Business Survivability in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Chestnut Hill is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~87% 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 Chestnut Hill (~87% average survival rate, ~90% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #1 across all neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia
- Neighborhood average: ~81% 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 Chestnut Hill 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 Chestnut Hill is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~87% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~90% chance; next is a Salad Shop with a 83.41% chance, followed by a Chicken Shop with a 81.60% chance.
Is Chestnut Hill a good place to start a business?
Chestnut Hill is the #1 most survivable neighborhood for new businesses in and around Philadelphia, with an average score of ~81% across all analyzed categories.
- Across Chestnut Hill, the best addresses for its highest-ranked business types score ~9% above the neighborhood mean.
- However, those same business types at the weakest addresses in Chestnut Hill can score considerably below average. Even the most in-demand concept in Chestnut Hill will struggle if it opens at the wrong address.
- Chestnut Hill's employment rate of 95.7% and commercial vacancy of 5.1% are two of the inputs StreetSpring's model uses to differentiate survivability within 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 Chestnut Hill?
Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in Chestnut Hill that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Veterinary Clinic in Chestnut Hill:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Veterinary Clinic in Chestnut Hill. 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.
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What are the best businesses to open in Chestnut Hill?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 88.69% |
| 2 | Salad Shop | 85.00% |
| 3 | Chicken Shop | 84.99% |
| 4 | Dance Club | 84.20% |
| 5 | Persian Restaurant | 84.00% |
| 6 | Smoke Shop | 83.60% |
| 7 | Pet Boarding Facility | 83.59% |
| 8 | Bar | 83.10% |
| 9 | Chiropractor Office | 82.80% |
| 10 | Pet Grooming Shop | 82.61% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Chestnut Hill
- Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Chestnut Hill shows 86.70% average survivability. Top locations reach ~90%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
- Salad Shop (Ranked #2): 83.41% average in Chestnut Hill. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Chicken Shop is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Chestnut Hill: 81.60% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~74%.
- Dance Club: ~73% to ~86% survivability range, with an average of 81.90% across Chestnut Hill.
- Opening a Persian Restaurant in Chestnut Hill shows 82.71% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Chestnut Hill
- Smoke Shop (Ranked #6): 80.80% average in Chestnut Hill. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Pet Boarding Facility is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Chestnut Hill: 80.70% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~71%.
- Bar: ~72% to ~84% survivability range, with an average of 81.30% across Chestnut Hill.
- Opening a Chiropractor Office in Chestnut Hill shows 79.79% average survivability. Top locations reach ~84%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #10): 80.31% average in Chestnut Hill. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Salad Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chicken Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Chestnut Hill make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, prioritizing survivability score in your site-selection process in Chestnut Hill could lead to you making ~9% 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
- 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.
- The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
- Every percentage point of Survivability Score represents a real difference in expected revenue: choosing the highest-scoring address is the most reliable financial decision you can make at the outset.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for 500+ business types at any given storefront.
What businesses should open next in Chestnut Hill?
The top businesses to open next in Chestnut Hill:
- Veterinary Clinics: 86.70% average survival rate, ~90% at the best address
- Salad Shops: 83.41% average survival rate
- Chicken Shops: 81.60% average survival rate
However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. Our training data spans 500+ business types across 24 major metros, giving our models the breadth to predict outcomes across nearly any commercial concept. 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. The 5.1% commercial vacancy rate in Chestnut Hill means there is available space for new entrants, but it also signals that survivability depends heavily on choosing the right address within the neighborhood, not just the neighborhood itself. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in Chestnut Hill today may score differently than it did last month: check StreetSpring's live tool for the current picture.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Philadelphia Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Philadelphia Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Philadelphia neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Chestnut Hill.
What type of business should you rent your Chestnut Hill storefront to?
StreetSpring's analysis shows that the categories most likely to produce stable, long-term tenants in Chestnut Hill are Veterinary Clinics, Salad Shops, and Chicken Shops.
- The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
- Our address-level scoring shows the exact survivability odds for 500+ business types at any given storefront. Rather than guessing which tenant type will last, landlords can verify survivability for each category at their exact address using StreetSpring.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Philadelphia Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Chestnut Hill storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Veterinary Clinic leads all business categories for Chestnut Hill landlords: ~90% at the best addresses and ~80% at the most challenging ones in this neighborhood.
- 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 Chestnut Hill?
Before committing to any location in Chestnut Hill, the highest-priority metric to check is the Survivability Score: it encodes every relevant location factor into a single, actionable number.
- High Revenue Capture Score is the clearest signal that a location can sustain a business over the long term.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- StreetSpring offers a free 10-minute trial of its survivability scores: see how your shortlisted Chestnut Hill addresses rank right now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Powered by machine learning models trained on real business outcomes, StreetSpring delivers actionable insights. Aggregated survivability rankings for Philadelphia are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Philadelphia: /resources/data/philadelphia-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.