What are the best businesses to open in San Pedro?

The top businesses to open in San Pedro include Singaporean Restaurant with a ~89% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~91%, followed by French Restaurant and Kosher Restaurant.

Is San Pedro a good place to start a business?

San Pedro is ranked number 2 across neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~81%. Strong business types at their best-match addresses in San Pedro consistently score ~3% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.

What businesses are most in demand in San Pedro?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in San Pedro are Singaporean Restaurants, French Restaurants, and Kosher Restaurants.

Business Survivability in San Pedro, Los Angeles

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in San Pedro is a Singaporean Restaurant with a ~89% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•17 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Singaporean Restaurant in San Pedro (~89% average survival rate, ~91% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #2 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles

Neighborhood average: ~81% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 13, 2026 by Bobby Koons, StreetSpring founder — updated weekly

In this article:

Summary
Is San Pedro 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 San Pedro is a Singaporean Restaurant with a ~89% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~91% chance; next is a French Restaurant with a ~89% chance, followed by a Kosher Restaurant with a ~89% chance.

How business-friendly is San Pedro right now?

**Peer neighborhoods:** Looking at demographic mix and amenity density across the 24 metros StreetSpring covers, San Pedro clusters most tightly with **Tujunga (Los Angeles)** and **Hialeah Gardens (Miami)**. Common thread: low destination density, few anchor tenants, and older housing stock. Survival outcomes for those neighborhoods provide a useful comparison set for San Pedro.

**Where San Pedro businesses actually fail.** Among the 93 tracked subtypes, **Singaporean Restaurants** post the highest average survivability (89%). But across San Pedro's sites, the spread for this subtype runs **71% to 97%** — a 26-point gap that says *the address matters more than the subtype*. For saturation context, Filipino Restaurants are the most densely-clustered tracked subtype in the neighborhood (6 competitors within 0.5 miles).

San Pedro is the #2 most survivable neighborhood for new businesses in and around Los Angeles, with an average score of ~81% across all analyzed categories.

Strong business types at their best-match addresses in San Pedro consistently score ~3% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.
Yet the same categories that score highest in San Pedro can underperform significantly at the wrong address. Location precision within the neighborhood matters as much as choosing the neighborhood itself.
The 5.2% commercial vacancy rate in San Pedro 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.

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

With StreetSpring, location selection in San Pedro moves from guesswork to a precise, address-level survivability score for any business type you're considering. Of all available storefronts analyzed in San Pedro, StreetSpring ranks this area highest for a Singaporean Restaurant in 2026:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

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StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Singaporean Restaurant in San Pedro. 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 evaluates 100 factors — from primary and secondary competition to forecasted spend, mobility flows, and local market share potential.

Check if this location is still available →

The strongest business categories for San Pedro

#1-5: Highest Survivability in San Pedro

Opening a Singaporean Restaurant in San Pedro shows ~89% average survivability. Top locations reach ~91%; lower-end sites show ~87%.
French Restaurant (Ranked #2): ~89% average in San Pedro. Best-case storefronts: ~90%. Challenging locations: ~87%.
Kosher Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in San Pedro: ~89% chance on average, best at ~91%, challenging at ~87%.
American Restaurant — ~87%–~90% survivability range, with an average of ~88% across San Pedro.
Opening a Pet Grooming Shop in San Pedro shows ~88% average survivability. Top locations reach ~90%; lower-end sites show ~86%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in San Pedro

Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #6): ~88% average in San Pedro. Best-case storefronts: ~90%. Challenging locations: ~87%.
Italian Restaurant is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in San Pedro: ~88% chance on average, best at ~90%, challenging at ~87%.
Pet Boarding Facility — ~86%–~90% survivability range, with an average of ~88% across San Pedro.
Opening a Filipino Restaurant in San Pedro shows ~88% average survivability. Top locations reach ~89%; lower-end sites show ~86%.
Ukrainian Restaurant (Ranked #10): ~88% average in San Pedro. Best-case storefronts: ~90%. Challenging locations: ~85%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

How much money could a business in San Pedro make?

