City Survivability Rankings for Salad Shop
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Salad Shops across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Salad Shop to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Salad Shop is Portland — 89% average survivability
- 24 of 24 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Salad Shop survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 84%
- National average survivability score for Salad Shop: 86.7%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 24 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Salad Shops
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Best Neighborhoods Across the Spectrum
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Salad Shop succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Salad Shop?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Salad Shops?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Portland ranks as the #1 city for opening a Salad Shop in the United States, with an average 89% chance of surviving more than 2 years. Following close behind are San Antonio with 89%, and St Louis with 89%. The national picture for Salad Shops shows 86.7% average survivability across 24 cities, with the gap between Portland and lower-ranked metros revealing significant geographic variation. Our data shows that strong individual locations exist in every city we analyze, regardless of the city's overall ranking. Use this data to narrow your shortlist, then visit each top city in person to assess foot traffic and competitive density.
Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →
Salad Shop city survivability rankings — Portland leads among 24 US metros at 89% in 2026
The 24-City Survivability Index for Salad Shops
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 24 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Salad Shops:
1. Portland Metro: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- Best locations: 92.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 85.5% – 89.9%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 80.3%
The metro-level signals behind these scores
2. San Antonio Metro: San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
- Best locations: 92.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 85.2% – 89.7%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 79.8%
3. St Louis
- Best locations: 92.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 85.3% – 89.7%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 80.1%
4. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- Best locations: 92.1% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.4% – 89.1%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 79.0%
5. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- Best locations: 92.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.6% – 89.0%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 79.5%
6. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- Best locations: 91.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.8% – 88.5%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 78.5%
7. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- Best locations: 91.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.2% – 88.4%
- Challenging locations: 62.0% – 79.7%
8. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- Best locations: 91.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.0% – 88.4%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 79.1%
9. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Best locations: 91.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.8% – 88.3%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.7%
- Explore Salad Shop neighborhoods in Atlanta →
10. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Best locations: 91.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 88.1%
- Challenging locations: 57.0% – 78.0%
11. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Best locations: 91.4% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 88.0%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 78.1%
12. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
- Best locations: 91.3% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 87.9%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.3%
Why the same business does so differently city to city
13. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Best locations: 91.3% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 87.9%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.3%
14. Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- Best locations: 91.2% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.9% – 87.7%
- Challenging locations: 57.0% – 77.6%
15. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
- Best locations: 91.2% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.1% – 87.7%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.2%
16. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Best locations: 91.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.9% – 87.4%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.0%
17. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
- Best locations: 91.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.9% – 87.4%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 78.2%
18. Chicago Metro: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- Best locations: 90.9% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.7% – 87.3%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.9%
19. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Best locations: 90.9% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.8% – 87.2%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 78.1%
20. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
- Best locations: 90.9% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.7% – 87.2%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.8%
21. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Best locations: 90.8% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.5% – 87.0%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.7%
22. Dallas Metro: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Best locations: 90.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 87.0%
- Challenging locations: 66.0% – 79.7%
23. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Best locations: 90.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.0% – 86.6%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.3%
24. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
- Best locations: 90.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 81.2% – 85.9%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 76.4%
What the Data Reveals
| Signal | Where strong-survivability cities outperform | What drags weaker cities down |
|---|---|---|
| Market size vs saturation | Mid-sized metros with established demand but room for new entrants — under-served pockets in 1.5M–5M population markets. | Either tier-1 cities saturated with national chains, or thin markets under 500K population where demand can't sustain a category. |
| Anchor-tenant density | Cities with high concentration of universities, hospitals, transit hubs within a 1-mile radius of typical storefronts. | Cities where anchor institutions are isolated in suburbs or single-purpose campuses with no street-level spillover. |
| Average commercial rent per sqft | Cities where the median commercial rate fits the subtype's typical revenue-per-sqft envelope (rent < 10% of expected gross). | Cities where rents have outpaced revenue growth, pushing rent-burden ratios past 15%. |
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Portland at 88.9%) and the #24 city (New York City at 84.3%) is 4.6 percentage points. For Salad Shops, a 0.2-point difference between the top two cities underscores how much geographic selection influences long-term viability.
The most actionable signal in this dataset
Strong performers: 24 cities show Survivability Scores above 80%, indicating highly favorable conditions for Salad Shops.
National average: Across all 24 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Salad Shop is 86.7%.
What the Leaders Share
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Salad Shops:
- Strong survivability signals: Portland leads with a 89% average survivability score for Salad Shops — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Salad Shops, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Regulatory environment: Top-ranked cities tend to have streamlined commercial permitting and lower business tax burdens relative to their metro size, reducing friction for new operators.
- Consumer demand signals: StreetSpring's data captures foot traffic patterns, competitor review velocity, and demographic fit — all pointing toward sustained demand for Salad Shops in these markets.
StreetSpring analyzes millions of data points with AI to forecast business survivability across U.S. neighborhoods. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points. These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
Neighborhood-Level Winners in Every Tier
Where you open matters more than which city ranks highest. The strongest neighborhoods for Salad Shops can be found across the entire national distribution:
Portland — ranked #1 nationally — the strongest market for Salad Shops
- Hough (89% survivability)
- Ogden (88% survivability)
- Arnada (88% survivability)
- Kenton (88% survivability)
- Shumway (87% survivability)
See full neighborhood rankings for Portland →
Minneapolis — ranked #13 of 24 — a middle-of-the-pack national market
- Morris-Park (86% survivability)
- Near-North (84% survivability)
- Summit-Hill (84% survivability)
- St-Paul (83% survivability)
- Downtown (83% survivability)
See full neighborhood rankings for Minneapolis →
These examples show that a city's national rank for Salad Shops is a starting signal — neighborhood-level data is what drives an actual location decision.
Visual Data
Related Resources
Related:
- City Survivability Rankings for Acupuncture Clinic
- City Survivability Rankings for Afghan Restaurant
- City Survivability Rankings for African Restaurant
- City Survivability Rankings for American Restaurant
- City Survivability Rankings for Argentinian Restaurant
What's the update cadence for 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 Salad 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.
Should a Salad Shop avoid cities ranked below 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 Salad Shops in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Salad 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.
Which tools rank cities for a Salad Shop survivability?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Salad Shops across all 24 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Salad Shops, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Salad 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 →
What is the #1 city for Salad Shops?
Portland ranks as the #1 city in the US for Salad Shops survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 89%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Portland, a Salad Shop has approximately a 89% chance of still operating after two years — above the national average for this category. San Antonio 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 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring — May 4, 2026
Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 24 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 24 major US metropolitan areas: Portland, San Antonio, St Louis, Charlotte, Orlando, Phoenix, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Tampa Bay, San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Washington DC, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York City.