Business Survivability in Whitman, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Whitman is a Dance Club with a ~81% 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 Dance Club in Whitman (~81% average survival rate, ~82% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #39 across all neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia
- Neighborhood average: ~79% 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 Whitman 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 Whitman is a Dance Club with a ~81% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~82% chance; next is a Steakhouse with a 80.49% chance, followed by a Smoke Shop with a 79.77% chance.
Is Whitman a good place to start a business?
Whitman earns the #39 spot in Philadelphia for new business survivability, with an average score of ~79% across all business types analyzed.
- The most promising business types in the best locations score a ~1% higher chance of surviving 2 years than the average.
- But at poorly chosen addresses within Whitman, even the top-ranked business types can fall well below the neighborhood average. Location selection remains critical — a promising concept at the wrong spot still carries significant risk.
- Commercial vacancy in Whitman sits at 5.1%, a figure that factors into survivability scores for every business type in 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 Whitman?
Using StreetSpring, you can identify the exact address in Whitman that gives your specific business concept the highest survivability score. The map below highlights the highest-survivability address for a Dance Club in Whitman:
This map shows the optimal location for a Dance Club in Whitman based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or consumer spending; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. 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 Whitman?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dance Club | 80.95% |
| 2 | Steakhouse | 80.49% |
| 3 | Smoke Shop | 79.77% |
| 4 | Mexican Restaurant | 79.51% |
| 5 | Pizza Restaurant | 79.21% |
| 6 | Pet Grooming Shop | 78.88% |
| 7 | Grocery Store | 78.76% |
| 8 | Dessert Shop | 78.53% |
| 9 | Music Store | 78.47% |
| 10 | Seafood Restaurant | 78.43% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Whitman
- Opening a Dance Club in Whitman shows 80.95% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~80%.
- Steakhouse (Ranked #2): 80.49% average in Whitman. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~79%.
- Smoke Shop is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Whitman: 79.77% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~78%.
- Mexican Restaurant — ~78%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 79.51% across Whitman.
- Opening a Pizza Restaurant in Whitman shows 79.21% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Whitman
- Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #6): 78.88% average in Whitman. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Grocery Store is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Whitman: 78.76% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~75%.
- Dessert Shop — ~75%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.53% across Whitman.
- Opening a Music Store in Whitman shows 78.47% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Seafood Restaurant (Ranked #10): 78.43% average in Whitman. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Dance Club — See how this compares to other cities →
- Steakhouse — See how this compares to other cities →
- Smoke Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Whitman make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, securing a location with maximum Revenue Capture potential in Whitman could lead to you making ~1% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- StreetSpring calculates survivability for each business type separately at each address — so the best location for your concept may differ from the neighborhood's overall top-ranked site.
- Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
- The businesses that outperform their category averages most consistently are those that scored highest on survivability before opening.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site.
What businesses should open next in Whitman?
The top businesses to open next in Whitman:
- Dance Clubs — 80.95% average survival rate, ~82% at the best address
- Steakhouses — 80.49% average survival rate
- Smoke Shops — 79.77% average survival rate
Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or consumer spending; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. 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 5.1% vacancy rate in Whitman reflects the current commercial environment; StreetSpring weights this directly in every survivability score for addresses in this neighborhood. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring updates every location's survivability score weekly — you can see current scores for available storefronts in Whitman 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 Dance Club survivability across Philadelphia neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Whitman.
What type of business should you rent your Whitman storefront to?
Our 2026 survivability data for Whitman shows that Dance Clubs, Steakhouses, and Smoke Shops rank as the top tenant categories for minimizing vacancy risk.
- Every site-selection decision starts and ends with location — it outweighs concept, brand, and execution combined.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site. 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 Whitman storefront to a Dance Club?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Dance Club leads all business categories for Whitman landlords — ~82% at the best addresses and ~80% at the most challenging ones in this neighborhood.
- StreetSpring generates location-specific predictions tailored to your exact site.
What should I consider when opening a business in Whitman?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score for your Whitman address is the clearest forward-looking indicator of whether your business will be operating two years from now — make it the first number you check.
- Revenue Capture is where competition meets spending — and it's the number that matters most when choosing a location.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- You can access the most up-to-date forecasts with StreetSpring for free.
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.