Business Survivability in Pasadena, Los Angeles
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Pasadena is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.
Quick Summary
- Best business: a Kosher Restaurant in Pasadena (~82% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #135 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles
- Neighborhood average: ~74% two-year survival across all business types
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: May 4, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder — updated weekly
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Pasadena 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 Pasadena is a Kosher Restaurant with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~84% chance; next is an Ukrainian Restaurant with a ~82% chance, followed by an Indian Restaurant with a ~82% chance.
Is Pasadena the right neighborhood for a new business?
In Los Angeles's neighborhood survivability rankings, Pasadena comes in at #135, with an average Survivability Score of ~74% across all business types.
- The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~3% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.
- But at poorly chosen addresses within Pasadena, even the top-ranked business types can fall well below the neighborhood average. Location selection remains critical — a promising concept at the wrong spot still carries significant risk.
- A 95.1% employment rate in Pasadena means a large share of local consumers have steady income — a strong underlying condition for discretionary spending 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 Pasadena?
StreetSpring narrows the decision down to the exact address — showing which blocks in Pasadena produce the highest survivability scores for your concept. Here is the top survivability address for a Kosher Restaurant in Pasadena, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:
Walking the neighborhood: what to look for
The 2026 StreetSpring model highlights this circle as the top zone for a Kosher Restaurant in Pasadena. Market conditions, new competitors, and local spending patterns can change rapidly — always verify with StreetSpring's live tool before signing a lease. 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.
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What are the best businesses to open in Pasadena?
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Pasadena
- Opening a Kosher Restaurant in Pasadena shows ~82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
- Ukrainian Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~82% average in Pasadena. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
- Indian Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Pasadena: ~82% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~80%.
- Pet Grooming Shop — ~80%–~84% survivability range, with an average of ~82% across Pasadena.
- Opening a Scandinavian Restaurant in Pasadena shows ~82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Pasadena
- Deli (Ranked #6): ~81% average in Pasadena. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
- American Restaurant is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Pasadena: ~81% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~79%.
- Diner — ~79%–~83% survivability range, with an average of ~81% across Pasadena.
- Opening an Italian Restaurant in Pasadena shows ~81% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
- Watch Store or Repair Shop (Ranked #10): ~81% average in Pasadena. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
How much money could a business in Pasadena make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, identifying the optimal address for your business type in Pasadena could lead to you making ~3% 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
- Even within a high-performing neighborhood, the best location varies by business type — StreetSpring scores each combination separately.
- A great product in the wrong location will underperform; an average product in the right location can thrive.
- Across every business type we've analyzed, location quality as measured by Survivability Score is the strongest predictor of financial performance.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for over 700 business types at any given storefront.
What Pasadena needs more of (per our model)
The top businesses to open next in Pasadena:
- Kosher Restaurants — ~82% average survival rate, up to ~84% at best locations
- Ukrainian Restaurants — ~82% average survival rate
- Indian Restaurants — ~82% average survival rate
Market conditions, new competitors, and local spending patterns can change rapidly — always verify with StreetSpring's live tool before signing a lease. The model draws from 100+ location-specific factors to generate each survivability score. A 8.6% vacancy rate in Pasadena reflects the current commercial environment; StreetSpring weights this directly in every survivability score for addresses in this neighborhood. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in Pasadena. StreetSpring's weekly updates mean you can always see the current score for any available storefront.
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 Pasadena.
What type of business should you rent your Pasadena storefront to?
Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Pasadena, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Kosher Restaurants, Ukrainian Restaurants, and Indian Restaurants.
- A great product in the wrong location will underperform; an average product in the right location can thrive.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for over 700 business types at any given storefront. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Los Angeles Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Pasadena storefront to a Kosher Restaurant?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Kosher Restaurant leads all business categories for Pasadena landlords — ~84% at the best addresses and ~80% at the most challenging ones in this neighborhood.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for over 700 business types at any given storefront.
What should I consider when opening a business in Pasadena?
Don't commit to a storefront in Pasadena 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 Revenue Capture Score at a specific address explains more about likely business success than any other available metric.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- StreetSpring offers free access to its survivability scores — see how your shortlisted Pasadena addresses rank right now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Using predictive analytics, StreetSpring helps entrepreneurs and landlords make smarter location decisions. Aggregated survivability rankings for Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Build-out budget rules-of-thumb for this neighborhood
| Area to check | What can go wrong | How to de-risk it |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
| Foot traffic seasonality | Looking at a peak-summer Tuesday and assuming year-round volume. | Walk the block at 3 different times across 2 different weeks. Ask neighboring tenants for their slow-season % drop. |
| 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. |
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
Related Resources
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More Questions About This Location
Additional questions with answers drawn directly from local data sources.
Does Pasadena's poverty rate signal lower retail spending?
The poverty rate in Pasadena is approximately 15%, compared to the Los Angeles metro median of 11%. The poverty rate tracks the metro median; business-type fit depends more on competition and demographic specifics.
Is Pasadena more a residential or work-destination neighborhood?
Median commute time in Pasadena is about 29 minutes, versus 31 minutes across the Los Angeles metro. Commute patterns are typical for the metro, so foot traffic timing should not be a primary differentiator.
What does household composition look like in Pasadena?
ACS data puts average household size in Pasadena at 2.7, compared to 2.7 across Los Angeles. Household composition is close to the metro average.
How does the median age in Pasadena compare to the Los Angeles metro?
Pasadena's median age is 39 versus a Los Angeles metro median of 39 — older by 0 year. 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.
How big is the Pasadena market in terms of resident population?
Pasadena has approximately 25K residents, putting it in the middle range among Los Angeles neighborhoods we track. The resident base is moderate; business-type fit depends more on capturing nearby commuter or destination traffic.