Business Survivability in Upper Kensington, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Upper Kensington 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 Upper Kensington (~83% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #78 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 Upper Kensington 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 Upper Kensington 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 ~85% chance; next is a Chicken Shop with a 80.25% chance, followed by a Mexican Restaurant with a 79.04% chance.
Is Upper Kensington a good place to start a business?
Across all neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia, StreetSpring's data places Upper Kensington at #78 with a ~77% average Survivability Score.
- The highest-scoring business types in Upper Kensington — at their optimal addresses — outperform the neighborhood average by ~5%.
- However, these same business types at the worst locations in Upper Kensington can sometimes provide a projected Survivability Score considerably below the average. Thus, even the businesses that are most in need in Upper Kensington could have trouble succeeding if the best location is not selected.
- The 13.0% commercial vacancy rate in Upper Kensington is a leading indicator of the neighborhood's business health; StreetSpring factors this directly into each business type's survivability score.
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 Upper Kensington?
Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in Upper Kensington that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. The map below highlights the highest-survivability address for a Veterinary Clinic in Upper Kensington:
The highlighted area represents the address in Upper Kensington that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Veterinary Clinic 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 Upper Kensington?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.91% |
| 2 | Chicken Shop | 80.25% |
| 3 | Mexican Restaurant | 79.04% |
| 4 | Cafe | 79.01% |
| 5 | Smoke Shop | 76.80% |
| 6 | Dance Club | 75.67% |
| 7 | Convenience Store | 74.94% |
| 8 | Coffee Shop | 74.35% |
| 9 | Pet Grooming Shop | 73.69% |
| 10 | Nail Salon | 73.18% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Upper Kensington
- Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Upper Kensington shows 82.91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~85%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
- Chicken Shop (Ranked #2): 80.25% average in Upper Kensington. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
- Mexican Restaurant is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Upper Kensington: 79.04% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~77%.
- Cafe — ~76%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 79.01% across Upper Kensington.
- Opening a Smoke Shop in Upper Kensington shows 76.80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Upper Kensington
- Dance Club (Ranked #6): 75.67% average in Upper Kensington. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~72%.
- Convenience Store is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Upper Kensington: 74.94% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~71%.
- Coffee Shop — ~71%–~79% survivability range, with an average of 74.35% across Upper Kensington.
- Opening a Pet Grooming Shop in Upper Kensington shows 73.69% average survivability. Top locations reach ~76%; lower-end sites show ~71%.
- Nail Salon (Ranked #10): 73.18% average in Upper Kensington. Best-case storefronts: ~78%. Challenging locations: ~68%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Chicken Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
- Mexican Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Upper Kensington make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in Upper Kensington could lead to you making ~5% more than if you selected an average location, and ~13% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
- Location is the biggest factor in a business's future success.
- Our data shows that the single highest-impact decision a business owner makes is the address they choose — and Survivability Score is the best guide to that decision.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What businesses should open next in Upper Kensington?
The top businesses to open next in Upper Kensington:
- Veterinary Clinics — 82.91% average survival rate, ~85% at the best address
- Chicken Shops — 80.25% average survival rate
- Mexican Restaurants — 79.04% average survival rate
StreetSpring's survivability scores are updated regularly, so the most accurate prediction for your exact storefront is always available in the live tool. 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. The 13.0% commercial vacancy rate in Upper Kensington 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. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data — see which locations in Upper Kensington are available right now and how they rank.
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 Upper Kensington.
What type of business should you rent your Upper Kensington storefront to?
If you own commercial space in Upper Kensington, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Veterinary Clinics, Chicken Shops, and Mexican Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.
- Location is the biggest factor in a business's future success.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types. 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 Philadelphia Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Upper Kensington storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
The data shows a Veterinary Clinic is the safest long-term bet for a Upper Kensington storefront. Top locations reach ~85% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~81%.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What should I consider when opening a business in Upper Kensington?
Survivability Score is the North Star metric for any location decision in Upper Kensington: it aggregates 100+ factors so you don't have to evaluate each one individually.
- High Revenue Capture Score is the clearest signal that a location can sustain a business over the long term.
- StreetSpring uses its own proprietary forecasting tools to identify the Revenue Capture Score for each unique business.
- StreetSpring offers free access to its survivability scores — see how your shortlisted Upper Kensington addresses rank right now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Real estate professionals and business owners across 24 major metros use StreetSpring to ground their site-selection decisions in data, not guesswork. 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.