Business Survivability in Hillcrest, San Diego
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Hillcrest is a Salad Shop 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 Salad Shop in Hillcrest (~80% average survival rate, ~82% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #9 across all neighborhoods in and around San Diego
- Neighborhood average: ~78% 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 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 Salad Shop with a ~80% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~82% chance; next is a Diner with a 78.51% chance, followed by a Dance Club with a 78.50% chance.
Is Hillcrest a good place to start a business?
Among all neighborhoods in and around San Diego, Hillcrest ranks #9 for business survivability, with an average ~78% chance of lasting two or more years.
- Best-case locations for the top business types in Hillcrest produce survivability scores ~7% above the neighborhood-wide average.
- That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Hillcrest can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
- With a 95.4% employment rate, Hillcrest has the consumer spending foundation that supports a range of brick-and-mortar business types.
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 Hillcrest?
StreetSpring's address-level analysis reveals which specific storefronts in Hillcrest offer the strongest survivability odds for your business type. The map below highlights the highest-survivability address for a Salad Shop in Hillcrest:
This map shows the optimal location for a Salad Shop in Hillcrest based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Market conditions, new competitors, and local spending patterns can change rapidly — always verify with StreetSpring's live tool before signing a lease. 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 Hillcrest?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salad Shop | 79.72% |
| 2 | Diner | 78.51% |
| 3 | Dance Club | 78.50% |
| 4 | Mediterranean Restaurant | 78.36% |
| 5 | Coffee Shop | 78.29% |
| 6 | Liquor Store | 77.44% |
| 7 | Beauty Salon | 76.74% |
| 8 | Gym | 76.68% |
| 9 | Pet Grooming Shop | 76.30% |
| 10 | Hair Salon | 75.23% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Hillcrest
- Salad Shop is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Hillcrest: 79.72% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~76%.
- Diner — ~76%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.51% across Hillcrest.
- Opening a Dance Club in Hillcrest shows 78.50% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Mediterranean Restaurant (Ranked #4): 78.36% average in Hillcrest. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~76%.
- Coffee Shop is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Hillcrest: 78.29% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~75%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Hillcrest
- Liquor Store — ~75%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 77.44% across Hillcrest.
- Opening a Beauty Salon in Hillcrest shows 76.74% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
- Gym (Ranked #8): 76.68% average in Hillcrest. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~72%.
- Pet Grooming Shop is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Hillcrest: 76.30% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~74%.
- Hair Salon — ~70%–~79% survivability range, with an average of 75.23% across Hillcrest.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Salad Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
- Diner — See how this compares to other cities →
- Dance Club — 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, choosing an address that maximizes your Revenue Capture Score in Hillcrest could lead to you making ~7% more than if you selected an average location, and ~19% 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.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
- StreetSpring has found that selecting the location with the highest survivability score for a business is the best way to maximize the amount of money you will make.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.
What businesses should open next in Hillcrest?
The top businesses to open next in Hillcrest:
- Salad Shops — 79.72% average survival rate, ~82% at the best address
- Diners — 78.51% average survival rate
- Dance Clubs — 78.50% 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 training data spans 500+ business types across 24 major metros, giving our models the breadth to predict outcomes across nearly any commercial concept. 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 8.4% commercial vacancy rate in Hillcrest means there is available space for new entrants — but it also signals that survivability depends heavily on choosing the right address within the neighborhood, not just the neighborhood itself. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in Hillcrest today may score differently than it did last month — check StreetSpring's live tool for the current picture.
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 Salad Shop 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?
StreetSpring's 2026 model places Salad Shops, Diners, and Dance Clubs at the top of the survivability rankings for Hillcrest — making them the safest long-term tenant bets for landlords here.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make — it sets every other variable in motion.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location. Run your specific address through StreetSpring to see which tenant categories give you the best odds of stable, long-term occupancy.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in San Diego Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Hillcrest storefront to a Salad Shop?
Yes — our 2026 model places a Salad Shop at the top of the survivability rankings for Hillcrest storefronts, with a best-case score of ~82% and a floor of ~76% at the most challenging addresses.
- StreetSpring delivers pinpoint accuracy down to the exact storefront location.
What should I consider when opening a business in Hillcrest?
Don't commit to a storefront in Hillcrest without first checking its Survivability Score — the difference between a 70% and a 90% score at two addresses on the same block can determine your long-term outcome.
- A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- The most current survivability data for Hillcrest is free to access on StreetSpring — no account required to check your specific address.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Using predictive analytics, StreetSpring helps entrepreneurs and landlords make smarter location decisions. 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.