Business Survivability in Forest Hills, New York City
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Forest Hills is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~82% 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 Veterinary Clinic in Forest Hills (~82% average survival rate, ~87% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #105 across all neighborhoods in and around New York City
- Neighborhood average: ~78% two-year survival across all business types
- 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: September 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Forest Hills 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 Forest Hills is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~82% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~87% chance; next is an Asian Fusion Restaurant with a 79.08% chance, followed by a Steakhouse with a 78.23% chance.
Is Forest Hills a good place to start a business?
Among all neighborhoods in and around New York City, Forest Hills ranks #105 for business survivability, with an average ~78% chance of lasting two or more years.
- At the strongest addresses in Forest Hills, the most viable business types score ~14% higher than the average survivability rate across all locations.
- Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Forest Hills can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
- Commercial vacancy in Forest Hills sits at 7.2%, a figure that factors into survivability scores for every business type in this neighborhood.
Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.
How can you find the best location to open a business in Forest Hills?
StreetSpring can pinpoint which exact blocks in Forest Hills maximize a business's chances of success. Below is the best location for a Veterinary Clinic in Forest Hills:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Veterinary Clinic in Forest Hills. Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes hundreds of factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, mobility patterns, and many more.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Forest Hills?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.36% |
| 2 | Asian Fusion Restaurant | 79.08% |
| 3 | Steakhouse | 78.23% |
| 4 | Brunch Restaurant | 78.06% |
| 5 | Grocery Store | 77.98% |
| 6 | Liquor Store | 76.95% |
| 7 | Gym | 76.92% |
| 8 | Coffee Shop | 76.68% |
| 9 | Tanning Salon | 76.51% |
| 10 | Barber Shop | 76.10% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Forest Hills
- Veterinary Clinic — ~77%–~87% survivability range, with an average of 82.36% across Forest Hills.
- Opening an Asian Fusion Restaurant in Forest Hills shows 79.08% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Steakhouse (Ranked #3): 78.23% average in Forest Hills. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Brunch Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Forest Hills: 78.06% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~72%.
- Grocery Store — ~73%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 77.98% across Forest Hills.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Forest Hills
- Opening a Liquor Store in Forest Hills shows 76.95% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~72%.
- Gym (Ranked #7): 76.92% average in Forest Hills. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Coffee Shop is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Forest Hills: 76.68% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~72%.
- Tanning Salon — ~71%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 76.51% across Forest Hills.
- Opening a Barber Shop in Forest Hills shows 76.10% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Asian Fusion Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- Steakhouse — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Forest Hills make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, prioritizing survivability score in your site-selection process in Forest Hills could lead to you making ~14% more than if you selected an average location, and ~35% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Site-specific factors can dramatically alter outcomes even within the same neighborhood.
- The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
- The businesses that outperform their category averages most consistently are those that scored highest on survivability before opening.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What businesses should open next in Forest Hills?
The top businesses to open next in Forest Hills:
- Veterinary Clinics — 82.36% average survival rate, ~87% at the best address
- Asian Fusion Restaurants — 79.08% average survival rate
- Steakhouses — 78.23% average survival rate
Competition and spending patterns shift constantly; StreetSpring's live tool reflects the most current conditions for any specific address. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. 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. Forest Hills sits at 95.0% employment and 7.2% commercial vacancy — conditions that set the ceiling and floor for Revenue Capture potential across all business types here. Survivability scores are recalculated weekly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift — visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in Forest Hills right now.
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 Veterinary Clinic survivability across New York City neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Forest Hills.
What type of business should you rent your Forest Hills storefront to?
For landlords in Forest Hills, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Veterinary Clinics, Asian Fusion Restaurants, and Steakhouses as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- The right location can make a business; the wrong one can break it.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. 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 Forest Hills storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Veterinary Clinic ranks as the top tenant type for your Forest Hills storefront — best-case locations show a ~87% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~77%.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What should I consider when opening a business in Forest Hills?
When evaluating potential locations in Forest Hills, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.
- Where survivability is highest, Revenue Capture Score is invariably strong — the two are tightly correlated across every business type we've analyzed.
- StreetSpring's in-house models are continuously updated with new business outcome data to keep predictions accurate.
- StreetSpring's live scoring tool is free: enter any address in Forest Hills to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Our analysis covers businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 major US metros. 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.