What businesses are most in demand in Sawtelle?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Sawtelle are Indian Restaurants, Pet Grooming Shops, and Japanese / Sushi Restaurants.

Is Sawtelle a good place to start a business?

Sawtelle is ranked number 105 across neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~75%. Strong business types at their best-match addresses in Sawtelle consistently score ~3% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.

What are the best businesses to open in Sawtelle?

The top businesses to open in Sawtelle include Indian Restaurant with a ~80% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~83%, followed by Pet Grooming Shop and Japanese / Sushi Restaurant.

How much money could a business in Sawtelle make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Sawtelle could lead to making ~3% more than selecting an average location, and ~5% more than one of the worst locations.

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

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 Sawtelle maximize success.

Business Survivability in Sawtelle, Los Angeles

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Sawtelle is an Indian Restaurant with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•18 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: an Indian Restaurant in Sawtelle (~80% average survival rate, ~83% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #105 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles

Neighborhood average: ~75% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 9, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Sawtelle 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 Sawtelle is an Indian Restaurant with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~83% chance; next is a Pet Grooming Shop with a ~80% chance, followed by a Japanese / Sushi Restaurant with a ~80% chance.

What does the data say about opening in Sawtelle?

**Where else does Sawtelle look like?** The strongest demographic and amenity-density matches are **University Heights (San Diego)** and **Upper Fells Point (Baltimore)**, sharing shorter commutes, more renters, and high destination retail density. If you've worked in either of those neighborhoods, expect Sawtelle to behave similarly on the dimensions that drive survival.

**What goes wrong in Sawtelle.** Across 93 subtypes we track, **Pet Grooming Shop averages 80%** — the highest in the neighborhood. Yet a site-level look shows Pet Grooming Shops range from **70% to 89%** across Sawtelle — a 19-point window where the address, not the concept, decides the outcome. For competitive density: Middle Eastern Restaurants are the most-concentrated tracked subtype (24 within 0.5 miles).

StreetSpring's analysis places Sawtelle at #105 in Los Angeles for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~75%.

Strong business types at their best-match addresses in Sawtelle consistently score ~3% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.
That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Sawtelle can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
Sawtelle's employment rate of 92.9% and commercial vacancy of 9.5% are two of the inputs StreetSpring's model uses to differentiate survivability within this neighborhood.

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

Pinpointing the best locations within Sawtelle

StreetSpring can pinpoint which exact blocks in Sawtelle maximize a business's chances of success. Below is the best location for an Indian Restaurant in Sawtelle:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 100 location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for an Indian Restaurant in Sawtelle. StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.

Check if this location is still available →

What kinds of businesses thrive in Sawtelle?

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Sawtelle

Indian Restaurant is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Sawtelle: ~80% chance on average, best at ~83%, challenging at ~78%.
Pet Grooming Shop — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Sawtelle.
Opening a Japanese / Sushi Restaurant in Sawtelle shows ~80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #4): ~80% average in Sawtelle. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
South American Restaurant is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Sawtelle: ~80% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~78%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Sawtelle

Salad Shop — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~80% across Sawtelle.
Opening a Deli in Sawtelle shows ~80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
Russian Restaurant (Ranked #8): ~79% average in Sawtelle. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
Pet Boarding Facility is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Sawtelle: ~79% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~78%.
Diner — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of ~79% across Sawtelle.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

What revenue can a Sawtelle business expect?

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, following the survivability data rather than relying on intuition or foot traffic estimates in Sawtelle 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

However, each business concept should be evaluated for fit within each potential location.
Among all variables that affect business outcomes, location has the highest predictive weight in our models.
Every percentage point of Survivability Score represents a real difference in expected revenue — choosing the highest-scoring address is the most reliable financial decision you can make at the outset.
StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success.

The biggest opportunity gaps in Sawtelle

The top businesses to open next in Sawtelle:

Indian Restaurants — ~80% average survival rate, up to ~83% at best locations
Pet Grooming Shops — ~80% average survival rate
Japanese / Sushi Restaurants — ~80% 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's accuracy is built on studying businesses that serve more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 cities. The 9.5% commercial vacancy rate in Sawtelle means there is available space for new entrants — but it also signals that survivability depends heavily on choosing the right address within the neighborhood, not just the neighborhood itself. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in Sawtelle. 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 Sawtelle.

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

If you own commercial space in Sawtelle, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Indian Restaurants, Pet Grooming Shops, and Japanese / Sushi Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.

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 allows property owners to evaluate any address against 700+ tenant types — so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.

Should you rent your Sawtelle storefront to an Indian Restaurant?

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to an Indian Restaurant in Sawtelle: best-in-class addresses achieve ~83% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at ~78% — above average for most business types.

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 Sawtelle?

In Sawtelle, the single most important factor in your site-selection decision is the Survivability Score of the specific address you're evaluating.

The Revenue Capture Score at a specific address explains more about likely business success than any other available metric.
StreetSpring's in-house models are continuously updated with new business outcome data to keep predictions accurate.
StreetSpring offers free access to its survivability scores — see how your shortlisted Sawtelle addresses rank right now.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's AI platform has analyzed thousands of business openings to identify success patterns. Aggregated survivability rankings for Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Lease structure questions to ask first

Consideration	Common pitfall	What to verify before signing
Workforce availability	Hiring radius is smaller than you think — many neighborhoods can't staff a full team at standard wages.	Pull BLS wage data for your industry in this metro. Walk through your staffing plan with a local restaurant/retail operator before signing.
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.
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.

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

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Sawtelle, Los Angeles — Top business types scored in Sawtelle, 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.

**About Sawtelle** — Sawtelle is a neighborhood in West Los Angeles, on the Westside of Los Angeles, California. The short-lived City of Sawtelle grew around the Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, later the Sawtelle Veterans Home, and was incorporated as a city in 1899. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawtelle%2C_Los_Angeles))

**Daytime vs. resident population (Sawtelle):** US Census LEHD workplace data shows Sawtelle carries a **0.5× daytime/resident ratio** (a primarily-residential signal with some daytime worker pull), with median 1-mile workplace jobs of **56,039** (and **3,033** retail-sector jobs within that radius). A useful read on demand timing for any new storefront concept here.

Landmark anchor: Sawtelle's cultural-anchor is Benjamin Creme Museum, an art-museum that pulls weekend and tourist foot-traffic into the surrounding blocks.

**Sawtelle economic snapshot:** ACS reports neighborhood unemployment at **7.1%** (above the 24-metro neighborhood median we track). The Los Angeles metro's BLS QCEW average weekly wage is **$1,127** (below our metro median), and the Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey logged **22,446** new residential permits in Los Angeles County in 2025 — useful triangulation for population-growth and labor-cost assumptions in this neighborhood.

**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:

Neighborhood-Specific Questions

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

How does Sawtelle's vacancy rate affect commercial demand?

Sawtelle's housing vacancy rate is roughly 9%, compared to 5% across the Los Angeles metro. Elevated vacancy can mean softening demand or short-term opportunity to negotiate rent — verify against commercial-corridor activity before committing.

Is Sawtelle's population younger or older than the Los Angeles average?

Sawtelle'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.

Is Sawtelle more single-occupant or family-household?

ACS data puts average household size in Sawtelle 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.

Is Sawtelle a high-employment or high-unemployment area?

Roughly 93% of Sawtelle's working-age population is employed, against a Los Angeles metro median of 93%. Employment is close to the metro median, suggesting stable underlying demand.

How does Los Angeles's survivability compare to national sector averages?

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.