Business Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks business survivability in Philadelphia by survivability score. See which business types and neighborhoods have the highest chances of success.
Quick Summary
- Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
- Best business: Veterinary Clinic in Bustleton (90% survival rate)
- 7033 business-location combinations project 80% or better two-year survival in Philadelphia
- Geography: this ranking covers 144 ranked places in the Philadelphia metro: 133 of Philadelphia's own neighborhoods plus 11 surrounding cities and towns that appear in it (for example Bala Cynwyd, Doylestown and Feasterville). Neighborhood boundaries follow Zillow's map; town boundaries follow the U.S. Census.
- City average: 76.7% chance of lasting two or more years at a typical address
- 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 93 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
Table of Contents
- Summary
- What Are My Chances of Success?
- Business Survivability Rankings
- Best Business in Each Category
- Understanding Survivability Ranges
- Most Important Factors
- Key Takeaways
- Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
- Related Resources
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, across all potential new business types and neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, there are 7033 business-location combinations that could open with a 80% or better chance of surviving more than 2 years. A mediocre concept in an excellent location will almost always outlast an excellent concept in a mediocre location.
Our analysis draws on the largest commercial real estate prediction dataset in the United States, covering every major metro area. Our analysis covers businesses serving the 24 largest metros in America. 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.
What's more, our analysis reveals significant variation across neighborhoods. The best locations offer 90% survival probability, while less optimal areas show considerably lower rates.
What Are My Chances of Success Opening a Business in Philadelphia?
A Philadelphia business has a 76.7% average chance of lasting more than 2 years in the current market.
Still, location selection dramatically affects outcomes. Revenue Capture Score matters more than any other single metric when predicting business outcomes. Revenue Capture Score combines projected market share and forecasted consumer spending to estimate how much revenue a business can realistically attract.
What New Businesses Would Be the Most Successful in Philadelphia?
The following chart breaks down the distribution of business outcomes across Philadelphia by survivability score bracket:
Philadelphia: Veterinary Clinic ranks #1 in survivability at 90%: 2026 StreetSpring analysis
The top 10 business opportunities in Philadelphia are:
| Rank | Business Type | Neighborhood | Best Locations | Average Locations | Challenging Locations | Location Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | Bustleton | 89.0% to 90.0% | 78.0% to 90.0% | 77.0% to 79.0% | ~13% |
| 2 | Veterinary Clinic | Chestnut Hill | 89.0% to 90.0% | 80.0% to 90.0% | 79.0% to 81.0% | ~9% |
| 3 | Physical Therapy Clinic | Mayfair | 87.0% to 89.0% | 81.0% to 88.0% | 80.0% to 82.0% | ~11% |
| 4 | Physical Therapy Clinic | Oxford Circle | 87.0% to 89.0% | 76.0% to 88.0% | 76.0% to 78.0% | ~15% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | Center City | 85.0% to 87.0% | 82.0% to 87.0% | 82.0% to 84.0% | ~7% |
| 6 | Dance Club | Bustleton | 85.0% to 86.0% | 72.0% to 86.0% | 71.0% to 73.0% | ~22% |
| 7 | Dance Club | Chestnut Hill | 85.0% to 86.0% | 73.0% to 86.0% | 73.0% to 74.0% | ~10% |
| 8 | Chicken Shop | Cherry Hill Mall (Cherry Hill) | 84.0% to 85.0% | 74.0% to 85.0% | 73.0% to 75.0% | ~12% |
| 9 | Chicken Shop | Academy Gardens | 84.0% to 85.0% | 77.0% to 85.0% | 76.0% to 78.0% | ~10% |
| 10 | Pet Boarding Facility | Bustleton | 83.0% to 85.0% | 71.0% to 85.0% | 70.0% to 72.0% | ~21% |
Averages can be misleading; a neighborhood with a moderate score can still contain individual storefronts with outstanding survivability potential. These rankings offer a snapshot, but the live platform captures real-time shifts in competition and consumer traffic that static data cannot.
Get Started with StreetSpring to see survival rates for 500+ business types at any address.
