Business Survivability in Dupont Circle, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Dupont Circle is a Coffee Shop with a 86.9% 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 Coffee Shop in Dupont Circle (86.9% Typical, 89.9% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #113 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- Neighborhood average: 62.4% 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 Dupont Circle 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 Dupont Circle is a Coffee Shop with a 86.9% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 89.9% Best; next is a Cafe with 89.8% Best, followed by a Spa with 89.0% Best.
Is Dupont Circle a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring ranks Dupont Circle #113 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC, with an average Survivability Score of 62.4% across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 89.9% Best is 3.0 points above 86.9% Typical in Dupont Circle.
- Yet the same categories that score highest in Dupont Circle can underperform significantly at the wrong address. Location precision within the neighborhood matters as much as choosing the neighborhood itself.
- Housing vacancy in Dupont Circle sits at 8.6%, a Census figure that StreetSpring's model reads for every business type it scores here.
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 Dupont Circle?
The right address in Dupont Circle can mean a 20-point survivability difference from an average one: StreetSpring identifies exactly which addresses are worth pursuing. The location below represents the address in Dupont Circle with the highest projected survivability for a Coffee Shop:
The highlighted area represents the address in Dupont Circle that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Coffee Shop survivability. These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. 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 Dupont Circle?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coffee Shop | 89.9% | 86.9% | 83.0% |
| 2 | Cafe | 89.8% | 87.8% | 85.1% |
| 3 | Spa | 89.0% | 79.0% | 73.2% |
| 4 | Veterinary Clinic | 86.4% | 79.0% | 71.6% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | 85.9% | 78.9% | 71.9% |
| 6 | Bar | 85.6% | 74.7% | 67.2% |
| 7 | Hair Salon | 84.2% | 74.9% | 68.3% |
| 8 | Laundromat | 83.5% | 74.4% | 67.7% |
| 9 | Gym | 82.9% | 72.4% | 64.1% |
| 10 | Clothing Store | 76.6% | 69.2% | 61.8% |
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.
Highest Survivability in Dupont Circle
- #1 Coffee Shop (Ranked #1): 86.9% Typical in Dupont Circle. Best: 89.9%. Worst: 83.0%.
- #2 Cafe is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Dupont Circle: 87.8% Typical, 89.8% Best, 85.1% Worst.
- #3 Spa: 79.0% Typical across Dupont Circle; Best 89.0%, Worst 73.2%.
- #4 Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Dupont Circle shows 79.0% Typical survivability, 86.4% Best and 71.6% Worst.
- #5 Chiropractor Office (Ranked #5): 78.9% Typical in Dupont Circle. Best: 85.9%. Worst: 71.9%.
Strong Performers in Dupont Circle
- #6 Bar is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Dupont Circle: 74.7% Typical, 85.6% Best, 67.2% Worst.
- #7 Hair Salon: 74.9% Typical across Dupont Circle; Best 84.2%, Worst 68.3%.
- #8 Opening a Laundromat in Dupont Circle shows 74.4% Typical survivability, 83.5% Best and 67.7% Worst.
- #9 Gym (Ranked #9): 72.4% Typical in Dupont Circle. Best: 82.9%. Worst: 64.1%.
- #10 Clothing Store is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Dupont Circle: 69.2% Typical, 76.6% Best, 61.8% Worst.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Coffee Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
- Cafe: See how this compares to other cities →
- Spa: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Dupont Circle make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in Dupont Circle 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
- No two business types have identical location needs; survivability scores reflect these differences at the address level.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- 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.
- Two storefronts on the same street can have different survivability scores: StreetSpring calculates each one individually.
What businesses should open next in Dupont Circle?
The top businesses to open next in Dupont Circle:
- Coffee Shops: 86.9% Typical, 89.9% Best
- Cafes: 87.8% Typical, 89.8% Best
- Spas: 79.0% Typical, 89.0% Best
These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. StreetSpring has analyzed hundreds of thousands of business outcomes across major U.S. metros. 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. Dupont Circle's 98.0% employment rate and 8.6% housing vacancy rate are two of the Census characteristics the model reads when it ranks business types here. Survivability scores are recalculated regularly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift: visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in Dupont Circle right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Washington DC Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Washington DC Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Coffee Shop survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Dupont Circle.
What type of business should you rent your Dupont Circle storefront to?
Our 2026 survivability data for Dupont Circle shows that Coffee Shops, Cafes, and Spas rank as the top tenant categories for minimizing vacancy risk.
- Every site-selection decision starts with location, the one factor you can check before you sign a lease.
- Two storefronts on the same street can have different survivability scores: StreetSpring calculates each one individually. Rather than guessing which tenant type will last, landlords can verify survivability for each category at their exact address using StreetSpring.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Dupont Circle storefront to a Coffee Shop?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis supports renting to a Coffee Shop in Dupont Circle: it posts 89.9% Best, and 83.0% Worst.
- Two storefronts on the same street can have different survivability scores: StreetSpring calculates each one individually.
What should I consider when opening a business in Dupont Circle?
When evaluating potential locations in Dupont Circle, start with the Survivability Score. It accounts for competition, spending, mobility, and market share in a single figure.
- Revenue Capture is where competition meets spending, and it's the number that matters most when choosing a location.
- StreetSpring's forecasting tools are purpose-built for commercial location decisions and are not available through any publicly accessible data source.
- You can check the Survivability Score for any storefront in Dupont Circle with a free 10-minute trial of StreetSpring's live tool.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's AI platform has analyzed thousands of business openings to identify success patterns. 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.