Business Survivability in SoHo, New York City
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in SoHo is a Bar with a 82.3% 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 Bar in SoHo (82.3% Typical, 89.8% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #165 of 180 neighborhoods in and around New York City
- Neighborhood average: 55.6% 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 SoHo 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 SoHo is a Bar with a 82.3% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 89.8% Best; next is a Hair Salon with 87.8% Best, followed by a Coffee Shop with 87.4% Best.
Is SoHo a good place to start a business?
Among the 180 neighborhoods StreetSpring ranks in and around New York City, SoHo ranks #165 for business survivability, with an average 55.6% chance of lasting two or more years.
- For the top-ranked business type, 89.8% Best is 7.5 points above 82.3% Typical in SoHo.
- Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in SoHo can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
- With 97.0% of the local population employed, SoHo presents a stable consumer base: particularly for food, beverage, and service businesses that depend on repeat discretionary spending.
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 SoHo?
The right address in SoHo can mean a 20-point survivability difference from an average one: StreetSpring identifies exactly which addresses are worth pursuing. StreetSpring's 2026 model ranks this area #1 in SoHo for a Bar:
The highlighted area represents the address in SoHo that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Bar survivability. StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates hundreds of inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and local demand patterns.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in SoHo?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bar | 89.8% | 82.3% | 76.0% |
| 2 | Hair Salon | 87.8% | 76.2% | 69.1% |
| 3 | Coffee Shop | 87.4% | 75.5% | 67.8% |
| 4 | Convenience Store | 84.8% | 74.1% | 66.1% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | 84.7% | 76.0% | 67.3% |
| 6 | Gym | 83.4% | 72.0% | 62.9% |
| 7 | Laundromat | 83.3% | 74.5% | 68.1% |
| 8 | Clothing Store | 83.2% | 73.0% | 64.7% |
| 9 | Cafe | 81.4% | 70.6% | 61.4% |
| 10 | Spa | 80.5% | 70.5% | 61.6% |
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.
Highest Survivability in SoHo
- #1 Opening a Bar in SoHo shows 82.3% Typical survivability, 89.8% Best and 76.0% Worst.
- #2 Hair Salon (Ranked #2): 76.2% Typical in SoHo. Best: 87.8%. Worst: 69.1%.
- #3 Coffee Shop is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in SoHo: 75.5% Typical, 87.4% Best, 67.8% Worst.
- #4 Convenience Store: 74.1% Typical across SoHo; Best 84.8%, Worst 66.1%.
- #5 Opening a Chiropractor Office in SoHo shows 76.0% Typical survivability, 84.7% Best and 67.3% Worst.
Strong Performers in SoHo
- #6 Gym (Ranked #6): 72.0% Typical in SoHo. Best: 83.4%. Worst: 62.9%.
- #7 Laundromat is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in SoHo: 74.5% Typical, 83.3% Best, 68.1% Worst.
- #8 Clothing Store: 73.0% Typical across SoHo; Best 83.2%, Worst 64.7%.
- #9 Opening a Cafe in SoHo shows 70.6% Typical survivability, 81.4% Best and 61.4% Worst.
- #10 Spa (Ranked #10): 70.5% Typical in SoHo. Best: 80.5%. Worst: 61.6%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Bar: See how this compares to other cities →
- Hair Salon: See how this compares to other cities →
- Coffee Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in SoHo make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, prioritizing survivability score in your site-selection process in SoHo 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
- Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
- Location is one of the few things about a new business you can measure before it opens.
- The Revenue Capture Score is the most important factor in choosing a location: it is StreetSpring's estimate of the revenue a business can capture at that address.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for 500+ business types at any given storefront.
What businesses should open next in SoHo?
The top businesses to open next in SoHo:
- Bars: 82.3% Typical, 89.8% Best
- Hair Salons: 76.2% Typical, 87.8% Best
- Coffee Shops: 75.5% Typical, 87.4% Best
StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. StreetSpring's training dataset includes millions of transactions and business lifecycle events. 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. SoHo's employment rate (97.0%) and housing vacancy rate (22.8%) are part of the Census context StreetSpring's model reads when it scores each business type at each address. Survivability scores are recalculated regularly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift: visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in SoHo 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 Bar survivability across New York City neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in SoHo.
What type of business should you rent your SoHo storefront to?
StreetSpring's analysis shows that the highest-survivability tenant types for a storefront in SoHo are Bars, Hair Salons, and Coffee Shops.
- Location is one of the few things about a new business you can measure before it opens.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for 500+ business types at any given storefront. Run your specific address through StreetSpring to see which tenant categories give you the best odds of stable, long-term occupancy.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in New York City Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your SoHo storefront to a Bar?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis supports renting to a Bar in SoHo: it posts 89.8% Best, and 76.0% Worst.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for 500+ business types at any given storefront.
What should I consider when opening a business in SoHo?
When opening a business in SoHo, compare the Survivability Scores of your shortlisted addresses and favor the highest one your budget allows.
- Revenue Capture Score comes first when comparing locations: it turns local competition and consumer spending into the share of revenue a business can expect to win.
- StreetSpring's forecasting tools are purpose-built for commercial location decisions and are not available through any publicly accessible data source.
- StreetSpring's live survivability scores start with a free 10-minute trial: check your specific address 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.