City Survivability Rankings for Thai Restaurant
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Thai Restaurants across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Thai Restaurant to succeed.
Quick Summary
- The highest-survivability city for Thai Restaurant is Portland — 89% average survivability
- 24 of 24 analyzed US metros score above 70% for Thai Restaurant survivability
- The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 84%
- National average survivability score for Thai Restaurant: 86.7%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 24 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for Thai Restaurants
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Best Neighborhoods Across the Spectrum
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can a Thai Restaurant succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for a Thai Restaurant?
- Which US city has the best survivability for Thai Restaurants?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Portland ranks as the #1 city for opening a Thai Restaurant 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 88%. Our 24-city dataset shows Thai Restaurants achieving 86.7% average survivability nationally — Portland pulling notably ahead of the pack. However, the specific location is very important — there are excellent locations even in neighborhoods that might not appear to be a great fit at the city level. 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 →
Thai Restaurant city survivability rankings — Portland leads among 24 US metros at 89% in 2026
Where Thai Restaurants Stand Across 24 US Metros
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 24 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Thai Restaurants:
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%
What the score range across cities tells you
2. San Antonio Metro: San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX
- Best locations: 92.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 85.2% – 89.8%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 79.9%
3. St Louis
- Best locations: 92.3% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.4% – 89.5%
- Challenging locations: 55.0% – 78.4%
4. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- Best locations: 92.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.9% – 89.0%
- Challenging locations: 55.0% – 78.0%
5. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- Best locations: 91.9% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.6% – 88.9%
- Challenging locations: 61.0% – 79.8%
6. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- Best locations: 91.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.7% – 88.5%
- Challenging locations: 57.0% – 78.3%
7. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- Best locations: 91.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.9% – 88.5%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.8%
8. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- Best locations: 91.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.9% – 88.4%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 79.0%
9. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- Best locations: 91.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 84.0% – 88.3%
- Challenging locations: 61.0% – 79.3%
- Explore Thai Restaurant neighborhoods in Atlanta →
10. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- Best locations: 91.5% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.5% – 88.1%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 78.3%
11. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- Best locations: 91.4% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 88.1%
- Challenging locations: 57.0% – 77.9%
12. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
- Best locations: 91.4% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.3% – 88.0%
- Challenging locations: 58.0% – 78.1%
Reading the gap from #1 to the median city
13. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- Best locations: 91.3% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.4% – 87.8%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 78.6%
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. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- Best locations: 91.2% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.1% – 87.7%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.2%
16. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
- Best locations: 91.1% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.0% – 87.5%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 78.1%
17. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
- Best locations: 91.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.1% – 87.4%
- Challenging locations: 61.0% – 78.6%
18. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
- Best locations: 91.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.9% – 87.3%
- Challenging locations: 60.0% – 78.2%
19. 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%
20. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- Best locations: 90.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.6% – 86.9%
- Challenging locations: 61.0% – 78.2%
21. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- Best locations: 90.7% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 82.4% – 86.9%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.6%
22. Dallas Metro: Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
- Best locations: 90.6% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 83.1% – 86.8%
- Challenging locations: 66.0% – 79.6%
23. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- Best locations: 90.3% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 81.8% – 86.4%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 77.1%
24. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
- Best locations: 90.0% – 97.0%
- Average locations: 81.2% – 85.8%
- Challenging locations: 59.0% – 76.7%
Key Insights
| Comparison factor | Top-tier city pattern | Bottom-tier city pattern |
|---|---|---|
| Daytime vs residential population mix | Cities with strong daytime employment density near the storefront catchment — CBD-adjacent mixed-use corridors. | Bedroom-community metros where daytime population evaporates by 9am and consumption shifts to 6pm dinner-only windows. |
| BLS QCEW retail employment trend | Cities with positive 3-year retail employment growth — proxy for local demand expansion. | Cities showing flat or declining retail employment over the same window. |
| 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. |
Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Portland at 89.0%) and the #24 city (New York City at 84.2%) is 4.7 percentage points. City-selection impact for Thai Restaurants is evident in the 0.2-point difference between Portland and San Antonio — operators who optimize location stand to gain a meaningful survivability edge.
Three findings worth pulling out of the data
Strong performers: 24 cities show Survivability Scores above 80%, indicating highly favorable conditions for Thai Restaurants.
National average: Across all 24 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Thai Restaurant is 86.7%.
The Common Threads in Top Thai Restaurant Cities
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Thai Restaurants:
- Strong survivability signals: Portland leads with a 89% average survivability score for Thai Restaurants — significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Thai Restaurants, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Consumer demand signals: StreetSpring's data captures foot traffic patterns, competitor review velocity, and demographic fit — all pointing toward sustained demand for Thai Restaurants in these markets.
- Low market saturation: Top cities for Thai Restaurants have fewer direct competitors per square mile than lower-ranked metros, leaving meaningful whitespace for well-positioned new entrants.
Powered by advanced AI, StreetSpring predicts how businesses will perform in neighborhoods across the country. Our models are trained on data from businesses reaching more than 180 million+ Americans. StreetSpring uses its own proprietary forecasting tools to make these predictions.
Best Neighborhoods Across the Spectrum
Strong opportunities for Thai Restaurants aren't limited to the highest-ranked cities. Here are top neighborhoods at different points in the national spectrum:
Portland — ranked #1 nationally — the strongest market for Thai Restaurants
- Sumner (62% survivability)
- Hough (60% survivability)
- Kenton (60% survivability)
- Greenway (59% survivability)
- Ogden (59% survivability)
See full neighborhood rankings for Portland →
Minneapolis — ranked #13 of 24 — a middle-of-the-pack national market
- Loring-Park (65% survivability)
- Elliot-Park (60% survivability)
- North-Loop (60% survivability)
- Seward (58% survivability)
- Whittier (57% survivability)
See full neighborhood rankings for Minneapolis →
New York City — ranked #24 of 24 — among the lower-ranked national markets
- Garment-District (83% survivability)
- Midtown (80% survivability)
- Turtle-Bay (76% survivability)
- East-New-York (76% survivability)
- Kingsbridge (76% survivability)
See full neighborhood rankings for New York City →
Don't let a city's national rank deter exploration: every city has neighborhoods that buck the city-wide average.
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 Thai Restaurants, 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.
What about cities outside the top 10 — can Thai Restaurants thrive there?
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 Thai Restaurants in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Thai Restaurants 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.
How can I narrow down cities for a Thai Restaurant?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Thai Restaurants across all 24 metros we track. For this category specifically, the tool surfaces competition density, consumer spending index for Thai Restaurants, and commercial vacancy rates — the factors that most consistently predict whether a Thai Restaurant 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 metro tops the Thai Restaurant survivability ranking?
Portland ranks as the #1 city in the US for Thai Restaurants survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average score of 89%. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Portland, a Thai Restaurant 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: April 24, 2026 by Bobby 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.
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: Portland, San Antonio, St Louis, Charlotte, Orlando, Detroit, Phoenix, Baltimore, Atlanta, San Diego, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Seattle, Houston, Miami, Denver, Chicago, Boston, Washington DC, Dallas, Philadelphia, New York City.