City Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Liquor Stores across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Liquor Store to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Liquor Store is Portland — 72% average survivability
- 1 of 11 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Liquor Store survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is Atlanta at 66%
- National average survivability score for Liquor Store: 67.9%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 11 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Liquor Stores
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Liquor Store succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Liquor Store?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Liquor Store?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Portland ranks as the #1 city for opening a Liquor Store in the United States, with an average 72% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are Tampa Bay with 69%, and Philadelphia with 68%. Liquor Stores consistently deliver a 67.9% survivability average across our 11 analyzed metros, with top-ranked Portland demonstrating the strongest conditions. City-wide statistics are directional, not definitive; the best decision comes from analyzing your specific storefront. 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 →
Liquor Store city survivability rankings — Portland leads among 11 US metros at 72% in 2026
Top 10 Cities for Liquor Stores
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 11 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Liquor Stores:
1. Portland
- Best locations: 80.2% – 90.0%
- Average locations: 69.9% – 74.3%
- Challenging locations: 53.0% – 66.4%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Portland →
2. Tampa Bay
- Best locations: 77.4% – 87.0%
- Average locations: 66.8% – 71.6%
- Challenging locations: 47.0% – 62.7%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Tampa Bay →
3. Philadelphia
- Best locations: 77.0% – 88.0%
- Average locations: 65.7% – 70.3%
- Challenging locations: 49.0% – 62.3%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Philadelphia →
4. Denver
- Best locations: 74.7% – 83.0%
- Average locations: 65.6% – 69.7%
- Challenging locations: 49.0% – 62.2%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Denver →
5. San Diego
- Best locations: 75.6% – 85.0%
- Average locations: 65.2% – 69.9%
- Challenging locations: 46.0% – 61.3%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in San Diego →
6. Charlotte
- Best locations: 75.9% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 64.7% – 69.8%
- Challenging locations: 44.0% – 60.5%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Charlotte →
7. San Antonio
- Best locations: 74.8% – 84.0%
- Average locations: 65.1% – 69.3%
- Challenging locations: 49.0% – 61.8%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in San Antonio →
8. Chicago
- Best locations: 75.3% – 85.0%
- Average locations: 64.9% – 69.4%
- Challenging locations: 47.0% – 61.2%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Chicago →
9. St Louis
- Best locations: 75.6% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 64.3% – 69.4%
- Challenging locations: 43.0% – 59.9%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in St Louis →
10. Baltimore
- Best locations: 75.4% – 86.0%
- Average locations: 64.6% – 69.0%
- Challenging locations: 49.0% – 61.4%
- Explore Liquor Store neighborhoods in Baltimore →
Key Insights
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Portland at 72.2%) and the #10 city (Baltimore at 66.7%) is 5.5 percentage points. The 2.7-point gap between top cities suggests that Liquor Stores viability varies meaningfully across major US metros, though neighborhood-level differences remain significant.
National average: Across all 11 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Liquor Store is 67.9%.
What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Liquor Stores:
- Strong survivability signals: Portland leads with a 72% average survivability score for Liquor Stores — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Liquor Stores, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Low market saturation: Top cities for Liquor Stores have fewer direct competitors per square mile than lower-ranked metros, leaving meaningful whitespace for well-positioned new entrants.
- Economic conditions: All top-ranked cities show strong median household incomes and low vacancy rates in the neighborhoods where Liquor Stores perform best.
Our survivability predictions are built on one of the largest commercial real estate datasets available, covering 24 major metros. We apply advanced machine learning to massive commercial real estate datasets to build accurate models. StreetSpring relies on its own proprietary forecasting engine to deliver these predictions.
Related Resources
City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:
- Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store in Portland
- Business Survivability Rankings: Portland
- Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store in Tampa Bay
- Business Survivability Rankings: Tampa Bay
- Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store in Philadelphia
- Business Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store in Denver
- Business Survivability Rankings: Denver
- Survivability Rankings for Liquor Store in San Diego
- Business Survivability Rankings: San Diego
National guides:
- National Neighborhood Survivability Rankings for Liquor Stores
- 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 Liquor Stores, 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 Liquor Store 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 Liquor Stores in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Liquor Stores 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 Liquor Store?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Liquor Stores across all 11 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Liquor Stores, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Liquor Store 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 Liquor Store?
Portland ranks as the #1 city in the US for Liquor Store survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 72%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Portland, a Liquor Store has approximately a 72% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. Tampa Bay 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, Tampa Bay, Philadelphia, Denver, San Diego, Charlotte, San Antonio, Chicago, St Louis, Baltimore, Atlanta.