Business Survivability in Anacostia, Washington DC

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Anacostia is a Physical Therapy Clinic with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

•13 min read

Quick Summary

  • Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
  • Best business: a Physical Therapy Clinic in Anacostia (~83% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)
  • Neighborhood rank: #52 across all neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
  • Neighborhood average: ~77% 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

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Anacostia is a Physical Therapy Clinic with a ~83% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~85% chance; next is a Veterinary Clinic with a 81.80% chance, followed by an American Restaurant with a 78.22% chance.

Is Anacostia a good place to start a business?

In Washington DC's neighborhood survivability rankings, Anacostia comes in at #52, with an average Survivability Score of ~77% across all business types.

  • The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Anacostia reaches ~6% for the strongest-performing business categories.
  • Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Anacostia can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
  • The 94.8% employment rate in Anacostia supports consumer spending, while a 14.4% vacancy rate reflects available storefronts — both of which shape the survivability landscape for any new business here.

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 Anacostia?

StreetSpring's model evaluates every available address in Anacostia for your business type, ranking them by survivability so the best storefront is always identifiable. According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, this is the optimal address for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Anacostia:

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According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Anacostia. These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. 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 Anacostia?

#Business typeChance of lasting two or more years
1Physical Therapy Clinic82.82%
2Veterinary Clinic81.80%
3American Restaurant78.22%
4Italian Restaurant77.95%
5Coffee Shop77.12%
6Day Care Center77.04%
7Grocery Store76.82%
8Eastern European Restaurant76.74%
9Seafood Restaurant76.44%
10Gym76.14%

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Anacostia

  1. Physical Therapy Clinic (Ranked #1): 82.82% average in Anacostia. Best-case storefronts: ~85%. Challenging locations: ~80%.
  2. Veterinary Clinic is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Anacostia: 81.80% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~79%.
  3. American Restaurant — ~75%–~80% survivability range, with an average of 78.22% across Anacostia.
  4. Opening an Italian Restaurant in Anacostia shows 77.95% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
  5. Coffee Shop (Ranked #5): 77.12% average in Anacostia. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~75%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Anacostia

  1. Day Care Center is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Anacostia: 77.04% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~72%.
  2. Grocery Store — ~74%–~79% survivability range, with an average of 76.82% across Anacostia.
  3. Opening an Eastern European Restaurant in Anacostia shows 76.74% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~72%.
  4. Seafood Restaurant (Ranked #9): 76.44% average in Anacostia. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~74%.
  5. Gym is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Anacostia: 76.14% chance on average, best at ~79%, challenging at ~73%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

  • Physical Therapy Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
  • Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
  • American Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →

How much money could a business in Anacostia 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 Anacostia could lead to you making ~6% more than if you selected an average location, and ~17% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

How StreetSpring calculates location value

  • No two business types have identical location needs; survivability scores reflect these differences at the address level.
  • The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
  • Maximizing your Survivability Score is the most reliable path to profitability.
  • Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.

What businesses should open next in Anacostia?

The top businesses to open next in Anacostia:

  • Physical Therapy Clinics — 82.82% average survival rate, ~85% at the best address
  • Veterinary Clinics — 81.80% average survival rate
  • American Restaurants — 78.22% average survival rate

These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. Every prediction draws on a dataset of millions of business openings, closures, and lifecycle events across the U.S. 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. Anacostia's employment rate (94.8%) and vacancy rate (14.4%) together define the economic context that StreetSpring's model uses to score survivability for each business type at each address. The data behind these rankings is updated weekly, so the best available storefront in Anacostia 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

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Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Anacostia.

What type of business should you rent your Anacostia storefront to?

If you own commercial space in Anacostia, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Physical Therapy Clinics, Veterinary Clinics, and American Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.

  • The address you choose determines your competitive exposure, customer flow, and spending potential simultaneously.
  • Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood. 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 Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity

Should you rent your Anacostia storefront to a Physical Therapy Clinic?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Physical Therapy Clinic ranks as the top tenant type for your Anacostia storefront — best-case locations show a ~85% survival rate, while the most challenging addresses drop to ~80%.

  • Every survivability score StreetSpring produces is specific to the exact address and business type — not averaged across a zip code or neighborhood.

What should I consider when opening a business in Anacostia?

Location decisions in Anacostia should be grounded in Survivability Score data, not intuition. The score directly measures the competitive and spending conditions at your exact address.

  • The most important driver of a high Survivability Score is the Revenue Capture Score for the business at the location it selects.
  • StreetSpring's in-house models are continuously updated with new business outcome data to keep predictions accurate.
  • StreetSpring's live scoring tool is free: enter any address in Anacostia to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's models are built from millions of real business outcomes, making predictions grounded in what actually happened. Aggregated survivability rankings for Washington DC are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Full dataset for Washington DC: /resources/data/washington-dc-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.