Business Survivability in South Tacoma, Seattle
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in South Tacoma is a Veterinary Clinic with a 82.8% 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 South Tacoma (82.8% Typical, 87.2% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #36 of 94 neighborhoods in and around Seattle
- Neighborhood average: 73.7% 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 South Tacoma 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 South Tacoma is a Veterinary Clinic with a 82.8% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 87.2% Best; next is a Chiropractor Office with 86.7% Best, followed by an Eye Care Center with 86.3% Best.
Is South Tacoma a good place to start a business?
South Tacoma is ranked number 36 of 94 neighborhoods in and around Seattle to start a business, with an average 73.7% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 87.2% Best is 4.4 points above 82.8% Typical in South Tacoma.
- Yet the same categories that score highest in South Tacoma can underperform significantly at the wrong address. Location precision within the neighborhood matters as much as choosing the neighborhood itself.
- South Tacoma's employment rate of 94.4% and housing vacancy rate of 4.5% are two of the Census inputs StreetSpring's model reads for this neighborhood.
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 South Tacoma?
StreetSpring's South Tacoma data goes block by block (not just neighborhood averages) so you know which specific storefront gives your concept the strongest foundation. The location below represents the address in South Tacoma with the highest projected survivability for a Veterinary Clinic:
The highlighted area represents the address in South Tacoma that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Veterinary Clinic survivability. Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. StreetSpring's scoring incorporates hundreds of inputs, including competitive quality and density, projected consumer spending, Revenue Capture Score, and local demand patterns.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in South Tacoma?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 87.2% | 82.8% | 78.4% |
| 2 | Chiropractor Office | 86.7% | 82.1% | 77.5% |
| 3 | Eye Care Center | 86.3% | 81.2% | 76.1% |
| 4 | Spa | 85.0% | 78.6% | 74.9% |
| 5 | Convenience Store | 84.5% | 78.4% | 74.8% |
| 6 | Clothing Store | 84.4% | 77.8% | 73.7% |
| 7 | Hair Salon | 84.4% | 77.5% | 73.6% |
| 8 | Dentist Office | 83.7% | 78.3% | 72.8% |
| 9 | Dermatology Clinic | 83.6% | 78.0% | 72.4% |
| 12 | Cafe | 83.4% | 76.8% | 72.7% |
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 South Tacoma
- #1 Veterinary Clinic is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in South Tacoma: 82.8% Typical, 87.2% Best, 78.4% Worst.
- #2 Chiropractor Office: 82.1% Typical across South Tacoma; Best 86.7%, Worst 77.5%.
- #3 Opening an Eye Care Center in South Tacoma shows 81.2% Typical survivability, 86.3% Best and 76.1% Worst.
- #4 Spa (Ranked #4): 78.6% Typical in South Tacoma. Best: 85.0%. Worst: 74.9%.
- #5 Convenience Store is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in South Tacoma: 78.4% Typical, 84.5% Best, 74.8% Worst.
Strong Performers in South Tacoma
- #6 Clothing Store: 77.8% Typical across South Tacoma; Best 84.4%, Worst 73.7%.
- #7 Opening a Hair Salon in South Tacoma shows 77.5% Typical survivability, 84.4% Best and 73.6% Worst.
- #8 Dentist Office (Ranked #8): 78.3% Typical in South Tacoma. Best: 83.7%. Worst: 72.8%.
- #9 Dermatology Clinic is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in South Tacoma: 78.0% Typical, 83.6% Best, 72.4% Worst.
- #12 Cafe: 76.8% Typical across South Tacoma; Best 83.4%, Worst 72.7%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chiropractor Office: See how this compares to other cities →
- Eye Care Center: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in South Tacoma make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, securing a location with maximum Revenue Capture potential in South Tacoma 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
- Location fit is business-type-specific: a spot that's ideal for a coffee shop may underperform for a nail salon at the same address.
- Location is the part of a new business you can compare address by address before committing.
- 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 gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What businesses should open next in South Tacoma?
The top businesses to open next in South Tacoma:
- Veterinary Clinics: 82.8% Typical, 87.2% Best
- Chiropractor Offices: 82.1% Typical, 86.7% Best
- Eye Care Centers: 81.2% Typical, 86.3% Best
Market conditions are changing daily, and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data. Our platform incorporates data from thousands of neighborhoods nationwide. 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 South Tacoma draw on real Census conditions, including 94.4% employment and 4.5% housing vacancy, alongside competition and consumer spending. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring regularly updates every location's survivability score: you can see current scores for available storefronts in South Tacoma right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Seattle Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Seattle Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Seattle neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in South Tacoma.
What type of business should you rent your South Tacoma storefront to?
StreetSpring's analysis shows that the categories most likely to produce stable, long-term tenants in South Tacoma are Veterinary Clinics, Chiropractor Offices, and Eye Care Centers.
- Location is the part of a new business you can compare address by address before committing.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. StreetSpring allows property owners to evaluate any address against 500+ business types, so you can prioritize the categories that score highest at your specific location.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Seattle Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your South Tacoma storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis supports renting to a Veterinary Clinic in South Tacoma: it posts 87.2% Best, and 78.4% Worst.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What should I consider when opening a business in South Tacoma?
When opening a business in South Tacoma, compare the Survivability Scores of your shortlisted addresses and favor the highest one your budget allows.
- The Revenue Capture Score is the most important factor in choosing a location: it is StreetSpring's estimate of the revenue a business can capture at that address.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- StreetSpring's address-level survivability data starts with a free 10-minute trial: begin with your top candidate locations in South Tacoma.
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 Seattle are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Seattle: /resources/data/seattle-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.