Business Survivability in Highland, Portland
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Highland is a Physical Therapy Clinic with a ~80% 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 Physical Therapy Clinic in Highland (~80% average survival rate, ~84% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #47 across all neighborhoods in and around Portland
- Neighborhood average: ~75% 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 Highland 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 Highland is a Physical Therapy Clinic with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~84% chance; next is a Dermatology Clinic with a 80.10% chance, followed by a Veterinary Clinic with a 80.11% chance.
Is Highland a good place to start a business?
Highland is the #47 most survivable neighborhood for new businesses in and around Portland, with an average score of ~75% across all analyzed categories.
- Strong business types at their best-match addresses in Highland consistently score ~11% higher than the overall neighborhood survivability average.
- Yet even the strongest business types in Highland see survivability scores drop significantly at the worst addresses. No business type is immune to the consequences of poor location selection within this neighborhood.
- The 1.9% commercial vacancy rate in Highland 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 Highland?
StreetSpring's model evaluates every available address in Highland for your business type, ranking them by survivability so the best storefront is always identifiable. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Highland:
StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Highland. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point: the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. 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 Highland?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapy Clinic | 82.30% |
| 2 | Dermatology Clinic | 81.10% |
| 3 | Veterinary Clinic | 81.09% |
| 4 | Chiropractor Office | 81.08% |
| 5 | Grocery Store | 81.00% |
| 6 | Gym | 79.00% |
| 7 | Deli | 78.11% |
| 8 | Mexican Restaurant | 77.70% |
| 9 | American Restaurant | 77.69% |
| 10 | Dessert Shop | 77.30% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Highland
- Physical Therapy Clinic (Ranked #1): 80.40% average in Highland. Best-case storefronts: ~84%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
- Dermatology Clinic is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Highland: 80.10% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~78%.
- Veterinary Clinic: ~79% to ~82% survivability range, with an average of 80.11% across Highland.
- Opening a Chiropractor Office in Highland shows 77.99% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Grocery Store (Ranked #5): 78.90% average in Highland. Best-case storefronts: ~82%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Highland
- Gym is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Highland: 77.10% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~74%.
- Deli: ~73% to ~79% survivability range, with an average of 75.61% across Highland.
- Opening a Mexican Restaurant in Highland shows 75.80% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
- American Restaurant (Ranked #9): 74.91% average in Highland. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~72%.
- Dessert Shop is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Highland: 75.40% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~72%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Physical Therapy Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Dermatology Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Highland make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Highland could lead to you making ~11% more than if you selected an average location, and ~22% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Different business models thrive in different micro-locations.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.
What businesses should open next in Highland?
The top businesses to open next in Highland:
- Physical Therapy Clinics: 80.40% average survival rate, ~84% at the best address
- Dermatology Clinics: 80.10% average survival rate
- Veterinary Clinics: 80.11% average survival rate
Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point: the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. StreetSpring has analyzed hundreds of thousands of business outcomes across major U.S. metros. 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 95.8% employment rate in Highland is a key signal of consumer health; when combined with the 1.9% vacancy rate, it produces a competitive landscape that favors the business types ranked above. StreetSpring refreshes survivability scores every week to reflect new competition and updated spending data: see which locations in Highland are available right now and how they rank.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Portland Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Portland Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Physical Therapy Clinic survivability across Portland neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Highland.
What type of business should you rent your Highland storefront to?
StreetSpring's analysis shows that the categories most likely to produce stable, long-term tenants in Highland are Physical Therapy Clinics, Dermatology Clinics, and Veterinary Clinics.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location. 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 Portland Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Highland storefront to a Physical Therapy Clinic?
The data shows a Physical Therapy Clinic is the safest long-term bet for a Highland storefront. Top locations reach ~84% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~78%.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.
What should I consider when opening a business in Highland?
Before committing to any location in Highland, the highest-priority metric to check is the Survivability Score: it encodes every relevant location factor into a single, actionable number.
- Where survivability is highest, Revenue Capture Score is invariably strong: the two are tightly correlated across every business type we've analyzed.
- StreetSpring's custom-built forecasting infrastructure powers every survivability score, combining data science with commercial real estate intelligence.
- StreetSpring offers a free 10-minute trial of its survivability scores: see how your shortlisted Highland 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 Portland are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Portland: /resources/data/portland-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.