

Q: What is the median household income in Fitzgerald?

Fitzgerald's median household income (~$52K) is below the Detroit metro median (~$75K) by approximately $24K. Lower median income tends to favor value-oriented retail, fast-casual food, and necessity-driven services.

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Fitzgerald is a Salad Shop with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Salad Shop in Fitzgerald (~82% average survival rate, ~83% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #40 across all neighborhoods in and around Detroit

Neighborhood average: ~71% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 8, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Fitzgerald 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 Fitzgerald is a Salad Shop with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~83% chance; next is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~81% chance, followed by a Brunch Restaurant with a ~80% chance.

Should you open a business in Fitzgerald?

**Where else does Fitzgerald look like?** The strongest demographic and amenity-density matches are **Ost South Union (Houston)** and **Villa De San Antonio (San Antonio)**, sharing lower employment, higher poverty, and low high-earner share. If you've worked in either of those neighborhoods, expect Fitzgerald to behave similarly on the dimensions that drive survival.

**What goes wrong in Fitzgerald.** Across 93 subtypes we track, **Kosher Restaurant averages 81%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Kosher Restaurants range from **73% to 90%** across Fitzgerald — a 17-point window where the address, not the concept, decides the outcome. For competitive density: Tattoo & Piercing Shops are the most-concentrated tracked subtype (9 within 0.5 miles).

Fitzgerald earns the #40 spot in Detroit for new business survivability, with an average score of ~71% across all business types analyzed.

The highest-scoring business types in Fitzgerald — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~2%.
However, those same business types at the weakest addresses in Fitzgerald can score considerably below average. Even the most in-demand concept in Fitzgerald will struggle if it opens at the wrong address.
StreetSpring's model incorporates Fitzgerald's 25.3% vacancy rate as a direct input: higher vacancy concentrations suppress foot traffic and reduce survivability for nearby businesses.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

Which blocks in Fitzgerald offer the strongest survivability?

Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in Fitzgerald that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, this is the optimal address for a Salad Shop in Fitzgerald:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

Per StreetSpring's 2026 model, this circle marks the highest-scoring area for a Salad Shop in Fitzgerald. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, mobility patterns, and many more.

Check if this location is still available →

What are the best businesses to open in Fitzgerald?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Fitzgerald

Salad Shop (Ranked #1): ~82% average in Fitzgerald. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
Kosher Restaurant is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Fitzgerald: ~81% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~79%.
Brunch Restaurant — ~77%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Fitzgerald.
Opening an Ukrainian Restaurant in Fitzgerald shows ~79% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
American Restaurant (Ranked #5): ~79% average in Fitzgerald. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~77%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Fitzgerald

Chicken Shop is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Fitzgerald: ~78% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~76%.
Bangladeshi Restaurant — ~76%–~80% survivability range, with an average of ~78% across Fitzgerald.
Opening a South American Restaurant in Fitzgerald shows ~78% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
Deli (Ranked #9): ~78% average in Fitzgerald. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
Chinese Restaurant is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Fitzgerald: ~78% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~76%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Brunch Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

The revenue potential of a Fitzgerald location

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 Fitzgerald could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% 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.
Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
Our data shows that the single highest-impact decision a business owner makes is the address they choose — and Survivability Score is the best guide to that decision.
StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.

What Fitzgerald needs more of (per our model)

The top businesses to open next in Fitzgerald:

Salad Shops — ~82% average survival rate, up to ~83% at best locations
Kosher Restaurants — ~81% average survival rate
Brunch Restaurants — ~80% average survival rate

Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. Our training data spans 130+ business types across 24 major metros, giving our models the breadth to predict outcomes across nearly any commercial concept. The 25.3% commercial vacancy rate in Fitzgerald 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. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Fitzgerald are available right now and how they rank.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Detroit Business Survivability Rankings
See the Detroit Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Fitzgerald.

What type of business should you rent your Fitzgerald storefront to?

StreetSpring's analysis shows that the most promising business categories for your property in Fitzgerald are Salad Shops, Kosher Restaurants, and Brunch Restaurants.

Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category. StreetSpring allows property owners to evaluate any address against 700+ tenant types — so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.

Should you rent your Fitzgerald storefront to a Salad Shop?

According to our 2026 survivability model, a Salad Shop leads all business categories for Fitzgerald landlords — ~83% at the best addresses and ~80% at the most challenging ones in this neighborhood.

StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.

What should I consider when opening a business in Fitzgerald?

Before committing to any location in Fitzgerald, the highest-priority metric to check is the Survivability Score — it encodes every relevant location factor into a single, actionable number.

StreetSpring's analysis consistently shows Revenue Capture Score predicts survival odds more accurately than demographic data or foot traffic estimates alone.
Each forecast is specific to the exact address and business type, generated by StreetSpring's internally developed prediction engine.
No subscription required: access the current survivability score for any Fitzgerald address through StreetSpring's free tool.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's AI platform has analyzed thousands of business openings to identify success patterns. Aggregated survivability rankings for Detroit are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

The hidden costs of operating in this neighborhood

Factor	Where new owners get tripped up	Questions to ask before you sign
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.
Permits & licensing	Assuming a 30-day permit timeline, hitting 90+ days, paying rent on a non-operating storefront.	Call the local zoning office before signing. Confirm your use is already permitted; if not, factor a 2-3 month variance timeline.
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.

Full dataset for Detroit: /resources/data/detroit-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Visual Data

Dumbbell chart comparing best vs worst locations for businesses in Detroit — Best vs worst neighborhood per business type in Detroit — the gap shows how much location choice matters for each subtype.

Treemap of Detroit business mix by survivability score — Treemap of business mix in Detroit — cell size = number of locations, color = average survivability score.

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Fitzgerald, Detroit — Top business types scored in Fitzgerald, Detroit — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Foot traffic measured at the city-block level using a combination of pedestrian-network analysis and Walk Score.

**Daytime worker density (Fitzgerald):** LEHD LODES Workplace Area Characteristics show a **0.1:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** for Fitzgerald — a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic. Median workplace jobs within a 1-mile radius across Fitzgerald: **2,113**, of which roughly **270** are retail-sector. Higher daytime ratios favor weekday-lunch / commuter-traffic businesses; balanced ratios favor residential + weekend demand patterns.

Landmark anchor: Ella Fitzgerald Park anchors Fitzgerald's green-space backbone and shapes the neighborhood's foot-traffic patterns.

**Fitzgerald economic snapshot:** ACS reports neighborhood unemployment at **17.5%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median we track). The Detroit metro's BLS QCEW average weekly wage is **$1,472** (in line with our metro median), and the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey logged **3,912** new residential permits in Wayne County in 2025 — useful triangulation for population-growth and labor-cost assumptions in this neighborhood.

**Why these baselines matter:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics (March 2025) reports 5-year survival rates of **47.8-61.8%** across the industries StreetSpring covers. Restaurants survive at **50.0%** nationally — not 20%. The location decision is what separates the 30% above the baseline from the 30% below.

Related:

Beyond the Numbers: Local Context

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

What is the median household income in Fitzgerald?

Fitzgerald's median household income (~~$52K) is below the Detroit metro median (~~$75K) by approximately $24K. Lower median income tends to favor value-oriented retail, fast-casual food, and necessity-driven services.

How does economic hardship in Fitzgerald compare to the metro?

ACS data shows 39% of Fitzgerald residents below the federal poverty line, versus 20% metro-wide. Elevated poverty constrains discretionary retail; survivability is highest for essential services and value-oriented operators.

Is Fitzgerald's population younger or older than the Detroit average?

Fitzgerald's median age is 37 versus a Detroit metro median of 40 — younger by 3 years. This shapes which business types tend to survive: The demographic profile is close to the metro average, so business-type fit is driven by other factors like income and competition.

What's the national survival baseline for businesses by sector?

BLS publishes 5-year cohort survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range is 47.8-61.8% — Active Life low, Health & Medical high, Restaurants and Retail in the middle around 47.9-50%. Location-specific factors drive most of the variance around these baselines.