Business Survivability in Santa Monica, Los Angeles
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Santa Monica is a Pet Grooming Shop 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 Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica (~81% average survival rate, ~82% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #3 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: September 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica is a Pet Grooming Shop with a ~81% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~82% chance; next is a Diner with a 81.42% chance, followed by a Brunch Restaurant with a 81.23% chance.
Is Santa Monica a good place to start a business?
Santa Monica holds the #3 position in and around Los Angeles for new business survivability, averaging ~81% across all analyzed business types.
- The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~2% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.
- That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Santa Monica can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
- At 93.4% employed, Santa Monica'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.
How can you find the best location to open a business in Santa Monica?
With StreetSpring, location selection in Santa Monica moves from guesswork to a precise, address-level survivability score for any business type you're considering. This is the address StreetSpring's 2026 analysis recommends most strongly for a Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica:
This map shows the optimal location for a Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. The prediction model incorporates hundreds of location-specific factors, including competitive density, forecasted consumer spending, mobility patterns, and Revenue Capture Score.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Santa Monica?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting 2+ years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pet Grooming Shop | 81.49% |
| 2 | Diner | 81.42% |
| 3 | Brunch Restaurant | 81.23% |
| 4 | Japanese / Sushi Restaurant | 81.18% |
| 5 | Brazilian Restaurant | 81.13% |
| 6 | Scandinavian Restaurant | 81.12% |
| 7 | Pet Boarding Facility | 81.11% |
| 8 | Veterinary Clinic | 81.10% |
| 9 | Filipino Restaurant | 80.99% |
| 10 | Italian Restaurant | 80.98% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Santa Monica
- Pet Grooming Shop is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: 81.49% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~80%.
- Diner — ~81%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 81.42% across Santa Monica.
- Opening a Brunch Restaurant in Santa Monica shows 81.23% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurant (Ranked #4): 81.18% average in Santa Monica. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
- Brazilian Restaurant is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: 81.13% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~80%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Santa Monica
- Scandinavian Restaurant — ~80%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 81.12% across Santa Monica.
- Opening a Pet Boarding Facility in Santa Monica shows 81.11% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
- Veterinary Clinic (Ranked #8): 81.10% average in Santa Monica. Best-case storefronts: ~88%. Challenging locations: ~86%.
- Filipino Restaurant is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: 80.99% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~80%.
- Italian Restaurant — ~80%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 80.98% across Santa Monica.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Pet Grooming Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
- Diner — See how this compares to other cities →
- Brunch Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica could lead to you making ~2% 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.
- Businesses in high-scoring locations consistently outperform those in average or low-scoring sites.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.
What businesses should open next in Santa Monica?
The top businesses to open next in Santa Monica:
- Pet Grooming Shops — 81.49% average survival rate, up to ~82% at best locations
- Diners — 81.42% average survival rate
- Brunch Restaurants — 81.23% average survival rate
Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. Our analysis covers every major metro in the country — 24 cities and 180 million++ consumers. Santa Monica's combination of 93.4% employment and 12.9% 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 Santa Monica. 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
Visual Data
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Santa Monica.
What type of business should you rent your Santa Monica storefront to?
Our 2026 survivability data for Santa Monica shows that Pet Grooming Shops, Diners, and Brunch Restaurants rank as the top tenant categories for minimizing vacancy risk.
- A great product in the wrong location will underperform; an average product in the right location can thrive.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for 2+ years.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Los Angeles Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Santa Monica storefront to a Pet Grooming Shop?
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Pet Grooming Shop ranks as the top tenant type for your Santa Monica storefront — best-case locations show a ~82% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~80%.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.
What should I consider when opening a business in Santa Monica?
Don't commit to a storefront in Santa Monica 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.
- These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
- StreetSpring's address-level survivability data is available free of charge — start with your top candidate locations in Santa Monica.
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.
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.