City Survivability Rankings for Music Store

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Music Stores across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Music Store to succeed.

•16 min read

Quick Summary

  • Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
  • The highest-ranked city for Music Store is Charlotte: 84.5% at a good address, 75.9% at a typical address
  • Dallas is left out of this ranking while a gap in its input data is repaired, and San Antonio is left out because it has too few scored locations to rank fairly
  • 7 of 22 analyzed US metros average above 70% for Music Store survivability at a typical address
  • The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 69.2%
  • National average chance of lasting two or more years for Music Store: 67.5%
  • Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 22 US metro areas · Full methodology →

Table of Contents

Summary

According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Charlotte ranks as the #1 city for opening a Music Store in the United States, with an 84.5% chance of lasting two or more years at a good address. Following close behind are Denver with 84.1%, and Atlanta with 84.1%. StreetSpring's 22-city analysis places the national average for Music Stores at 67.5%, a baseline that Charlotte comfortably exceeds. Individual locations vary widely; even in lower-scoring cities there are neighborhoods that perform exceptionally well. These rankings reflect data through early 2026: check StreetSpring for the latest figures before any location decision.

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

Music Stores city survivability range chart: Charlotte vs New York City (2026)

Best-to-worst Music Store survivability within individual metros: Charlotte, Denver, San Diego, Chicago and New York City. Each box spans the middle of that metro's range; whiskers are its best and worst locations (2026).

All 22 Cities Ranked for Music Stores

Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 22 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Music Stores:

#MetroMetro areaChance of lasting two or more years at a good address
1CharlotteCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC84.5%
2DenverDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO84.1%
3AtlantaAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA84.1%
4OrlandoOrlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL83.7%
5HoustonHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX83.7%
6SeattleSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA82.8%
7St. LouisSt. Louis, MO-IL82.8%
8MinneapolisMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI81.8%
9Washington DCWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV81.4%
10BaltimoreBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD81.0%
11PhoenixPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ81.0%
12San DiegoSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA80.5%
13DetroitDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI80.0%
14PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD80.0%
15PortlandPortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA79.6%
16Tampa BayTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL79.2%
17MiamiMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL77.8%
18BostonBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH77.8%
19San FranciscoSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA77.8%
20Los AngelesLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA75.5%
21ChicagoChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN75.1%
22New York CityNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ69.2%

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

  • At a good address: 84.5%
  • At a typical address: 75.9%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.4%

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

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

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

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

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

7. St. Louis Metro: St. Louis, MO-IL

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

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

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

  • At a good address: 81.0%
  • At a typical address: 67.6%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • At a good address: 77.8%
  • At a typical address: 63.2%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

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

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

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

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

Key Insights

Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Charlotte at 84.5%) and the #22 city (New York City at 69.2%) is 15.30 percentage points. Across the top two metros, Music Stores sit 0.4 percentage points apart. City choice moves the outcome very little for this category.

Challenging markets: 1 city falls below 60% survivability, suggesting more difficult market conditions.

National average: Across all 22 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Music Store is 67.5%.

What Makes These Cities Stand Out?

The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Music Stores:

  • Strong survivability signals: Charlotte leads with a 76% average chance of lasting two or more years for Music Stores: significantly above the national average for this business category.
  • Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Music Stores, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
  • Low market saturation: Top cities for Music Stores have fewer direct competitors per square mile than lower-ranked metros, leaving meaningful whitespace for well-positioned new entrants.
  • 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 draw from one of the most comprehensive commercial real estate datasets ever assembled. StreetSpring relies on its own proprietary forecasting engine to deliver these predictions.

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

National guides:

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 Music 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 Music 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 Music Stores in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Music 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 Music Store?

StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Music Stores across all 22 metros we track. For this category specifically, the model reads competition density, the consumer spending index for Music Stores, and Census neighborhood characteristics such as the housing vacancy rate, and turns them into the projected chance that a Music Store lasts two or more years at a given address. 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 Music Stores?

Charlotte ranks as the #1 city in the US for Music Stores survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average 76% chance of lasting two or more years. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Charlotte, a Music Store has approximately a 76% chance of still operating after two years, above the national average for this category. Denver ranks second, followed by Atlanta. The full ranking reflects data across 22 major US metro areas: see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

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: Each metro's figures pool the scored locations in its published neighborhoods. Metros are ranked the way the national data file ranks them, on the chance of lasting two or more years at a good address; the typical-address figure is shown alongside. Coverage includes 22 major US metropolitan areas: Charlotte, Denver, Atlanta, Orlando, Houston, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Baltimore, Phoenix, San Diego, Detroit, Philadelphia, Portland, Tampa Bay, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City. 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.