Business Survivability in West Side, Minneapolis
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in West Side is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~83% 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 Veterinary Clinic in West Side (~83% average survival rate, ~88% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #1 across all neighborhoods in and around Minneapolis
- Neighborhood average: ~79% two-year survival across all business types
- Coverage: This ranking carries one row per business type and neighborhood. Its score is the projected chance of lasting two or more years, averaged across the price points StreetSpring scores separately in the tool (most types have 5). The 10 business types here are base types; the tool offers 500+ business types, counting each type at each of its price points.
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: September 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is West Side 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 West Side is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~88% chance; next is a Salad Shop with a 80.83% chance, followed by a Thai Restaurant with a 80.40% chance.
Is West Side a good place to start a business?
Among all neighborhoods in and around Minneapolis, West Side ranks #1 for business survivability, with an average ~79% chance of lasting two or more years.
- Strong business types at their best-match addresses in West Side consistently score ~17% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.
- Even so, the weakest addresses in West Side for those same business types can underperform considerably. StreetSpring's address-level scoring exists precisely to identify which specific storefronts make the difference.
- West Side's 3.5% commercial vacancy rate signals the current availability of storefronts and shapes the competitive environment that survivability scores reflect.
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 West Side?
Rather than relying on neighborhood averages, StreetSpring's scoring tells you which specific addresses in West Side give your concept the best odds of survival. The location below represents the address in West Side with the highest projected survivability for a Veterinary Clinic:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Veterinary Clinic in West Side. 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 prediction model analyzes hundreds of factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, mobility patterns, and many more.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in West Side?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 83.10% |
| 2 | Salad Shop | 80.83% |
| 3 | Thai Restaurant | 80.40% |
| 4 | Persian Restaurant | 79.82% |
| 5 | Dance Club | 79.05% |
| 6 | Smoke Shop | 78.73% |
| 7 | Pet Boarding Facility | 76.86% |
| 8 | Pet Grooming Shop | 76.64% |
| 9 | Watch Store or Repair Shop | 74.74% |
| 10 | Gym | 74.73% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in West Side
- Opening a Veterinary Clinic in West Side shows 83.10% average survivability. Top locations reach ~88%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- Salad Shop (Ranked #2): 80.83% average in West Side. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Thai Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in West Side: 80.40% chance on average, best at ~84%, challenging at ~75%.
- Persian Restaurant — ~74%–~84% survivability range, with an average of 79.82% across West Side.
- Opening a Dance Club in West Side shows 79.05% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~74%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in West Side
- Smoke Shop (Ranked #6): 78.73% average in West Side. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~74%.
- Pet Boarding Facility is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in West Side: 76.86% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~71%.
- Pet Grooming Shop — ~70%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 76.64% across West Side.
- Opening a Watch Store or Repair Shop in West Side shows 74.74% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~68%.
- Gym (Ranked #10): 74.73% average in West Side. Best-case storefronts: ~78%. Challenging locations: ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Salad Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
- Thai Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in West Side make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in West Side could lead to you making ~17% more than if you selected an average location, and ~44% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- StreetSpring calculates survivability for each business type separately at each address — so the best location for your concept may differ from the neighborhood's overall top-ranked site.
- Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
- Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site.
What businesses should open next in West Side?
The top businesses to open next in West Side:
- Veterinary Clinics — 83.10% average survival rate, ~88% at the best address
- Salad Shops — 80.83% average survival rate
- Thai Restaurants — 80.40% 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. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. StreetSpring scores 500+ business types: 153 base business types, most of them at 5 price points, which is 569 type-and-price combinations you can choose in the tool. The 3.5% commercial vacancy rate in West Side 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. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in West Side today may score differently than it did last month — check StreetSpring's live tool for the current picture.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Minneapolis Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Minneapolis Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Minneapolis neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in West Side.
What type of business should you rent your West Side storefront to?
For landlords in West Side, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Veterinary Clinics, Salad Shops, and Thai Restaurants as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site. StreetSpring's free tool lets you check the survivability score for any business type at any address in West Side — a powerful filter when evaluating prospective tenants.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Minneapolis Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your West Side storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to a Veterinary Clinic in West Side: best-in-class addresses achieve ~88% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at ~77% — above average for most business types.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site.
What should I consider when opening a business in West Side?
Location decisions in West Side should be grounded in Survivability Score data, not intuition. The score directly measures the competitive and spending conditions at your exact address.
- Revenue Capture Score is the single best indicator of whether a business will thrive at a location.
- Every survivability score is produced by StreetSpring's private prediction engine — not available through any other platform.
- StreetSpring's live survivability scores are available for free — check your specific address now.
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 Minneapolis are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Minneapolis: /resources/data/minneapolis-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.