Business Survivability in Downtown Jersey City, New York City
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Downtown Jersey City is a Clothing Store with a 81.1% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.
Quick Summary
- Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
- Best business: a Clothing Store in Downtown Jersey City (81.1% Typical, 89.1% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #14 of 180 neighborhoods in and around New York City
- Neighborhood average: 72.6% two-year survival across the business types ranked here
- Coverage: This ranking carries one row per business type and neighborhood. Its score is the projected chance of lasting two or more years, averaged across the price points StreetSpring scores separately in the tool (most types have 5). The 10 business types here are base types; the tool offers 500+ business types, counting each type at each of its price points.
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Last reviewed: November 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Downtown Jersey City a good place to start a business?
- How to find the best location
- Best businesses to open
- How much money could a business make?
- What businesses should open next?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Summary
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Downtown Jersey City is a Clothing Store with a 81.1% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 89.1% Best; next is a Bar with 88.7% Best, followed by a Convenience Store with 88.6% Best.
Is Downtown Jersey City a good place to start a business?
Downtown Jersey City is ranked number 14 of 180 neighborhoods in and around New York City to start a business, with an average 72.6% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 89.1% Best is 8.0 points above 81.1% Typical in Downtown Jersey City.
- But at poorly chosen addresses within Downtown Jersey City, even the top-ranked business types can fall well below the neighborhood average. Location selection remains critical: a promising concept at the wrong spot still carries significant risk.
- The 97.0% employment rate in Downtown Jersey City supports consumer spending, while its 8.2% housing vacancy rate measures the share of homes and apartments standing empty: the model reads both as neighborhood characteristics.
Employment and housing vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
How can you find the best location to open a business in Downtown Jersey City?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Downtown Jersey City, so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Clothing Store in Downtown Jersey City:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Clothing Store in Downtown Jersey City. However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Downtown Jersey City?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clothing Store | 89.1% | 81.1% | 75.9% |
| 2 | Bar | 88.7% | 78.0% | 72.3% |
| 3 | Convenience Store | 88.6% | 79.0% | 73.7% |
| 4 | Cafe | 88.4% | 79.1% | 73.6% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | 87.8% | 82.6% | 77.4% |
| 6 | Spa | 87.6% | 77.6% | 72.0% |
| 7 | Hair Salon | 87.3% | 77.2% | 71.3% |
| 8 | Laundromat | 86.8% | 77.9% | 73.0% |
| 10 | Dentist Office | 85.3% | 79.1% | 72.9% |
| 11 | Gym | 84.8% | 74.2% | 66.6% |
Best and Worst are the average results for the better and the worse of two addresses picked at random in the place: a weighted average of every scored location in which the best locations count the most for Best and the weakest count the most for Worst. Typical is the average address. Best is shown for a smaller space (half the standard size) and Worst for a larger one (half again as large), at the metro's median asking rent, using the same rent rule as our tool; Typical is at the market rent.
The rank column is the published file's rank within this place; a skipped number is a business type the file ranks here that this list leaves out to keep any one business family from filling it.
Highest Survivability in Downtown Jersey City
- #1 Clothing Store is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Downtown Jersey City: 81.1% Typical, 89.1% Best, 75.9% Worst.
- #2 Bar: 78.0% Typical across Downtown Jersey City; Best 88.7%, Worst 72.3%.
- #3 Opening a Convenience Store in Downtown Jersey City shows 79.0% Typical survivability, 88.6% Best and 73.7% Worst.
- #4 Cafe (Ranked #4): 79.1% Typical in Downtown Jersey City. Best: 88.4%. Worst: 73.6%.
- #5 Chiropractor Office is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Downtown Jersey City: 82.6% Typical, 87.8% Best, 77.4% Worst.
Strong Performers in Downtown Jersey City
- #6 Spa: 77.6% Typical across Downtown Jersey City; Best 87.6%, Worst 72.0%.
- #7 Opening a Hair Salon in Downtown Jersey City shows 77.2% Typical survivability, 87.3% Best and 71.3% Worst.
- #8 Laundromat (Ranked #8): 77.9% Typical in Downtown Jersey City. Best: 86.8%. Worst: 73.0%.
- #10 Dentist Office is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Downtown Jersey City: 79.1% Typical, 85.3% Best, 72.9% Worst.
- #11 Gym: 74.2% Typical across Downtown Jersey City; Best 84.8%, Worst 66.6%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Clothing Store: See how this compares to other cities →
- Bar: See how this compares to other cities →
- Convenience Store: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Downtown Jersey City make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, choosing an address that maximizes your Revenue Capture Score in Downtown Jersey City starts with the Revenue Capture Score, the most important factor in choosing a location: StreetSpring's estimate of the revenue a business can capture at that address.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Location fit is business-type-specific: a spot that's ideal for a coffee shop may underperform for a nail salon at the same address.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- When the question is money, the Revenue Capture Score comes first: it is StreetSpring's estimate of the revenue a business can capture at a specific address.
- Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type, not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.
What businesses should open next in Downtown Jersey City?
The top businesses to open next in Downtown Jersey City:
- Clothing Stores: 81.1% Typical, 89.1% Best
- Bars: 78.0% Typical, 88.7% Best
- Convenience Stores: 79.0% Typical, 88.6% Best
However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. We apply advanced machine learning to one of the largest commercial real estate outcome datasets in the country. 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. A housing vacancy rate of 8.2% means the Census estimates that share of Downtown Jersey City's homes and apartments to be vacant; the model reads it as one input among many. StreetSpring regularly updates survivability scores for available locations: check the live tool now to see which storefronts in Downtown Jersey City are currently available and how they score.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the New York City Business Survivability Rankings
- See the New York City Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Clothing Store survivability across New York City neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Downtown Jersey City.
What type of business should you rent your Downtown Jersey City storefront to?
The analysis is clear: in Downtown Jersey City, Clothing Stores, Bars, and Convenience Stores consistently score highest on survivability, giving landlords the best chance of retaining tenants for two or more years.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type, not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood. Use StreetSpring to see the survivability score for any business type at your exact storefront address before you sign a lease.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in New York City Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Downtown Jersey City storefront to a Clothing Store?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis supports renting to a Clothing Store in Downtown Jersey City: it posts 89.1% Best, and 75.9% Worst.
- Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type, not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.
What should I consider when opening a business in Downtown Jersey City?
When opening a business in Downtown Jersey City, compare the Survivability Scores of your shortlisted addresses and favor the highest one your budget allows.
- Revenue Capture Score is the top factor to weigh before signing a lease, because it measures how much of the local customer spending a business at that address can win.
- The underlying models are StreetSpring's own: built, trained, and maintained using data external platforms cannot access.
- StreetSpring offers a free 10-minute trial of its survivability scores: see how your shortlisted Downtown Jersey City addresses rank right now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring analyzes millions of data points with AI to forecast business survivability. Aggregated survivability rankings for New York City are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for New York City: /resources/data/new-york-city-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.