Business Survivability in Upper Kensington, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Upper Kensington is a Cafe with a 80.9% 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 Cafe in Upper Kensington (80.9% Typical, 88.6% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #23 of 127 neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia
- Neighborhood average: 71.3% 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 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 Cafe with a 80.9% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 88.6% Best; next is a Veterinary Clinic with 88.2% Best, followed by a Chiropractor Office with 87.8% Best.
Is Upper Kensington a good place to start a business?
Upper Kensington is ranked number 23 of 127 neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia to start a business, with an average 71.3% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 88.6% Best is 7.7 points above 80.9% Typical in Upper Kensington.
- Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Upper Kensington can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
- Upper Kensington's employment rate of 85.5% and housing vacancy rate of 13.0% are two of the Census inputs StreetSpring's model reads for this neighborhood.
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 Upper Kensington?
Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in Upper Kensington that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. Here is the top survivability address for a Cafe in Upper Kensington, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:
This map shows the optimal location for a Cafe in Upper Kensington based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Even the best-ranked neighborhoods contain locations that underperform, and the worst-ranked ones have hidden gems. The prediction model incorporates hundreds of location-specific factors, including competitive density, forecasted consumer spending, mobility patterns, and Revenue Capture Score.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Upper Kensington?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cafe | 88.6% | 80.9% | 75.5% |
| 2 | Veterinary Clinic | 88.2% | 85.1% | 82.1% |
| 3 | Chiropractor Office | 87.8% | 84.2% | 80.6% |
| 4 | Convenience Store | 86.3% | 76.5% | 69.9% |
| 5 | Physical Therapy Clinic | 86.2% | 82.2% | 78.3% |
| 6 | Dermatology Clinic | 86.1% | 82.1% | 78.1% |
| 10 | Hair Salon | 85.3% | 76.8% | 71.7% |
| 11 | Eye Care Center | 84.0% | 78.3% | 72.5% |
| 12 | Laundromat | 83.7% | 75.5% | 69.9% |
| 13 | Bar | 81.5% | 73.9% | 67.9% |
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.
The rank column is the published file's rank within this place; a skipped number is a business type the file ranks here that this list leaves out to keep any one business family from filling it.
Highest Survivability in Upper Kensington
- #1 Cafe: 80.9% Typical across Upper Kensington; Best 88.6%, Worst 75.5%.
- #2 Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Upper Kensington shows 85.1% Typical survivability, 88.2% Best and 82.1% Worst.
- #3 Chiropractor Office (Ranked #3): 84.2% Typical in Upper Kensington. Best: 87.8%. Worst: 80.6%.
- #4 Convenience Store is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Upper Kensington: 76.5% Typical, 86.3% Best, 69.9% Worst.
- #5 Physical Therapy Clinic: 82.2% Typical across Upper Kensington; Best 86.2%, Worst 78.3%.
Strong Performers in Upper Kensington
- #6 Opening a Dermatology Clinic in Upper Kensington shows 82.1% Typical survivability, 86.1% Best and 78.1% Worst.
- #10 Hair Salon (Ranked #10): 76.8% Typical in Upper Kensington. Best: 85.3%. Worst: 71.7%.
- #11 Eye Care Center is ranked #11 for top businesses to open in Upper Kensington: 78.3% Typical, 84.0% Best, 72.5% Worst.
- #12 Laundromat: 75.5% Typical across Upper Kensington; Best 83.7%, Worst 69.9%.
- #13 Opening a Bar in Upper Kensington shows 73.9% Typical survivability, 81.5% Best and 67.9% Worst.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Cafe: See how this compares to other cities →
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chiropractor Office: 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, prioritizing survivability score in your site-selection process in Upper Kensington 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
- However, each business concept should be evaluated for fit within each potential location.
- Where you open is a decision you can measure before you sign.
- Compare the Revenue Capture Score of each shortlisted address first: it is the top factor in choosing a location, and it estimates the revenue a business can capture there.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What businesses should open next in Upper Kensington?
The top businesses to open next in Upper Kensington:
- Cafes: 80.9% Typical, 88.6% Best
- Veterinary Clinics: 85.1% Typical, 88.2% Best
- Chiropractor Offices: 84.2% Typical, 87.8% Best
Even the best-ranked neighborhoods contain locations that underperform, and the worst-ranked ones have hidden gems. We have been studying the businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans. 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% housing vacancy rate in Upper Kensington describes the neighborhood as a whole; survivability still depends heavily on choosing the right address within it. Survivability scores are live, not static: StreetSpring updates them regularly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in Upper Kensington and how each address is scoring right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Philadelphia Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Philadelphia Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Cafe 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?
According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, the strongest tenant types for a storefront in Upper Kensington are Cafes, Veterinary Clinics, and Chiropractor Offices.
- Where you open is a decision you can measure before you sign.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. StreetSpring's tool, free for a 10-minute trial, lets you check the survivability score for any business type at any address in Upper Kensington: a powerful filter when evaluating prospective tenants.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Philadelphia Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Upper Kensington storefront to a Cafe?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Cafe leads all business categories for Upper Kensington landlords: 88.6% Best and 75.5% Worst.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What should I consider when opening a business in Upper Kensington?
Don't commit to a storefront in Upper Kensington without first checking its Survivability Score: two addresses on the same block can carry different projected chances.
- 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.
- The underlying models are StreetSpring's own: built, trained, and maintained using data external platforms cannot access.
- StreetSpring offers a free 10-minute trial of its survivability scores: see how your shortlisted Upper Kensington addresses rank right now.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's AI platform has studied businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans, giving its predictions a scale of validation unmatched in site-selection tools. 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.