Business Survivability in Nicetown, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Nicetown is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~83% 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 Nicetown (~83% average survival rate, ~86% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #93 across all neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia
- Neighborhood average: ~77% 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 Nicetown 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 Nicetown is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~86% chance; next is a Barbecue Restaurant with a 79.03% chance, followed by an American Restaurant with a 78.71% chance.
Is Nicetown a good place to start a business?
Nicetown earns the #93 spot in Philadelphia for new business survivability, with an average score of ~77% across all business types analyzed.
- The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~8% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.
- Even so, the weakest addresses in Nicetown for those same business types can underperform considerably. StreetSpring's address-level scoring exists precisely to identify which specific storefronts make the difference.
- Nicetown's 9.9% commercial vacancy rate signals the current availability of storefronts and shapes the competitive environment that survivability scores reflect.
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 Nicetown?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Nicetown — so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. Of all available storefronts analyzed in Nicetown, StreetSpring ranks this area highest for a Veterinary Clinic in 2026:
StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Veterinary Clinic in Nicetown. However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. The model evaluates hundreds of factors — from primary and secondary competition to forecasted spend, site accessibility, and local market share potential.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Nicetown?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 83.50% |
| 2 | Barbecue Restaurant | 79.03% |
| 3 | American Restaurant | 78.71% |
| 4 | Pizza Restaurant | 78.66% |
| 5 | Seafood Restaurant | 78.04% |
| 6 | Dance Club | 77.65% |
| 7 | Grocery Store | 77.05% |
| 8 | Smoke Shop | 76.09% |
| 9 | Pet Grooming Shop | 75.59% |
| 10 | Coffee Shop | 74.75% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Nicetown
- Veterinary Clinic — ~80%–~86% survivability range, with an average of 83.50% across Nicetown.
- Opening a Barbecue Restaurant in Nicetown shows 79.03% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- American Restaurant (Ranked #3): 78.71% average in Nicetown. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Pizza Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Nicetown: 78.66% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~76%.
- Seafood Restaurant — ~75%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 78.04% across Nicetown.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Nicetown
- Opening a Dance Club in Nicetown shows 77.65% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Grocery Store (Ranked #7): 77.05% average in Nicetown. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~74%.
- Smoke Shop is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Nicetown: 76.09% chance on average, best at ~78%, challenging at ~74%.
- Pet Grooming Shop — ~72%–~78% survivability range, with an average of 75.59% across Nicetown.
- Opening a Coffee Shop in Nicetown shows 74.75% average survivability. Top locations reach ~78%; lower-end sites show ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Barbecue Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
- American Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Nicetown make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting a storefront that StreetSpring ranks in the top tier for your business type in Nicetown could lead to you making ~8% more than if you selected an average location, and ~20% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- The right address for one business type may be the wrong one for another — always evaluate fit for your specific concept.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
- 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 Nicetown?
The top businesses to open next in Nicetown:
- Veterinary Clinics — 83.50% average survival rate, ~86% at the best address
- Barbecue Restaurants — 79.03% average survival rate
- American Restaurants — 78.71% average survival rate
However, individual locations vary widely, and even in lower-scoring neighborhoods there are pockets that perform exceptionally well. The model draws from 100+ location-specific factors to generate each survivability score. 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 9.9% vacancy rate in Nicetown reflects the current commercial environment; StreetSpring weights this directly in every survivability score for addresses in this neighborhood. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in Nicetown 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 Nicetown.
What type of business should you rent your Nicetown storefront to?
According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, the strongest tenant types for a storefront in Nicetown are Veterinary Clinics, Barbecue Restaurants, and American Restaurants.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for two or more years.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Philadelphia Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Nicetown storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Nicetown in 2026, a Veterinary Clinic posts the highest survivability ceiling at ~86% and maintains a reasonable floor of ~80% — making it the most reliable tenant choice here.
- 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 Nicetown?
Don't commit to a storefront in Nicetown without first checking its Survivability Score — the difference between a 70% and a 90% score at two addresses on the same block can determine your long-term outcome.
- A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
- These predictions are generated by StreetSpring's proprietary machine learning system, validated against hundreds of thousands of real business outcomes.
- StreetSpring's live scoring tool is free: enter any address in Nicetown to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's AI platform has analyzed thousands of business openings to identify success patterns. 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.