Business Survivability in Westwood, Houston
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Westwood is a Veterinary Clinic 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 Veterinary Clinic in Westwood (~81% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #51 across all neighborhoods in and around Houston
- 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 Westwood 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 Westwood is a Veterinary Clinic 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 a Dance Club with a 79.76% chance, followed by a Grocery Store with a 79.47% chance.
Is Westwood a good place to start a business?
Across all neighborhoods in and around Houston, StreetSpring's data places Westwood at #51 with a ~77% average Survivability Score.
- The highest-scoring business types in Westwood — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~10%.
- Yet even the strongest business types in Westwood see survivability scores drop significantly at the worst addresses. No business type is immune to the consequences of poor location selection within this neighborhood.
- StreetSpring's model incorporates Westwood's 12.4% 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.
How can you find the best location to open a business in Westwood?
StreetSpring can pinpoint which exact blocks in Westwood maximize a business's chances of success. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Veterinary Clinic in Westwood:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Veterinary Clinic in Westwood. StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes hundreds of 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 Westwood?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 80.64% |
| 2 | Dance Club | 79.76% |
| 3 | Grocery Store | 79.47% |
| 4 | Steakhouse | 78.81% |
| 5 | Mediterranean Restaurant | 78.69% |
| 6 | Italian Restaurant | 78.12% |
| 7 | Seafood Restaurant | 77.82% |
| 8 | Dessert Shop | 75.11% |
| 9 | Gym | 74.47% |
| 10 | Tanning Salon | 73.98% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Westwood
- Veterinary Clinic — ~76%–~84% survivability range, with an average of 80.64% across Westwood.
- Opening a Dance Club in Westwood shows 79.76% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- Grocery Store (Ranked #3): 79.47% average in Westwood. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
- Steakhouse is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Westwood: 78.81% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~75%.
- Mediterranean Restaurant — ~75%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 78.69% across Westwood.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Westwood
- Opening an Italian Restaurant in Westwood shows 78.12% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Seafood Restaurant (Ranked #7): 77.82% average in Westwood. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Dessert Shop is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Westwood: 75.11% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~71%.
- Gym — ~71%–~77% survivability range, with an average of 74.47% across Westwood.
- Opening a Tanning Salon in Westwood shows 73.98% average survivability. Top locations reach ~78%; lower-end sites show ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Dance Club — See how this compares to other cities →
- Grocery Store — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Westwood make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, prioritizing survivability score in your site-selection process in Westwood could lead to you making ~10% more than if you selected an average location, and ~28% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Even within a high-performing neighborhood, the best location varies by business type — StreetSpring scores each combination separately.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- Every percentage point of Survivability Score represents a real difference in expected revenue — choosing the highest-scoring address is the most reliable financial decision you can make at the outset.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.
What businesses should open next in Westwood?
The top businesses to open next in Westwood:
- Veterinary Clinics — 80.64% average survival rate, ~84% at the best address
- Dance Clubs — 79.76% average survival rate
- Grocery Stores — 79.47% average survival rate
StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. The model draws from 100+ location-specific factors to generate each survivability score. 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. Westwood's combination of 91.4% employment and 12.4% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. Survivability scores are live, not static — StreetSpring updates them weekly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in Westwood and how each address is scoring right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Houston Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Houston Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Houston neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Westwood.
What type of business should you rent your Westwood storefront to?
For landlords in Westwood, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Veterinary Clinics, Dance Clubs, and Grocery Stores as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category. With StreetSpring, you can rank every potential tenant type by survivability score at your property address before committing to a lease.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Houston Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Westwood storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Veterinary Clinic leads all business categories for Westwood landlords — ~84% at the best addresses and ~76% 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 Westwood?
In Westwood, the single most important factor in your site-selection decision is the Survivability Score of the specific address you're evaluating.
- A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
- No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
- You can check the Survivability Score for any storefront in Westwood at no cost using StreetSpring's live tool.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Powered by machine learning models trained on real business outcomes, StreetSpring delivers actionable insights. Aggregated survivability rankings for Houston are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Houston: /resources/data/houston-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.