Business Survivability in Fairlawn, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Fairlawn is a Physical Therapy 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 Physical Therapy Clinic in Fairlawn (~84% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #41 across all neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- 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 Fairlawn 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 Fairlawn is a Physical Therapy 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 Veterinary Clinic with a 82.82% chance, followed by an Eastern European Restaurant with a 79.27% chance.
Is Fairlawn a good place to start a business?
Fairlawn earns the #41 spot in Washington DC for new business survivability, with an average score of ~78% across all business types analyzed.
- Across Fairlawn, the best addresses for its highest-ranked business types score ~5% above the neighborhood mean.
- However, these same business types at the worst locations in Fairlawn can sometimes provide a projected Survivability Score considerably below the average. Thus, even the businesses that are most in need in Fairlawn could have trouble succeeding if the best location is not selected.
- With 90.4% of the local population employed, Fairlawn presents a stable consumer base — particularly for food, beverage, and service businesses that depend on repeat discretionary spending.
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 Fairlawn?
The right address in Fairlawn can mean a 20-point survivability difference from an average one — StreetSpring identifies exactly which addresses are worth pursuing. Here is the top survivability address for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Fairlawn, per StreetSpring's 2026 model:
The highlighted area represents the address in Fairlawn that StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks highest for a Physical Therapy Clinic survivability. For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time. 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 Fairlawn?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapy Clinic | 83.72% |
| 2 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.82% |
| 3 | Eastern European Restaurant | 79.27% |
| 4 | Tapas Restaurant | 79.26% |
| 5 | American Restaurant | 78.11% |
| 6 | Dance Club | 78.07% |
| 7 | Liquor Store | 77.35% |
| 8 | Coffee Shop | 77.30% |
| 9 | Seafood Restaurant | 76.37% |
| 10 | Gym | 75.91% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Fairlawn
- Physical Therapy Clinic — ~82%–~85% survivability range, with an average of 83.72% across Fairlawn.
- Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Fairlawn shows 82.82% average survivability. Top locations reach ~85%; lower-end sites show ~81%.
- Eastern European Restaurant (Ranked #3): 79.27% average in Fairlawn. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~77%.
- Tapas Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Fairlawn: 79.26% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~77%.
- American Restaurant — ~74%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.11% across Fairlawn.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Fairlawn
- Opening a Dance Club in Fairlawn shows 78.07% average survivability. Top locations reach ~79%; lower-end sites show ~76%.
- Liquor Store (Ranked #7): 77.35% average in Fairlawn. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~74%.
- Coffee Shop is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Fairlawn: 77.30% chance on average, best at ~80%, challenging at ~74%.
- Seafood Restaurant — ~74%–~79% survivability range, with an average of 76.37% across Fairlawn.
- Opening a Gym in Fairlawn shows 75.91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~78%; lower-end sites show ~73%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Physical Therapy Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Eastern European Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Fairlawn make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations for your business in Fairlawn could lead to you making ~5% more than if you selected an average location, and ~12% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
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.
- Survivability data consistently shows location accounts for more variance in business outcomes than any other controllable factor.
- Our data shows that the single highest-impact decision a business owner makes is the address they choose — and Survivability Score is the best guide to that decision.
- StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success.
What businesses should open next in Fairlawn?
The top businesses to open next in Fairlawn:
- Physical Therapy Clinics — 83.72% average survival rate, ~85% at the best address
- Veterinary Clinics — 82.82% average survival rate
- Eastern European Restaurants — 79.27% average survival rate
For the most current predictions, visit StreetSpring to analyze your specific location in real-time. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. 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. Fairlawn sits at 90.4% employment and 19.0% commercial vacancy — conditions that set the ceiling and floor for Revenue Capture potential across all business types here. Survivability scores are live, not static — StreetSpring updates them weekly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in Fairlawn and how each address is scoring 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 Physical Therapy Clinic survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Fairlawn.
What type of business should you rent your Fairlawn storefront to?
Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Fairlawn, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Physical Therapy Clinics, Veterinary Clinics, and Eastern European Restaurants.
- Survivability data consistently shows location accounts for more variance in business outcomes than any other controllable factor.
- StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success. 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 Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Fairlawn storefront to a Physical Therapy Clinic?
Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Fairlawn in 2026, a Physical Therapy Clinic posts the highest survivability ceiling at ~85% and maintains a reasonable floor of ~82% — making it the most reliable tenant choice here.
- StreetSpring can pinpoint which blocks in each neighborhood or city maximize a business's chances of success.
What should I consider when opening a business in Fairlawn?
When selecting a location in Fairlawn it is crucial to select a location with a very high Survivability Score.
- Of all the variables StreetSpring analyzes, Revenue Capture Score has the strongest predictive power.
- Every survivability score is produced by StreetSpring's private prediction engine — not available through any other platform.
- StreetSpring's live scoring tool is free: enter any address in Fairlawn to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Our analysis covers businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans across 24 major US metros. 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.