Business Survivability Rankings: Portland
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks business survivability in Portland by survivability score. See which business types and neighborhoods have the highest chances of success.
Quick Summary
- Best business: Armenian Restaurant in Gresham (>97% survival rate)
- 806 business-location combinations exceed 90% survival rates in Portland
- City average: 76% chance of lasting 2+ years
- Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data
- Detailed methodology
Reviewed and updated: May 12, 2026 — Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
Table of Contents
- Summary
- What Are My Chances of Success?
- Business Survivability Rankings
- Understanding Survivability Ranges
- Most Important Factors
- Key Takeaways
- Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
- Related Resources
Summary
The 2026 survivability data for Portland tells a clear story: 806 business-location combinations exceed a 90% two-year survival rate, led by Armenian Restaurant in Gresham at >97%. Your address is the single variable most likely to determine whether your business is still operating two years from now.
Our platform provides the most comprehensive AI-driven survivability analysis available for U.S. commercial real estate, covering over 700 business types. Each prediction draws from a dataset that tracks commercial activity for businesses serving the majority of the U.S. population.
Moreover, review our methodology and data sources.
Moreover, our analysis reveals significant variation across neighborhoods. The best locations offer >97% survival probability, while less optimal areas show considerably lower rates.
What Are My Chances of Success Opening a Business in Portland?
A Portland business has a 76% average chance of lasting more than 2 years with current market dynamics.
What "chance of success" actually means in survivability terms
Conversely, location selection dramatically affects outcomes. Of all the variables StreetSpring analyzes, Revenue Capture Score has the strongest predictive power. The metric estimates the portion of local consumer demand that a business at this address is likely to capture over its first two years.
review the location evaluation process.
What New Businesses Would Be the Most Successful in Portland?
The chart below displays the distribution of business outcomes across Portland by survivability score bracket:
Portland: Armenian Restaurant ranks #1 in survivability at >97% — 2026 StreetSpring analysis
The top 10 business opportunities in Portland are:
| Rank | Business Type | Neighborhood | Best Locations | Average Locations | Challenging Locations | Location Advantage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armenian Restaurant | Gresham | 96.3% – 97.0% | 83.5% – 87.4% | 66.4% – 70.0% | ~14% |
| 2 | Southern Food Restaurant | Gresham | 95.9% – 97.0% | 84.2% – 86.7% | 66.1% – 70.2% | ~15% |
| 3 | Bangladeshi Restaurant | Gresham | 96.4% – 97.0% | 84.3% – 88.1% | 67.8% – 71.4% | ~14% |
| 4 | Ukrainian Restaurant | Kenton | 95.0% – 97.0% | 83.7% – 88.1% | 73.8% – 77.2% | ~13% |
| 5 | Ukrainian Restaurant | Hough | 94.0% – 97.0% | 86.0% – 90.4% | 78.8% – 82.2% | ~9% |
| 6 | Bangladeshi Restaurant | Kenton | 94.4% – 97.0% | 87.3% – 91.1% | 75.8% – 79.4% | ~8% |
| 7 | Brunch Restaurant | Kenton | 94.0% – 97.0% | 86.6% – 91.0% | 74.5% – 78.3% | ~8% |
| 8 | Italian Restaurant | Van Mall | 94.3% – 97.0% | 81.5% – 84.2% | 72.2% – 76.0% | ~16% |
| 9 | Brazilian Restaurant | Van Mall | 92.5% – 96.2% | 79.8% – 84.1% | 72.4% – 76.2% | ~16% |
| 10 | Hungarian Restaurant | Van Mall | 92.5% – 96.5% | 80.2% – 83.2% | 72.1% – 75.9% | ~16% |
Why these subtypes outperform their national average here
Don't rule out a neighborhood based on its average alone — some of the highest-scoring individual addresses sit in areas with moderate averages. However, market conditions change daily, and it's best to use StreetSpring's live data to check the survivability score for a specific address.
See Your Score on StreetSpring — enter any address and get survivability predictions for 700+ business types instantly.
Understanding Survivability Ranges
Actual survivability at a specific address depends on storefront-level conditions such as pedestrian flow patterns, lease flexibility and build-out costs, the demographic profile of the immediate trade area, and the timing of entry relative to seasonal demand cycles.
The score range where most actionable decisions sit
The upper end of each range represents what strong operators in prime micro-locations can achieve, the lower end reflects typical headwinds, and range width shows market predictability.
For instance, an Armenian Restaurant showing 83.5% – 87.4% at average locations means most businesses in this category fall within this range. A best-in-class location (>97% survival) offers roughly 14% more expected business longevity than an average location (86%), because a higher survival probability translates directly into more operating time to generate revenue. Conversely, a challenging location (68%) represents 21% less expected longevity than the average — a meaningful risk differential that should factor into lease negotiations and capital planning. Your specific outcome depends on execution, timing, and exact storefront conditions. Narrower ranges indicate more predictable markets, while wider ranges signal higher risk-reward scenarios.
