Business Survivability Rankings: Houston
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks business survivability in Houston by survivability score. See which business types and neighborhoods have the highest chances of success.
Quick Summary
- Best business: American Restaurant in Sunnyside (>97% survival rate)
- 2380 business-location combinations exceed 90% survival rates in Houston
- City average: 76% chance of lasting 2+ years
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: May 4, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
Table of Contents
- Summary
- What Are My Chances of Success?
- Business Survivability Rankings
- Understanding Survivability Ranges
- Most Important Factors
- Key Takeaways
- Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
- Related Resources
Summary
The 2026 survivability data for Houston tells a clear story: 2380 business-location combinations exceed a 90% two-year survival rate, led by American Restaurant in Sunnyside at >97%. Location is the single strongest predictor of whether a business thrives or fails.
Our platform provides the most comprehensive AI-driven survivability analysis available for U.S. commercial real estate, covering over 700 business types. We apply advanced machine learning to massive commercial real estate datasets to build accurate models.
Additionally, our analysis reveals significant variation across neighborhoods. The best locations offer >97% survival probability, while less optimal areas show considerably lower rates.
What Are My Chances of Success Opening a Business in Houston?
A Houston business has a 76% average chance of lasting more than 2 years in the current market.
Regardless, where you open is the primary driver of whether you survive or fail. Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes. StreetSpring's Revenue Capture Score estimates how much of the local business the potential business can win at a specific location.
What New Businesses Would Be the Most Successful in Houston?
As illustrated in the following chart, the distribution of business outcomes across Houston by survivability score bracket:
Houston: American Restaurant ranks #1 in survivability at >97% — 2026 StreetSpring analysis
The top 10 business opportunities in Houston are:
| Rank | Business Type | Neighborhood | Best Locations | Average Locations | Challenging Locations | Location Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | American Restaurant | Sunnyside | 96.9% – 97.0% | 82.3% – 85.6% | 72.3% – 76.2% | ~18% |
| 2 | Italian Restaurant | Sunnyside | 97.0% – 97.0% | 80.3% – 83.0% | 66.2% – 70.0% | ~21% |
| 3 | Bangladeshi Restaurant | Central Southwest | 96.4% – 97.0% | 81.3% – 85.2% | 65.8% – 69.4% | ~18% |
| 4 | Brazilian Restaurant | Central Southwest | 95.5% – 97.0% | 80.5% – 84.9% | 65.4% – 69.2% | ~19% |
| 5 | Hungarian Restaurant | Central Southwest | 95.5% – 97.0% | 81.0% – 83.9% | 65.1% – 68.9% | ~19% |
| 6 | Armenian Restaurant | East Little York - Homestead | 96.3% – 97.0% | 85.7% – 89.7% | 69.4% – 73.0% | ~11% |
| 7 | Moroccan Restaurant | East Little York - Homestead | 95.7% – 97.0% | 85.9% – 89.9% | 70.0% – 72.6% | ~12% |
| 8 | Hawaiian Restaurant | East Little York - Homestead | 96.0% – 97.0% | 86.0% – 88.8% | 68.6% – 72.0% | ~12% |
| 9 | Italian Restaurant | Sterling Ridge | 96.3% – 97.0% | 85.9% – 88.6% | 60.2% – 64.0% | ~12% |
| 10 | Watch Store or Repair Shop | Sterling Ridge | 94.1% – 97.0% | 81.0% – 86.5% | 60.7% – 65.1% | ~17% |
What this list does and doesn't say about competition
That said, neighborhood averages don't tell the whole story — there are standout locations even in areas that may appear less suitable. Neighborhood rankings are useful, but the exact odds for your location can only be seen by running a current survivability check in StreetSpring.
Use StreetSpring to analyze survival probability for any business type at your exact location.
Understanding Survivability Ranges
Real-world business outcomes vary based on micro-factors specific to each storefront, including storefront visibility from the main pedestrian flow, parking availability, the quality of neighboring tenants, and seasonal fluctuations in consumer spending.
How to read the 0-100 score in your own context
The ranges shown reflect the upper bound (optimal conditions within the location category), the lower bound (typical challenges in that market), and the width of the range, which represents local market volatility.
As an example, an American Restaurant showing 82.3% – 85.6% at average locations means most businesses in this category fall within this range. A best-in-class location (>97% survival) offers roughly 18% more expected business longevity than an average location (84%), because a higher survival probability translates directly into more operating time to generate revenue. Conversely, a challenging location (74%) represents 12% less expected longevity than the average — a meaningful risk differential that should factor into lease negotiations and capital planning. How you execute, when you open, and the exact characteristics of your storefront all influence where you fall within the range. Tight ranges mean more predictable outcomes; wide ranges mean higher variance.
Key Considerations Before Opening in Houston
Revenue Capture Score
No other single metric has as strong a correlation with business survival as Revenue Capture Score. This metric estimates how effectively a business at a specific address can convert local foot traffic and spending into actual revenue. To illustrate, an American Restaurant in a high-revenue-capture area might survive even with moderate competition, while the same business in a low-capture area could struggle despite less competition.
