City Survivability Rankings for Diner

Quick Summary

• Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
• The highest-survivability city for Diner is San Antonio — 81.55% average survivability
• 24 of 24 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Diner survivability
• The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 80.17%
• National average chance of lasting two or more years for Diner: 81.0%
• Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 24 US metro areas · Full methodology →

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Table of Contents

• Summary
• Top Cities for Diners
• Key Insights
• What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
• Best Neighborhoods Across the Spectrum
• Related Resources
• How current is this ranking?
• Can a Diner succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
• What tools can help me choose the right city for a Diner?
• Which US city has the best survivability for Diners?

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Summary

According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, San Antonio ranks as the #1 city for opening a Diner in the United States, with an average 81.55% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are Portland with 81.44%, and St Louis with 81.31%. The 24-city analysis shows Diners performing at a 81.0% national average, with strong geographic concentration of top scores in a handful of metros. Our data shows that strong individual locations exist in every city we analyze, regardless of the city's overall ranking. Survivability rankings evolve as neighborhoods change; always verify with the most recent StreetSpring dataset before signing a lease.

Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →

Best-to-worst Diner survivability within individual metros — San Antonio, Miami, Tampa Bay, San Diego and Dallas. Each box spans the middle of that metro's range; whiskers are its best and worst locations (2026).

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All 24 Cities Ranked for Diners

Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 24 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Diners:

1. San Antonio Metro: San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX

• Best locations: 84.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 81.0% – 83.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

2. Portland Metro: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

• Best locations: 84.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 81.0% – 83.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

3. St Louis

• Best locations: 84.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

4. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

• Best locations: 84.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 70.0% – 78.0%

5. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

• Best locations: 84.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Charlotte →

6. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 71.0% – 78.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Baltimore →

7. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

8. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

9. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Atlanta →

10. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 70.0% – 78.0%

11. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 70.0% – 78.0%

12. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 78.0%

13. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 67.0% – 77.0%

14. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 70.0% – 78.0%

15. Dallas Metro: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 71.0% – 78.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Dallas →

16. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%

17. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 80.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 68.0% – 77.0%

18. Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 82.0%
• Challenging locations: 67.0% – 77.0%

19. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%

20. Chicago Metro: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Chicago →

21. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%

22. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%
• Explore Diner neighborhoods in Boston →

23. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 68.0% – 77.0%

24. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

• Best locations: 83.0% – 84.0%
• Average locations: 79.0% – 81.0%
• Challenging locations: 69.0% – 77.0%

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Key Insights

Cities cluster tightly: The difference between the #1 city (San Antonio at 81.55%) and the #24 city (New York City at 80.17%) is 1.38 percentage points. Across the top two metros, Diners sit 0.1 percentage points apart. City choice moves the outcome very little for this category.

Strong performers: 24 cities show Survivability Scores above 80%, indicating highly favorable conditions for Diners.

National average: Across all 24 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Diner is 81.0%.

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What Makes These Cities Stand Out?

The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Diners:

• Strong survivability signals: San Antonio leads with a 82% average chance of lasting two or more years for Diners — significantly above the national average for this business category.
• Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Diners, 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.
• Geographic distribution: The top cities span multiple U.S. regions, giving franchise operators or multi-location owners diverse market options without concentrating risk.

The predictions here are powered by AI models validated against actual business outcomes nationwide. Our models are trained on data from businesses reaching more than 180 million+ Americans. These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.

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Best Neighborhoods Across the Spectrum

Where you open matters more than which city ranks highest. The strongest neighborhoods for Diners can be found across the entire national distribution:

Portland — ranked #1 nationally — the strongest market for Diners

• Kenton (89% survivability)
• Multnomah (88% survivability)
• Ogden (87% survivability)
• Markham (86% survivability)
• Gresham (85% survivability)

See full neighborhood rankings for Portland →

New York City — ranked #24 of 24 — among the lower-ranked national markets

• Rockaway-Park (89% survivability)
• Coney-Island (87% survivability)
• Brighton-Beach (87% survivability)
• Newark (87% survivability)
• Eltingville (86% survivability)

See full neighborhood rankings for New York City →

These examples show that a city's national rank for Diners is a starting signal — neighborhood-level data is what drives an actual location decision.

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Visual Data

Related Resources

City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:

• Business Survivability Rankings: San Antonio
• Business Survivability Rankings: Portland
• Business Survivability Rankings: St Louis
• Business Survivability Rankings: Orlando
• Survivability Rankings for Diner in Charlotte
• Business Survivability Rankings: Charlotte

National guides:

• National Neighborhood Survivability Rankings for Diners
• Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: San Antonio

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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 Diners, 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.

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Can a Diner 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 Diners in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Diners 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.

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What tools can help me choose the right city for a Diner?

StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Diners across all 24 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Diners, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Diner 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 →

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Which US city has the best survivability for Diners?

San Antonio ranks as the #1 city in the US for Diners survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average 82% chance of lasting two or more years. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in San Antonio, a Diner has approximately a 82% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. Portland ranks second, followed by St Louis. The full ranking reflects data across 24 major US metro areas — see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.

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

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Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 24 metros are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

View national technical data

StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability 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 24 major US metropolitan areas: San Antonio, Portland, St Louis, Orlando, Charlotte, Baltimore, Phoenix, Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Miami, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Minneapolis, Dallas, Seattle, Houston, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, Philadelphia, New York City.