Business Survivability in Hillcrest, San Diego
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Hillcrest is a Chiropractor Office with a 81.1% 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 Chiropractor Office in Hillcrest (81.1% Typical, 87.6% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #74 of 83 neighborhoods in and around San Diego
- Neighborhood average: 61.7% 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 Hillcrest 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 Hillcrest is a Chiropractor Office with a 81.1% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 87.6% Best; next is a Clothing Store with 86.1% Best, followed by a Hair Salon with 84.4% Best.
Is Hillcrest a good place to start a business?
Hillcrest is ranked number 74 of 83 neighborhoods in and around San Diego to start a business, with an average 61.7% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 87.6% Best is 6.5 points above 81.1% Typical in Hillcrest.
- Yet the same categories that score highest in Hillcrest can underperform significantly at the wrong address. Location precision within the neighborhood matters as much as choosing the neighborhood itself.
- A 95.4% employment rate in Hillcrest means a large share of local consumers have steady income: a strong underlying condition for discretionary spending businesses.
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 Hillcrest?
StreetSpring scores each block in Hillcrest so you can see which ones give a business the best two-year chance. Here is the top survivability address for a Chiropractor Office in Hillcrest, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Chiropractor Office in Hillcrest. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Hillcrest?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chiropractor Office | 87.6% | 81.1% | 74.7% |
| 2 | Clothing Store | 86.1% | 76.5% | 70.2% |
| 3 | Hair Salon | 84.4% | 73.5% | 65.5% |
| 4 | Bar | 84.1% | 73.5% | 65.7% |
| 5 | Laundromat | 83.7% | 74.2% | 67.2% |
| 6 | Spa | 83.7% | 73.2% | 65.3% |
| 7 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.4% | 73.8% | 65.2% |
| 8 | Gym | 81.0% | 71.1% | 62.5% |
| 9 | Convenience Store | 80.6% | 73.4% | 66.9% |
| 11 | Dentist Office | 79.4% | 73.6% | 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 Hillcrest
- #1 Opening a Chiropractor Office in Hillcrest shows 81.1% Typical survivability, 87.6% Best and 74.7% Worst.
- #2 Clothing Store (Ranked #2): 76.5% Typical in Hillcrest. Best: 86.1%. Worst: 70.2%.
- #3 Hair Salon is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Hillcrest: 73.5% Typical, 84.4% Best, 65.5% Worst.
- #4 Bar: 73.5% Typical across Hillcrest; Best 84.1%, Worst 65.7%.
- #5 Opening a Laundromat in Hillcrest shows 74.2% Typical survivability, 83.7% Best and 67.2% Worst.
Strong Performers in Hillcrest
- #6 Spa (Ranked #6): 73.2% Typical in Hillcrest. Best: 83.7%. Worst: 65.3%.
- #7 Veterinary Clinic is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Hillcrest: 73.8% Typical, 82.4% Best, 65.2% Worst.
- #8 Gym: 71.1% Typical across Hillcrest; Best 81.0%, Worst 62.5%.
- #9 Opening a Convenience Store in Hillcrest shows 73.4% Typical survivability, 80.6% Best and 66.9% Worst.
- #11 Dentist Office (Ranked #11): 73.6% Typical in Hillcrest. Best: 79.4%. Worst: 67.9%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Chiropractor Office: See how this compares to other cities →
- Clothing Store: See how this compares to other cities →
- Hair Salon: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Hillcrest make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, following the survivability data rather than relying on intuition or foot traffic estimates in Hillcrest 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.
- Location is one of the few things about a new business you can measure before it opens.
- StreetSpring's Revenue Capture Score, the revenue a business can capture at a specific address, is the factor that matters most when comparing locations.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means two storefronts on the same block can carry materially different odds of lasting two years.
What businesses should open next in Hillcrest?
The top businesses to open next in Hillcrest:
- Chiropractor Offices: 81.1% Typical, 87.6% Best
- Clothing Stores: 76.5% Typical, 86.1% Best
- Hair Salons: 73.5% Typical, 84.4% Best
The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. The model draws from 100+ location-specific factors to generate each survivability score. 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 housing vacancy rate of 8.4% means the Census estimates that share of Hillcrest's homes and apartments to be vacant; the model reads it as one input among many. StreetSpring regularly updates survivability scores for available locations: check the live tool now to see which storefronts in Hillcrest are currently available and how they score.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the San Diego Business Survivability Rankings
- See the San Diego Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Chiropractor Office survivability across San Diego neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Hillcrest.
What type of business should you rent your Hillcrest storefront to?
For landlords in Hillcrest, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Chiropractor Offices, Clothing Stores, and Hair Salons as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Location is one of the few things about a new business you can measure before it opens.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means two storefronts on the same block can carry materially different odds of lasting two years. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in San Diego Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Hillcrest storefront to a Chiropractor Office?
Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Hillcrest in 2026, a Chiropractor Office ranks first, at 87.6% Best and 74.7% Worst, making it the most reliable tenant choice here.
- StreetSpring's address-level precision means two storefronts on the same block can carry materially different odds of lasting two years.
What should I consider when opening a business in Hillcrest?
When opening a business in Hillcrest, compare the Survivability Scores of your shortlisted addresses and favor the highest one your budget allows.
- The single most important number in a location decision is the Revenue Capture Score, StreetSpring's proprietary estimate of the revenue a business can capture at a specific address.
- Each forecast is specific to the exact address and business type, generated by StreetSpring's internally developed prediction engine.
- StreetSpring's live survivability scores start with a free 10-minute trial: check your specific address 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 San Diego are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for San Diego: /resources/data/san-diego-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.