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
Competition Quality and Saturation
A certain density of competitors signals strong demand and can benefit all businesses. Still, too many strong direct competitors in the same trade area can be very harmful.
Tenant Mix and Neighborhood Dynamics
Nearby anchor tenants generate foot traffic that smaller businesses in the trade area can capture as walk-in customers. Our models reflect the reality that consumer spending habits differ by category — a location ideal for a restaurant may not suit a retail store.
Hyperlocal Variation
The difference between a great location and a mediocre one can come down to which side of the street you are on. StreetSpring pinpoints the exact survival likelihood for hundreds of business types at a specific address.
What Is the #1 Business to Start in Houston?
American Restaurant in Sunnyside with >97% survivability based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 5,859 business and neighborhood combinations.
How Accurate Is StreetSpring's Survival Prediction?
Our models deliver 95–99% prediction accuracy across business types. Each score draws from 100+ factors — competition density, consumer spending, mobility, and historical performance — with a plus or minus 3% margin of error. See our full methodology at streetspring.com/resources/tutorial/methodology. Review our methodology and data sources.
What Makes Houston Good for New Businesses?
Houston offers 2380 business-location combinations with 90% or higher survival rates in the current market. Powered by advanced AI, StreetSpring predicts how businesses will perform in neighborhoods across the country. Our analysis covers businesses serving the 24 largest metros in America.
How Fresh Is Our Houston Ranking Data?
Rankings for Houston are updated quarterly with the latest business opening and closure data and market conditions. Last updated: 2026-Q1. The next scheduled update for Houston will incorporate Q2 2026 data.
Can I Get Predictions for a Specific Address in Houston?
Yes. Visit StreetSpring.com to analyze any storefront address in Houston with address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.
What Factors Determine Business Survivability in Houston?
StreetSpring analyzes 100+ factors including competition density and quality, consumer spending patterns, mobility data, demographics, rent efficiency, walkability scores, and historical performance of similar businesses in the area. StreetSpring relies on its own proprietary forecasting engine to deliver these predictions.
Are These Predictions Guaranteed?
These are data-driven probabilities, not guarantees. However, the 95–99% accuracy rate means this approach produces significantly better outcomes than the intuition-based methods most operators use today. A single street can contain both excellent and poor locations for the same business type, which is why block-level data matters more than neighborhood averages.
How Do Landlords Identify the Best Tenant for Their Property?
Broad trends don't capture the unique dynamics of each storefront. Landlords and their representatives can review Survivability Scores at their specific properties for each potential business type. Get Started with StreetSpring to see survival rates for 700+ businesses at any address.
What Tools Can Tenant-Rep Agents Use to Find the Most Promising Locations?
Traditional site selection often relies on intuition and incomplete information. Across the U.S., real estate professionals and business owners rely on StreetSpring's AI predictions to understand where a new venture is most likely to thrive, before signing a lease. Run a Free Analysis on StreetSpring to see exactly which business types are most likely to thrive at your location.
Key Takeaways
Data Summary: 2380 business-location combinations exceed 90% survival in Houston. The top opportunity is American Restaurant in Sunnyside at >97% survival. The city average is 76% two-year survival rate across 5,859 business and neighborhood combinations analyzed.
Action Items: Explore the neighborhoods near Sunnyside, where American Restaurant ranks highest in Houston. Run your target address through StreetSpring's tool to compare survivability across business types. Factor in local competition density and consumer spending data before committing to a location.
Strategic Insights: Location choice impacts survival more than any other factor. Hyperlocal factors like corner position, sidewalk width, and nearest anchor tenant create survivability swings that neighborhood averages cannot capture. Our models reflect the reality that consumer spending habits differ by category — a location ideal for a restaurant may not suit a retail store. Revenue Capture Score is the single best predictor of success.
Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
Even subtypes that rank lower citywide have strong neighborhoods. Here's what to know about Houston's top, middle, and bottom-ranked business types:
Spanish Restaurant — ranked #47 of 93 — a middle-of-the-pack Houston subtype
- Pleasantville-Area (89% survivability)
- South-Main (88% survivability)
- East-Little-York-Homestead (88% survivability)
- Carverdale (86% survivability)
- Second-Ward (86% survivability)
Full Spanish Restaurants guide for Houston →
Tapas Restaurant — ranked #93 of 93 — among Houston's lower-ranked subtypes
- Greater-Eastwood (61% survivability)
- Greenway-Upper-Kirby-Area (57% survivability)
- Greater-Uptown (56% survivability)
- Greater-Third-Ward (56% survivability)
- Memorial (56% survivability)
Full Tapas Restaurants guide for Houston →
Subtype rank in Houston is a starting point, not a verdict. Every business type has neighborhoods where it punches above its average.
Visual Data
Related Resources
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Houston
- Houston Business Survivability Data 2026
- City Survivability Rankings for American Restaurant
- National Neighborhood Rankings for American Restaurant
- American Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Houston
- Italian Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Houston
- Bangladeshi Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Houston
- StreetSpring Methodology and Data Sources
- Discover the small business advantage
Technical note: Aggregated survivability rankings for Houston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
View technical data for Houston
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and foot traffic data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.