The Most Important Factors for in Portland
Revenue Capture Score
The Revenue Capture Score is the most important factor for a business's success. This metric estimates how effectively a business at a specific address can convert local foot traffic and spending into actual revenue. To put this in context, an Armenian Restaurant in a high-revenue-capture area might survive even with moderate competition, while the same business in a low-capture area could struggle despite less competition.
| Consideration | Common pitfall | What to verify before signing |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor seating / sidewalk use | Signing assuming you can add patio seating, then learning the city requires a separate sidewalk-cafe permit with long lead times. | Check the city's sidewalk-cafe permit process up front. Confirm landlord allows outdoor build-out in the lease language. |
| Permits & licensing | Assuming a 30-day permit timeline, hitting 90+ days, paying rent on a non-operating storefront. | Call the local zoning office before signing. Confirm your use is already permitted; if not, factor a 2-3 month variance timeline. |
| Workforce availability | Hiring radius is smaller than you think — many neighborhoods can't staff a full team at standard wages. | Pull BLS wage data for your industry in this metro. Walk through your staffing plan with a local restaurant/retail operator before signing. |
Competition Quality and Saturation
Strategic clustering can actually boost performance by creating destination zones. Regardless, in densely saturated markets, customer acquisition costs rise and revenue per location falls — a combination that is difficult to overcome.
Tenant Mix and Neighborhood Dynamics
Nearby anchor tenants generate foot traffic that smaller businesses in the trade area can capture as walk-in customers. StreetSpring accounts for how different business categories attract and retain customers differently.
Hyperlocal Variation
Those scores shift from block to block as local conditions change. StreetSpring provides highly detailed forecasts — revealing how long hundreds of business types are likely to last at a specific address.
What Is the #1 Business to Start in Portland?
Armenian Restaurant in Gresham with >97% survivability based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of 3,827 business and neighborhood combinations.
How Accurate Is StreetSpring's Survival Prediction?
StreetSpring's models achieve 95–99% accuracy depending on business type and location. Predictions are based on 100+ factors including competition density, consumer spending, mobility patterns, and historical performance data, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3% for Survivability Scores. See our full methodology at streetspring.com/resources/tutorial/methodology. Review our methodology and data sources.
What Makes Portland Good for New Businesses?
Portland offers 806 business-location combinations with 90% or higher survival rates under present market conditions. Powered by advanced AI, StreetSpring predicts how businesses will perform in neighborhoods across the country. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points.
How Fresh Is Our Portland Ranking Data?
Rankings for Portland are updated quarterly with the latest business opening and closure data and market conditions. Last updated: 2026-Q1. The next scheduled update for Portland will incorporate Q2 2026 data.
Can I Get Predictions for a Specific Address in Portland?
Yes. Visit StreetSpring.com to analyze any storefront address in Portland with address-specific survivability predictions for over 700 business types.
What Factors Determine Business Survivability in Portland?
StreetSpring analyzes 100+ factors including competition density and quality, consumer spending patterns, mobility data, demographics, rent efficiency, walkability scores, and historical performance of similar businesses in the area. These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
Are These Predictions Guaranteed?
Guarantees are not possible — these are statistical probabilities. But with 95–99% accuracy, the data provides a far stronger basis for site selection than the incomplete information most entrepreneurs rely on. The best address in a weak neighborhood can outperform the worst address in a strong neighborhood — site-level analysis is essential.
How Do Landlords Identify the Best Tenant for Their Property?
Aggregate statistics mask the wide variation in outcomes at individual properties. Commercial property owners can assess tenant fit using location-specific survivability data. Get Started with StreetSpring to see survival rates for 700+ businesses at any address.
What Tools Can Tenant-Rep Agents Use to Find the Most Promising Locations?
Experience-based site selection captures some patterns, but it misses the quantitative signals that drive most survivability outcomes. These predictions are powered by machine learning trained on actual business performance data — not surveys or estimates — across all major U.S. markets. Try StreetSpring to see the Survivability Score for over 700 types of businesses at your storefront's address.
Key Takeaways
Data Summary: 806 business-location combinations exceed 90% survival in Portland. The top opportunity is Armenian Restaurant in Gresham at >97% survival. The city average is 76% two-year survival rate across 3,827 business and neighborhood combinations analyzed.
Action Items: Explore the neighborhoods near Gresham, where Armenian Restaurant ranks highest in Portland. Run your target address through StreetSpring's tool to compare survivability across business types. Factor in local competition density and consumer spending data before committing to a location.
Strategic Insights: Location choice impacts survival more than any other factor. Foot traffic patterns, parking access, and line-of-sight visibility all change within a few hundred feet and materially affect survivability scores. Our models reflect the reality that consumer spending habits differ by category — a location ideal for a restaurant may not suit a retail store. Revenue Capture Score is the single best predictor of success.
Strong Picks Across the Spectrum
City-level rankings hide significant variation by business type. Here's where the top-ranked, middle-ranked, and bottom-ranked Portland subtypes find their best neighborhoods:
Armenian Restaurant — ranked #1 citywide — the strongest subtype in Portland
- Kenton (89% survivability)
- Vernon (87% survivability)
- Ogden (87% survivability)
- Concordia (86% survivability)
- Sabin (86% survivability)
Full Armenian Restaurants guide for Portland →
Tapas Restaurant — ranked #89 of 89 — among Portland's lower-ranked subtypes
- Humboldt (62% survivability)
- Hollywood (61% survivability)
- Roseway (61% survivability)
- Alameda (57% survivability)
- Hillsdale (55% survivability)
Full Tapas Restaurants guide for Portland →
Subtype rank in Portland is a starting point, not a verdict. Every business type has neighborhoods where it punches above its average.
Visual Data
Related Resources
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: Portland
- Portland Business Survivability Data 2026
- City Survivability Rankings for Armenian Restaurant
- National Neighborhood Rankings for Armenian Restaurant
- Armenian Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Portland
- Southern Food Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Portland
- Bangladeshi Restaurant Survivability Rankings: Portland
- StreetSpring Methodology and Data Sources
Technical note: Aggregated survivability rankings for Portland are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
View technical data for Portland
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and foot traffic data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.