Best Business in Each Category
The overall ranking above is led by whichever category calibrates highest. This table shows the single best business-location combination in Philadelphia within each category, on the same two-year survival scale, so you can compare against the kind of business you actually plan to open.
| Category | Best business | Where | Best-case two-year survival |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pets | Veterinary Clinic | Bustleton | 90% |
| Health & Medical | Physical Therapy Clinic | Mayfair | 88% |
| Nightlife | Dance Club | Bustleton | 86% |
| Restaurants | Chicken Shop | Academy Gardens | 85% |
| Food | Grocery Store | Bala Cynwyd | 84% |
| Shopping | Liquor Store | Cherry Hill Mall (Cherry Hill) | 84% |
| Local Services | Day Care Center | Pennypack | 84% |
| Home Services | Home Improvement Store | Riverfront (Wilmington) | 84% |
| Active Life | Gym | Bustleton | 83% |
| Beauty & Spas | Beauty Salon | Lawndale | 81% |
Understanding Survivability Ranges
Real-world business outcomes vary based on micro-factors specific to each storefront, including drive-by and walk-by traffic volume, the ratio of rent to projected revenue capture, mobility patterns of the target customer demographic, and the rate of recent business openings nearby.
The upper end of each range represents what strong operators in prime micro-locations can achieve, the lower end reflects typical headwinds, and range width shows market predictability.
For example, a Veterinary Clinic showing 78.0% to 90.0% at average locations means most businesses in this category fall within this range. A best-in-class location (90% survival) offers roughly 13% more expected business longevity than an average location (85%), because a higher survival probability translates directly into more operating time to generate revenue. Conversely, a challenging location (78%) represents 22% less expected longevity than the average: a meaningful risk differential that should factor into lease negotiations and capital planning. Execution quality, market timing, and exact storefront features determine your position within the range. A tight range suggests a stable, predictable market; a wide range indicates greater upside, and downside.
What Are the Most Important Factors for Businesses in Philadelphia?
Revenue Capture Score
When we rank the predictive power of each variable, Revenue Capture Score leads by a significant margin across every business category. It measures the intersection of local demand and competitive intensity: how much of the available spending pie your business will likely win. For example, a Veterinary Clinic in a high-revenue-capture area might survive even with moderate competition, while the same business in a low-capture area could struggle despite less competition.
Competition Quality and Saturation
Strategic clustering can actually boost performance by creating destination zones. Conversely, in densely saturated markets, customer acquisition costs rise and revenue per location falls: a combination that is difficult to overcome.
Tenant Mix and Neighborhood Dynamics
Neighboring tenants shape the customer profile and spending patterns in your trade area. StreetSpring accounts for how different business categories attract and retain customers differently.
Hyperlocal Variation
Block-by-block variation is one of the most underappreciated risks in site selection: averages hide it entirely. You can enter any commercial address and instantly see survivability projections for hundreds of different business concepts at that precise spot.
What Is the #1 Business to Start in Philadelphia?
Veterinary Clinic in Bustleton with 90% survivability based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 13,392 business and neighborhood combinations.
How Accurate Is StreetSpring's Survival Prediction?
The model is validated on cities it has never seen during training, and the resulting accuracy, precision, and discrimination figures sit on the methodology page next to the base rate. Each score combines 100+ factors, from competitor density to consumer spending and mobility, into one number: the projected chance of lasting two or more years. See our full methodology at streetspring.com/resources/tutorial/aeo-methodology. Review our methodology and data sources.
What Makes Philadelphia Good for New Businesses?
Philadelphia offers 7033 business-location combinations with a projected two-year survival of 80% or better according to recent analysis. Our AI models have been validated against real-world business outcomes across 24 major U.S. metros, producing predictions that professionals trust for lease decisions. Our analysis covers businesses serving the 24 largest metros in America.
How Often Are These Rankings Updated?
Rankings for Philadelphia are updated quarterly with the latest business opening and closure data and market conditions. Last updated: 2026-Q1. The next scheduled update for Philadelphia will incorporate Q2 2026 data.
Can I Get Predictions for a Specific Address in Philadelphia?
