What are the best businesses to open in Pico-Union?

The top businesses to open in Pico-Union include Scandinavian Restaurant with a ~81% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~83%, followed by Brazilian Restaurant and Mexican Restaurant.

What businesses are most in demand in Pico-Union?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Pico-Union are Scandinavian Restaurants, Brazilian Restaurants, and Mexican Restaurants.

Is Pico-Union a good place to start a business?

Pico-Union is ranked number 81 across neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~76%. Best-case locations for the top business types in Pico-Union produce survivability scores ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.

How can you find the best location to open a business in Pico-Union?

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 Pico-Union maximize success.

How much money could a business in Pico-Union make?

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

Business Survivability in Pico-Union, Los Angeles

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Pico-Union is a Scandinavian Restaurant with a ~81% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Scandinavian Restaurant in Pico-Union (~81% average survival rate, ~83% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #81 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles

Neighborhood average: ~76% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Reviewed and updated: May 11, 2026 — Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Pico-Union 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 Pico-Union is a Scandinavian Restaurant with a ~81% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~83% chance; next is a Brazilian Restaurant with a ~80% chance, followed by a Mexican Restaurant with a ~80% chance.

How business-friendly is Pico-Union right now?

**Peer neighborhoods:** Looking at demographic mix and amenity density across the 24 metros StreetSpring covers, Pico-Union clusters most tightly with **Chinatown (Los Angeles)** and **Downtown (San Francisco)**. Common thread: more renters, high-rise built form, and dense amenity mix. Survival outcomes for those neighborhoods provide a useful comparison set for Pico-Union.

**Where Pico-Union businesses actually fail.** Among the 93 tracked subtypes, **Mexican Restaurants** post the highest average survivability (80%). But across Pico-Union's sites, the spread for this subtype runs **73% to 86%** — a 13-point gap that says *the address matters more than the subtype*. For saturation context, Middle Eastern Restaurants are the most densely-clustered tracked subtype in the neighborhood (23 competitors within 0.5 miles).

Pico-Union is the #81 most survivable neighborhood for new businesses in and around Los Angeles, with an average score of ~76% across all analyzed categories.

Best-case locations for the top business types in Pico-Union produce survivability scores ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Pico-Union can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
The 10.4% commercial vacancy rate in Pico-Union is a leading indicator of the neighborhood's business health; StreetSpring factors this directly into each business type's survivability score.

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

Pinpointing the best locations within Pico-Union

StreetSpring narrows the decision down to the exact address — showing which blocks in Pico-Union produce the highest survivability scores for your concept. This is the address StreetSpring's 2026 analysis recommends most strongly for a Scandinavian Restaurant in Pico-Union:

Walking the neighborhood: what to look for

Loading live map preview...

The highlighted area represents the address in Pico-Union that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Scandinavian Restaurant survivability. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. 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 Pico-Union

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Pico-Union

Opening a Scandinavian Restaurant in Pico-Union shows ~81% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
Brazilian Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~80% average in Pico-Union. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
Mexican Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Pico-Union: ~80% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~78%.
Ukrainian Restaurant — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Pico-Union.
Opening a Kosher Restaurant in Pico-Union shows ~80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~78%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Pico-Union

French Restaurant (Ranked #6): ~80% average in Pico-Union. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
Pet Boarding Facility is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Pico-Union: ~80% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~78%.
Indonesian Restaurant — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Pico-Union.
Opening a Juice & Smoothie Bar in Pico-Union shows ~80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #10): ~80% average in Pico-Union. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~77%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Brazilian Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

What you could earn opening a business in Pico-Union

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in Pico-Union 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

Every business type has unique location requirements that must be considered.
Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
The businesses that outperform their category averages most consistently are those that scored highest on survivability before opening.
StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success.

The biggest opportunity gaps in Pico-Union

The top businesses to open next in Pico-Union:

Scandinavian Restaurants — ~81% average survival rate, up to ~83% at best locations
Brazilian Restaurants — ~80% average survival rate
Mexican Restaurants — ~80% average survival rate

Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. Pico-Union's employment rate (91.1%) and vacancy rate (10.4%) together define the economic context that StreetSpring's model uses to score survivability for each business type at each address. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Pico-Union 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 Pico-Union.

