Business Survivability in Downtown, San Francisco
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Downtown is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~84% 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 Downtown (~84% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #13 across all neighborhoods in and around San Francisco
- 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 Downtown 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 Downtown is a Veterinary Clinic with a ~84% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~85% chance; next is a Day Care Center with a 79.73% chance, followed by a Pet Boarding Facility with a 79.24% chance.
Is Downtown a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring ranks Downtown #13 among all analyzed neighborhoods in and around San Francisco, with a neighborhood-wide average survivability of ~78%.
- The top business types in Downtown, when placed at their ideal addresses, achieve survivability rates ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
- But these same concepts at less optimal addresses within Downtown can score meaningfully below average. Survivability data shows that even the highest-demand business types fail at the wrong location.
- At 89.6% employed, Downtown'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 Downtown?
With StreetSpring, location selection in Downtown moves from guesswork to a precise, address-level survivability score for any business type you're considering. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Veterinary Clinic in Downtown:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Veterinary Clinic in Downtown. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes hundreds of factors across competition, spending on the specific potential business, projected revenue, projected market share, Revenue Capture Score, mobility patterns, and many more.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Downtown?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 84.17% |
| 2 | Day Care Center | 79.73% |
| 3 | Pet Boarding Facility | 79.24% |
| 4 | Gym | 78.82% |
| 5 | Watch Store or Repair Shop | 78.81% |
| 6 | Pet Store | 78.77% |
| 7 | Scandinavian Restaurant | 78.17% |
| 8 | Indonesian Restaurant | 78.16% |
| 9 | American Restaurant | 78.04% |
| 10 | Laundromat | 77.73% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Downtown
- Veterinary Clinic is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Downtown: 84.17% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~83%.
- Day Care Center — ~79%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 79.73% across Downtown.
- Opening a Pet Boarding Facility in Downtown shows 79.24% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~77%.
- Gym (Ranked #4): 78.82% average in Downtown. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
- Watch Store or Repair Shop is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Downtown: 78.81% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~78%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Downtown
- Pet Store — ~77%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 78.77% across Downtown.
- Opening a Scandinavian Restaurant in Downtown shows 78.17% average survivability. Top locations reach ~80%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Indonesian Restaurant (Ranked #8): 78.16% average in Downtown. Best-case storefronts: ~79%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
- American Restaurant is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Downtown: 78.04% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~77%.
- Laundromat — ~77%–~78% survivability range, with an average of 77.73% across Downtown.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Day Care Center — See how this compares to other cities →
- Pet Boarding Facility — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Downtown make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, identifying the optimal address for your business type in Downtown could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~6% 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 is the biggest factor in a business's future success.
- Choosing locations with superior Survivability Scores directly correlates with higher revenue potential.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.
What businesses should open next in Downtown?
The top businesses to open next in Downtown:
- Veterinary Clinics — 84.17% average survival rate, ~85% at the best address
- Day Care Centers — 79.73% average survival rate
- Pet Boarding Facilities — 79.24% average survival rate
The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. We apply advanced machine learning to one of the largest commercial real estate outcome datasets in the country. 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. Downtown sits at 89.6% employment and 22.7% commercial vacancy — conditions that set the ceiling and floor for Revenue Capture potential across all business types here. StreetSpring updates survivability scores for available locations weekly — check the live tool now to see which storefronts in Downtown are currently available and how they score.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the San Francisco Business Survivability Rankings
- See the San Francisco Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across San Francisco neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Downtown.
What type of business should you rent your Downtown storefront to?
If you own commercial space in Downtown, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Veterinary Clinics, Day Care Centers, and Pet Boarding Facilities as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.
- Location is the biggest factor in a business's future success.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for two or more years.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in San Francisco Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Downtown storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Yes — our 2026 model places a Veterinary Clinic at the top of the survivability rankings for Downtown storefronts, with a best-case score of ~85% and a floor of ~83% at the most challenging addresses.
- StreetSpring's precision goes beyond the neighborhood — it scores survivability at the exact address for every major brick-and-mortar business category.
What should I consider when opening a business in Downtown?
When evaluating potential locations in Downtown, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.
- Where survivability is highest, Revenue Capture Score is invariably strong — the two are tightly correlated across every business type we've analyzed.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Downtown for free at any time.
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 Francisco are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for San Francisco: /resources/data/san-francisco-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.