City Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Barber Shops across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Barber Shop to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Barber Shop is Portland — 74% average survivability
- 8 of 11 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Barber Shop survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is Baltimore at 68%
- National average survivability score for Barber Shop: 71.5%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 11 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Barber Shops
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Barber Shop succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Barber Shop?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Barber Shop?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Portland ranks as the #1 city for opening a Barber Shop in the United States, with an average 74% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are Chicago with 74%, and Philadelphia with 73%. The national picture for Barber Shops shows 71.5% average survivability across 11 cities, with the gap between Portland and lower-ranked metros revealing significant geographic variation. Location-level factors like visibility, foot traffic, and adjacent tenants can override city-level trends in either direction. The best way to use these rankings is as a starting point — layer in your own market research and local knowledge before committing.
Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →
Barber Shop city survivability rankings — Portland leads among 11 US metros at 74% in 2026
Top 10 Cities for Barber Shops
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 11 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Barber Shops:
1. Portland
- Best locations: 81.3% – 90.0%
- Average locations: 71.1% – 76.0%
- Challenging locations: 49.0% – 66.6%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Portland →
2. Chicago
- Best locations: 81.6% – 91.0%
- Average locations: 71.6% – 76.0%
- Challenging locations: 54.0% – 68.0%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Chicago →
3. Philadelphia
- Best locations: 82.3% – 93.0%
- Average locations: 70.6% – 75.8%
- Challenging locations: 50.0% – 66.4%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Philadelphia →
4. Tampa Bay
- Best locations: 81.6% – 92.0%
- Average locations: 70.1% – 75.3%
- Challenging locations: 48.0% – 65.5%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Tampa Bay →
5. San Antonio
- Best locations: 79.9% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 69.9% – 74.4%
- Challenging locations: 51.0% – 66.0%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in San Antonio →
6. Charlotte
- Best locations: 80.9% – 92.0%
- Average locations: 69.1% – 74.2%
- Challenging locations: 50.0% – 65.2%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Charlotte →
7. San Diego
- Best locations: 79.5% – 89.0%
- Average locations: 68.8% – 73.8%
- Challenging locations: 47.0% – 64.3%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in San Diego →
8. St Louis
- Best locations: 80.5% – 93.0%
- Average locations: 66.8% – 73.0%
- Challenging locations: 42.0% – 61.8%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in St Louis →
9. Denver
- Best locations: 78.6% – 90.0%
- Average locations: 66.6% – 71.7%
- Challenging locations: 47.0% – 62.6%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Denver →
10. Atlanta
- Best locations: 78.5% – 91.0%
- Average locations: 65.8% – 71.0%
- Challenging locations: 48.0% – 62.2%
- Explore Barber Shop neighborhoods in Atlanta →
Key Insights
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Portland at 74.1%) and the #10 city (Atlanta at 68.3%) is 5.8 percentage points. For Barber Shops, the 0.1-point difference between top and second-ranked cities is a strong signal that geographic market selection directly drives business outcomes.
National average: Across all 11 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Barber Shop is 71.5%.
What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Barber Shops:
- Strong survivability signals: Portland leads with a 74% average survivability score for Barber Shops — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Barber Shops, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Foot traffic infrastructure: High-scoring cities combine transit access, walkable commercial corridors, and anchor tenants that drive consistent daily traffic past storefronts.
- Supply chain access: Cities at the top of this ranking benefit from mature supplier networks for this category, reducing operating costs and inventory lead times.
The predictions here are powered by AI models validated against actual business outcomes nationwide. We incorporate data from thousands of neighborhoods and hundreds of thousands of individual businesses. Our forecasting system combines proprietary data with machine learning models unavailable anywhere else.
Related Resources
City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:
- Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop in Portland
- Business Survivability Rankings: Portland
- Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop in Chicago
- Business Survivability Rankings: Chicago
- Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop in Philadelphia
- Business Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop in Tampa Bay
- Business Survivability Rankings: Tampa Bay
- Survivability Rankings for Barber Shop in San Antonio
- Business Survivability Rankings: San Antonio
National guides:
- National Neighborhood Survivability Rankings for Barber Shops
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Portland
How current is this ranking?
Rankings are updated quarterly. The current data reflects StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with the next full dataset refresh scheduled for Q3 2026. As market conditions shift across major metros, individual city scores can move meaningfully between updates — particularly for Barber Shops, where local competition density and consumer spending patterns respond quickly to new entrants and neighborhood change. For the most current score at any specific address, use StreetSpring's live survivability tool rather than the static ranking above.
Can a Barber Shop succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
Yes — our top 10 ranking reflects cities with the strongest average conditions, but lower-ranked metros can still contain exceptional individual neighborhoods. Many operators successfully open Barber Shops in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Barber Shops in particular can find strong performance in secondary markets where the right demographic concentration, household income, and limited direct competition within walking distance align — even outside our highest-ranked cities. StreetSpring's neighborhood-level data surfaces these pockets of opportunity in every city we analyze, regardless of where the city as a whole ranks nationally.
What tools can help me choose the right city for a Barber Shop?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Barber Shops across all 11 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Barber Shops, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Barber Shop will still be operating after two years. You can check any specific address before signing a lease and compare multiple neighborhoods side by side to identify the highest-survivability site within your target city.
Try the Survivability Score tool →
Which US city has the best survivability for Barber Shop?
Portland ranks as the #1 city in the US for Barber Shop survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 74%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Portland, a Barber Shop has approximately a 74% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. Chicago ranks second, followed by Philadelphia. The full ranking reflects data across 11 major US metro areas — see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.
Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 25 metros are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and foot traffic data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.
Methodology: City rankings aggregate neighborhood-level Survivability Scores (max, average, and min) across all analyzed neighborhoods in each metro area. Rankings reflect average conditions but do not account for variation within cities. Coverage includes 11 major US metropolitan areas: Portland, Chicago, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, San Antonio, Charlotte, San Diego, St Louis, Denver, Atlanta, Baltimore.