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, going with one of the top-scoring locations in the neighborhood rather than an average one in San Pedro could lead to you making ~3% 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

Site selection requires evaluating the specific combination of your business type and the exact address — neighborhood-level data is only the starting point.
The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
StreetSpring has found that selecting the location with the highest survivability score for a business is the best way to maximize the amount of money you will make.
StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.

Which business types are most underserved in San Pedro?

The top businesses to open next in San Pedro:

Singaporean Restaurants — ~89% average survival rate, up to ~91% at best locations
French Restaurants — ~89% average survival rate
Kosher Restaurants — ~89% 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. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. San Pedro's combination of 93.8% employment and 5.2% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in San Pedro. 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 San Pedro.

What type of business should you rent your San Pedro storefront to?

The analysis is clear: in San Pedro, Singaporean Restaurants, French Restaurants, and Kosher Restaurants consistently score highest on survivability, giving landlords the best chance of retaining tenants for 2+ years.

The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. Run your specific address through StreetSpring to see which tenant categories give you the best odds of stable, long-term occupancy.

Should you rent your San Pedro storefront to a Singaporean Restaurant?

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to a Singaporean Restaurant in San Pedro: best-in-class addresses achieve ~91% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at ~87% — above average for most business types.

StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.

What should I consider when opening a business in San Pedro?

The Survivability Score for your specific address in San Pedro is the most reliable signal you have before signing a lease — prioritize it above foot traffic estimates and demographic summaries.

Among all the inputs that shape survivability, Revenue Capture Score carries the most predictive weight.
These forecasts are generated using StreetSpring's unique analytical framework.
StreetSpring offers free access to its survivability scores — see how your shortlisted San Pedro addresses rank right now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's AI platform has studied businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans, giving its predictions a scale of validation unmatched in site-selection tools. Aggregated survivability rankings for Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Permits, licensing, and zoning specifics worth flagging

Factor	Where new owners get tripped up	Questions to ask before you sign
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.
Insurance + compliance	General liability quoted at a starter rate, then jumping 2-3x once you add property + workers' comp + business interruption.	Get binding quotes from 2 insurers before signing the lease. Most landlords require minimum coverage levels — read those terms first.
CAM + hidden costs	Stated rent looks great, then CAM fees, signage charges, and after-hours utilities add 15-30%.	Get the full operating expense breakdown for the past 2 years. Ask which costs are landlord-capped vs. uncapped.

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 San Pedro, Los Angeles — Top business types scored in San Pedro, 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: Foot traffic measured at the city-block level using a combination of pedestrian-network analysis and Walk Score.

**Neighborhood context.** San Pedro is a neighborhood located within the South Bay and Harbor region of the city of Los Angeles, California, United States. Formerly a separate city, it consolidated with Los Angeles in 1909. Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Pedro%2C_Los_Angeles).

**Worker-to-resident ratio (San Pedro):** LEHD daytime population data gives San Pedro a **0.0-to-1 worker/resident ratio** (a primarily-residential neighborhood with minimal daytime worker traffic). Median 1-mile workplace jobs: **3,496**; retail share within that: **418**. Worker-heavy neighborhoods skew demand toward weekday-business-hours; resident-heavy neighborhoods skew toward evenings and weekends.

Landmark anchor: Los Angeles Maritime Museum is San Pedro's history-museum landmark and a meaningful pull factor for visitor foot-traffic.

**Economic context that bounds the demand environment in San Pedro:** Per ACS, neighborhood unemployment is **6.2%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median). BLS QCEW shows the Los Angeles metro's average weekly wage at **$1,127** (below our 24-metro median). And Los Angeles County permitted **22,446** new residential units in 2025 per Census BPS — a population-and-demand growth signal.

**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:

Local Data Questions

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

Does San Pedro's education level matter for picking a business type?

33% of San Pedro 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.

How many people live in San Pedro?

Approximately 85K people live in San Pedro, which puts it in the top quintile by population among Los Angeles neighborhoods. A larger resident base supports a broader range of business types and can absorb more direct competitors.

What's the vacancy picture in San Pedro?

Approximately 5% of San Pedro housing units are vacant — below the Los Angeles metro median (5%). Vacancy is close to the metro median — lease economics are typical for the area.