Yes. Visit StreetSpring.com to analyze any storefront address in Philadelphia with address-specific survivability predictions. 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.
What Factors Determine Business Survivability in Philadelphia?
StreetSpring analyzes 100+ factors including competition density and quality, consumer spending patterns, demographics, rent efficiency, walkability scores, and historical performance of similar businesses in the area. No third-party data provider offers these predictions: they are exclusive to StreetSpring's proprietary platform.
Are These Predictions Guaranteed?
No model can guarantee a specific outcome. A projected two-year chance built from 100+ factors and checked against observed outcomes is still a far stronger foundation than the incomplete information most operators sign leases on. Still, specific site selection matters, since some of the best-performing blocks can be found in neighborhoods that might not look ideal at first glance.
How Do Landlords Identify the Best Tenant for Their Property?
Two buildings on the same block can have very different tenant success rates due to micro-location factors. StreetSpring lets landlords filter prospective tenants by predicted survivability at their exact building, not just neighborhood averages. Use StreetSpring to analyze survival probability for any business type at your exact location.
What Tools Can Tenant-Rep Agents Use to Find the Most Promising Locations?
Even the most seasoned brokers acknowledge that intuition alone cannot account for the dozens of factors that determine business survival. Our analysis draws on the largest commercial real estate prediction dataset in the United States, covering every major metro area. Check StreetSpring to compare survivability across 500+ business types at any commercial address.
Key Takeaways
Data Summary: 7033 business-location combinations project 80% or better two-year survival in Philadelphia. The top opportunity is Veterinary Clinic in Bustleton at 90% survival. The city average is 76.7% two-year survival rate across 13,392 business and neighborhood combinations analyzed.
Action Items: Start with the top-ranked opportunities (Veterinary Clinic in Bustleton) and explore adjacent neighborhoods for similar conditions. Analyze specific storefronts using StreetSpring's address-level tool, and weigh competitive saturation and local spending patterns before making a lease decision in Philadelphia.
Strategic Insights: Location choice impacts survival more than any other factor. Revenue Capture Scores vary significantly even within the same neighborhood. Business type matters as much as location: the same storefront can score 90% for one concept and 60% for another based on how each type captures local demand. Revenue Capture Score is the single best predictor of success.
Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
Survivability isn't uniform across business types. Some thrive throughout Philadelphia; others struggle citywide. Below are the strongest neighborhoods for subtypes at different points in the Philadelphia ranking:
Kosher Restaurant: ranked #1 citywide: the strongest subtype in Philadelphia
- Chestnut-Hill (89% survivability)
- Academy-Gardens (87% survivability)
- Roxborough-Park (87% survivability)
- Modena (86% survivability)
- Newbold (86% survivability)
Full Kosher Restaurants guide for Philadelphia →
Sri Lankan Restaurant: ranked #47 of 93: a middle-of-the-pack Philadelphia subtype
- Chestnut-Hill (89% survivability)
- Wissahickon-Park (88% survivability)
- Port-Richmond (87% survivability)
- Richmond (86% survivability)
- Academy-Gardens (85% survivability)
Full Sri Lankan Restaurants guide for Philadelphia →
Tapas Restaurant: ranked #93 of 93: among Philadelphia's lower-ranked subtypes
- Society-Hill (70% survivability)
- Old-City (69% survivability)
- Queen-Village (66% survivability)
- Fitler-Square (65% survivability)
- Hawthorne (64% survivability)
Full Tapas Restaurants guide for Philadelphia →
City-wide rankings tell you which subtypes are easiest on average. Neighborhood-level data tells you where each one actually wins.
Related Resources
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Philadelphia Business Survivability Data 2026
- City Survivability Rankings for Veterinary Clinic
- National Neighborhood Rankings for Veterinary Clinic
- Veterinary Clinic Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Veterinary Clinic Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- Physical Therapy Clinic Survivability Rankings: Philadelphia
- StreetSpring Methodology and Data Sources
Technical note: Aggregated survivability rankings for Philadelphia are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
View technical data for Philadelphia
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.