What businesses are most in demand in Laurelhurst?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Laurelhurst are French Restaurants, Italian Restaurants, and Pet Stores.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Laurelhurst?

StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility patterns to pinpoint which blocks in Laurelhurst maximize success.

How much money could a business in Laurelhurst make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Laurelhurst could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~4% more than one of the worst locations.

What are the best businesses to open in Laurelhurst?

The top businesses to open in Laurelhurst include French Restaurant with a ~86% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~88%, followed by Italian Restaurant and Pet Store.

Is Laurelhurst a good place to start a business?

Laurelhurst is ranked number 29 across neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~77%. The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Laurelhurst reaches ~2% for the strongest-performing business categories.

Business Survivability in Laurelhurst, Los Angeles

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Laurelhurst is a French Restaurant with a ~86% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a French Restaurant in Laurelhurst (~86% average survival rate, ~88% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #29 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles

Neighborhood average: ~77% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: April 26, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder — updated weekly

In this article:

Summary
Is Laurelhurst 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 Laurelhurst is a French Restaurant with a ~86% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~88% chance; next is an Italian Restaurant with a ~86% chance, followed by a Pet Store with a ~85% chance.

How business-friendly is Laurelhurst right now?

**Where else does Laurelhurst look like?** The strongest demographic and amenity-density matches are **Jomacha Lomita (San Diego)** and **Ayer (Boston)**, sharing low vacancy, less college-educated, and high high-earner share. If you've worked in either of those neighborhoods, expect Laurelhurst to behave similarly on the dimensions that drive survival.

**What goes wrong in Laurelhurst.** Across 93 subtypes we track, **Italian Restaurant averages 86%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Italian Restaurants range from **81% to 88%** across Laurelhurst — a 7-point window where the address, not the concept, decides the outcome. For competitive density: Filipino Restaurants are the most-concentrated tracked subtype (33 within 0.5 miles).

Among all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, Laurelhurst ranks #29 for business survivability, with an average score of ~77%.

The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Laurelhurst reaches ~2% for the strongest-performing business categories.
However, these same business types at the worst locations in Laurelhurst can sometimes provide a projected Survivability Score considerably below the average. Thus, even the businesses that are most in need in Laurelhurst could have trouble succeeding if the best location is not selected.
At 89.4% employed, Laurelhurst's consumer base has the spending capacity that makes the neighborhood viable for a wide range of business types — though location selection within the neighborhood still determines actual survivability.

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

Pinpointing the best locations within Laurelhurst

StreetSpring's Laurelhurst data goes block by block — not just neighborhood averages — so you know which specific storefront gives your concept the strongest foundation. According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, this is the optimal address for a French Restaurant in Laurelhurst:

Anchor tenants that lift survival odds

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The highlighted area represents the address in Laurelhurst that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a French Restaurant survivability. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates 100 inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and mobility data.

Check if this location is still available →

Top-ranked business types for Laurelhurst

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Laurelhurst

Opening a French Restaurant in Laurelhurst shows ~86% average survivability. Top locations reach ~88%; lower-end sites show ~85%.
Italian Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~86% average in Laurelhurst. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~84%.
Pet Store is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Laurelhurst: ~85% chance on average, best at ~87%, challenging at ~83%.
Bangladeshi Restaurant — ~84%–~87% survivability range, with an average of ~85% across Laurelhurst.
Opening a South American Restaurant in Laurelhurst shows ~85% average survivability. Top locations reach ~87%; lower-end sites show ~83%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Laurelhurst

Deli (Ranked #6): ~85% average in Laurelhurst. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~83%.
Chinese Restaurant is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Laurelhurst: ~85% chance on average, best at ~86%, challenging at ~83%.
Chicken Shop — ~84%–~87% survivability range, with an average of ~85% across Laurelhurst.
Opening an Indonesian Restaurant in Laurelhurst shows ~85% average survivability. Top locations reach ~87%; lower-end sites show ~84%.
Ethiopian Restaurant (Ranked #10): ~85% average in Laurelhurst. Best-case storefronts: ~86%. Challenging locations: ~83%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

How location selection in Laurelhurst affects revenue

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Laurelhurst could lead to you making ~2% 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

No two business types have identical location needs; survivability scores reflect these differences at the address level.
Location is the single strongest predictor of whether a business thrives or fails.
Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

