Business Survivability in Richmond, Portland
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Richmond is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~86% 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 Richmond (~86% average survival rate, ~87% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #4 across all neighborhoods in and around Portland
- Neighborhood average: ~80% 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 Richmond 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 Richmond is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~86% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~87% chance; next is a Diner with a 80.57% chance, followed by a Japanese / Sushi Restaurant with a 79.98% chance.
Is Richmond a good place to start a business?
Among all neighborhoods in and around Portland, Richmond ranks #4 for business survivability, with an average ~80% chance of lasting two or more years.
- Top-performing business types at the best addresses in Richmond show a ~5% survival rate advantage over the neighborhood average.
- Even so, the weakest addresses in Richmond for those same business types can underperform considerably. StreetSpring's address-level scoring exists precisely to identify which specific storefronts make the difference.
- At 96.1% employed, Richmond's consumer base has the spending capacity that makes the neighborhood viable for a wide range of business types — though location selection within the neighborhood still determines actual survivability.
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 Richmond?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Richmond — so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. This is the address StreetSpring's 2026 analysis recommends most strongly for a Veterinary Clinic in Richmond:
StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Veterinary Clinic in Richmond. Market conditions, new competitors, and local spending patterns can change rapidly — always verify with StreetSpring's live tool before signing a lease. 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 Richmond?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 85.72% |
| 2 | Diner | 80.57% |
| 3 | Japanese / Sushi Restaurant | 79.98% |
| 4 | Persian Restaurant | 79.74% |
| 5 | Smoke Shop | 79.48% |
| 6 | Liquor Store | 79.30% |
| 7 | Coffee Shop | 79.00% |
| 8 | Pet Grooming Shop | 78.37% |
| 9 | Gym | 77.49% |
| 10 | Dessert Shop | 76.52% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Richmond
- Veterinary Clinic (Ranked #1): 85.72% average in Richmond. Best-case storefronts: ~87%. Challenging locations: ~83%.
- Diner is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Richmond: 80.57% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~79%.
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurant — ~77%–~83% survivability range, with an average of 79.98% across Richmond.
- Opening a Persian Restaurant in Richmond shows 79.74% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- Smoke Shop (Ranked #5): 79.48% average in Richmond. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Richmond
- Liquor Store is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Richmond: 79.30% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~77%.
- Coffee Shop — ~75%–~83% survivability range, with an average of 79.00% across Richmond.
- Opening a Pet Grooming Shop in Richmond shows 78.37% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Gym (Ranked #9): 77.49% average in Richmond. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Dessert Shop is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Richmond: 76.52% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~71%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Diner — See how this compares to other cities →
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Richmond make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Richmond 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
- However, each business concept should be evaluated for fit within each potential location.
- Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
- Across every business type we've analyzed, location quality as measured by Survivability Score is the strongest predictor of financial performance.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What businesses should open next in Richmond?
The top businesses to open next in Richmond:
- Veterinary Clinics — 85.72% average survival rate, ~87% at the best address
- Diners — 80.57% average survival rate
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurants — 79.98% average survival rate
Market conditions, new competitors, and local spending patterns can change rapidly — always verify with StreetSpring's live tool before signing a lease. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points. 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 survivability rankings for Richmond are grounded in real economic conditions: 96.1% employment and 4.9% vacancy are among the key inputs that separate high-scoring locations from low-scoring ones here. StreetSpring updates survivability scores for available locations weekly — check the live tool now to see which storefronts in Richmond are currently available and how they score.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Portland Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Portland Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Portland neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Richmond.
What type of business should you rent your Richmond storefront to?
Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Richmond, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Veterinary Clinics, Diners, and Japanese / Sushi Restaurants.
- Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
- 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 Portland Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Richmond storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Richmond in 2026, a Veterinary Clinic posts the highest survivability ceiling at ~87% and maintains a reasonable floor of ~83% — making it the most reliable tenant choice here.
- StreetSpring provides address-specific survivability predictions for 500+ business types.
What should I consider when opening a business in Richmond?
When evaluating potential locations in Richmond, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.
- The most important driver of a high Survivability Score is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects.
- No third-party scoring system produces these results — every prediction is generated by StreetSpring's own analytical models.
- StreetSpring's address-level survivability data is available free of charge — start with your top candidate locations in Richmond.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring uses AI to predict business survivability across U.S. neighborhoods — trusted by real estate professionals and entrepreneurs nationwide. 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.