What type of business should you rent your Pico-Union storefront to?

StreetSpring's 2026 model places Scandinavian Restaurants, Brazilian Restaurants, and Mexican Restaurants at the top of the survivability rankings for Pico-Union — making them the safest long-term tenant bets for landlords here.

Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.

Should you rent your Pico-Union storefront to a Scandinavian Restaurant?

The data shows a Scandinavian Restaurant is the safest long-term bet for a Pico-Union storefront. Top locations reach ~83% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~80%.

StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success.

What should I consider when opening a business in Pico-Union?

Don't commit to a storefront in Pico-Union 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.

Revenue Capture is where competition meets spending — and it's the number that matters most when choosing a location.
No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Pico-Union for free at any time.

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 Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

The hidden costs of operating in this neighborhood

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
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.
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.
Competitor density	Counting only direct competitors and missing adjacent-category overlap (e.g. coffee shop near a bakery).	Map all businesses serving overlapping customer needs within a 5-min walk. Use StreetSpring's competitor view as a starting point.

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

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

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Pico Union, Los Angeles — Top business types scored in Pico Union, Los Angeles — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

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.

How we measure this: Supplier proximity matters more for some subtypes (restaurants, repair shops) than others (online-anchored retail).

**Neighborhood context.** Pico-Union is a neighborhood in Central Los Angeles, California. The name "Pico-Union" refers to the neighborhood that surrounds the intersection of Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pico-Union%2C_Los_Angeles).

**LEHD demand-pattern signal (Pico-Union):** Median 1-mile workplace jobs across Pico-Union: **67,360** (LEHD LODES 2022). That works out to a **1.1:1 daytime-to-resident ratio** — a balanced mixed-use pattern. Of those workplace jobs, **5,365** are retail-sector. Use this to gauge whether your concept is weekday-commuter-driven or evening-and-weekend-driven.

Landmark anchor: Pico-Union's park anchor is Hope & Peace Park, which sets weekend and warm-weather foot-traffic patterns for the surrounding blocks.

**Local economic context (Pico-Union, Los Angeles):** Pico-Union's ACS unemployment rate is **8.9%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median). County-level data adds two more anchors: BLS QCEW reports Los Angeles-area average weekly wage of **$1,127** (below our 24-metro median), and the Census Bureau Building Permits Survey logged **22,446** new residential units in Los Angeles County in 2025 — a rough proxy for the local growth environment a new business is opening into.

**Authoritative baseline:** BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release publishes 5-year survival rates by industry. For sectors StreetSpring covers, the range runs from **47.8%** (Active Life) to **61.8%** (Health & Medical), with restaurants at **50.0%** and retail at **47.9%**. Location-specific factors drive the actual variance around these baselines.

Related:

Neighborhood-Specific Questions

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

What is the median age in Pico-Union, and what does that mean for businesses?

Pico-Union's median age is 35 versus a Los Angeles metro median of 39 — younger by 4 years. This shapes which business types tend to survive: A younger profile tends to drive demand for nightlife, fitness, and casual dining over family-oriented services.

What survival rates does the federal government track for small businesses?

BLS Business Employment Dynamics data (March 2025 release) shows 5-year survival rates spanning 47.8% (Active Life) to 61.8% (Health & Medical) across the 11 sectors StreetSpring tracks. Restaurants — the most studied category — survive at 50% nationally, well above the often-cited "80% fail" myth.

Is Pico-Union more single-occupant or family-household?

ACS data puts average household size in Pico-Union at 2.0, compared to 2.7 across Los Angeles. Smaller households suggest more singles or couples — favorable for casual dining, fitness, and convenience retail.

38% of Pico-Union adults have at least a bachelor's degree — below the Los Angeles metro median of 39%. Education attainment is close to the metro median, so business-type signals come more from income and density.