Where the next great business in Laurelhurst should go

The top businesses to open next in Laurelhurst:

French Restaurants — ~86% average survival rate, up to ~88% at best locations
Italian Restaurants — ~86% average survival rate
Pet Stores — ~85% average survival rate

The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. We apply advanced machine learning to one of the largest commercial real estate outcome datasets in the country. The 89.4% employment rate in Laurelhurst is a key signal of consumer health; when combined with the 2.3% vacancy rate, it produces a competitive landscape that favors the business types ranked above. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Laurelhurst are available right now and how they rank.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Los Angeles Business Survivability Rankings
See the Los Angeles Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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

According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, the strongest tenant types for a storefront in Laurelhurst are French Restaurants, Italian Restaurants, and Pet Stores.

Location is the single strongest predictor of whether a business thrives or fails.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood. Use StreetSpring to see the survivability score for any business type at your exact storefront address before you sign a lease.

Should you rent your Laurelhurst storefront to a French Restaurant?

Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Laurelhurst in 2026, a French Restaurant posts the highest survivability ceiling at ~88% and maintains a reasonable floor of ~85% — making it the most reliable tenant choice here.

StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

What should I consider when opening a business in Laurelhurst?

Don't commit to a storefront in Laurelhurst without first checking its Survivability Score — the difference between a 70% and a 90% score at two addresses on the same block can determine your long-term outcome.

The most important driver of a high Survivability Score is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects.
StreetSpring's custom-built forecasting infrastructure powers every survivability score, combining data science with commercial real estate intelligence.
StreetSpring is free to use — see the current survivability score for any address in Laurelhurst right now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring combines proprietary data with advanced analytics to predict which businesses will succeed. Aggregated survivability rankings for Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Permits, licensing, and zoning specifics worth flagging

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.
Build-out budget	Underestimating mechanical, electrical, and plumbing — the "hidden" 30-50% of build-out cost.	Get 3 quotes from licensed contractors and pad budget by +20% for surprises. Confirm landlord TI allowance in writing.
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.

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

Visual Data

Bubble chart of business subtypes in Los Angeles by survivability score and location density — Every business subtype in Los Angeles plotted by score vs location count — bubble size shows market depth.

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

How we measure this: Most retail competition operates within a 500-meter radius — outside that, behavioral economics show customers don't routinely switch.

**LEHD demand-pattern signal (Laurelhurst):** Median 1-mile workplace jobs across Laurelhurst: **4,655** (LEHD LODES 2022). That works out to a **2.8:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** — a worker-heavy mixed-use signal. Of those workplace jobs, **822** are retail-sector. Use this to gauge whether your concept is weekday-commuter-driven or evening-and-weekend-driven.

**Three local anchors for Laurelhurst:** **10.6%** neighborhood unemployment (above the 24-metro median, ACS), **$1,127/week** average wage in the Los Angeles area (below our metro median, BLS QCEW), and **22,446** new residential units permitted in Los Angeles County in 2025 (Census BPS). These three together describe the demand-and-labor environment any new Laurelhurst business operates within.

**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

More questions answered with neighborhood-specific data from our 2026 corpus.

How does Laurelhurst's commute profile affect retail demand?

ACS data puts the median commute at ~26 minutes in Laurelhurst, compared to 31 minutes metro-wide. A shorter commute usually means residents work close to home — that boosts mid-day weekday demand for cafes, lunch spots, and convenience services.

What does household composition look like in Laurelhurst?

Average household size in Laurelhurst is 4.1, versus 2.7 across the Los Angeles metro. Larger households suggest more families — favorable for family dining, kid-oriented retail, and household services.

What is the median household income in Laurelhurst?

Median household income in Laurelhurst is approximately $121K, versus the Los Angeles metro median of $113K — above the metro by $8K. Income is close to the metro median, so business-type fit depends more on local demographics and competition.

What does the employment picture in Laurelhurst look like for new businesses?

Roughly 89% of Laurelhurst's working-age population is employed, against a Los Angeles metro median of 93%. Below-average employment can constrain discretionary spending — value-oriented and essential services tend to fare better.

How educated is the population in Laurelhurst?

15% of Laurelhurst adults have at least a bachelor's degree — below the Los Angeles metro median of 39%. Lower education attainment shifts demand toward value retail, services, and everyday needs.