Business Survivability in Foggy Bottom, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Foggy Bottom 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 Foggy Bottom (~84% average survival rate, ~85% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #19 across all neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- Neighborhood average: ~79% 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 Foggy Bottom 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 Foggy Bottom 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 82.87% chance, followed by a Salad Shop with a 80.91% chance.
Is Foggy Bottom a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring's analysis places Foggy Bottom at #19 in Washington DC for new business survival odds, with a neighborhood-wide average of ~79%.
- Across Foggy Bottom, the best addresses for its highest-ranked business types score ~3% above the neighborhood mean.
- Still, those same business types at weaker addresses in Foggy Bottom can score well below the neighborhood mean. Even the most viable concept here requires the right address to reach its potential.
- Foggy Bottom's 15.8% commercial vacancy rate signals the current availability of storefronts and shapes the competitive environment that survivability scores reflect.
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 Foggy Bottom?
Rather than relying on neighborhood averages, StreetSpring's scoring tells you which specific addresses in Foggy Bottom give your concept the best odds of survival. StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies this area as the top location for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Foggy Bottom:
StreetSpring's 2026 model identifies this area as the highest-survivability location for a Physical Therapy Clinic in Foggy Bottom. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. The model evaluates hundreds of factors — from primary and secondary competition to forecasted spend, site accessibility, and local market share potential.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Foggy Bottom?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Physical Therapy Clinic | 84.06% |
| 2 | Veterinary Clinic | 82.87% |
| 3 | Salad Shop | 80.91% |
| 4 | Steakhouse | 80.59% |
| 5 | South American Restaurant | 79.65% |
| 6 | Seafood Restaurant | 79.47% |
| 7 | Dance Club | 79.21% |
| 8 | Liquor Store | 78.37% |
| 9 | Coffee Shop | 78.17% |
| 10 | Dessert Shop | 77.71% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Foggy Bottom
- Physical Therapy Clinic is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Foggy Bottom: 84.06% chance on average, best at ~85%, challenging at ~81%.
- Veterinary Clinic — ~80%–~85% survivability range, with an average of 82.87% across Foggy Bottom.
- Opening a Salad Shop in Foggy Bottom shows 80.91% average survivability. Top locations reach ~83%; lower-end sites show ~78%.
- Steakhouse (Ranked #4): 80.59% average in Foggy Bottom. Best-case storefronts: ~83%. Challenging locations: ~78%.
- South American Restaurant is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Foggy Bottom: 79.65% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~75%.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Foggy Bottom
- Seafood Restaurant — ~75%–~82% survivability range, with an average of 79.47% across Foggy Bottom.
- Opening a Dance Club in Foggy Bottom shows 79.21% average survivability. Top locations reach ~82%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Liquor Store (Ranked #8): 78.37% average in Foggy Bottom. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Coffee Shop is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Foggy Bottom: 78.17% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~73%.
- Dessert Shop — ~73%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 77.71% across Foggy Bottom.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Physical Therapy Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Veterinary Clinic — See how this compares to other cities →
- Salad Shop — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Foggy Bottom make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting a storefront that StreetSpring ranks in the top tier for your business type in Foggy Bottom could lead to you making ~3% more than if you selected an average location, and ~14% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.
How StreetSpring calculates location value
- Every business type has unique location requirements that must be considered.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- StreetSpring has found that selecting the location with the highest survivability score for a business is the best way to maximize the amount of money you will make.
- 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 Foggy Bottom?
The top businesses to open next in Foggy Bottom:
- Physical Therapy Clinics — 84.06% average survival rate, ~85% at the best address
- Veterinary Clinics — 82.87% average survival rate
- Salad Shops — 80.91% average survival rate
Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point — the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. Our analysis covers every major metro in the country — 24 cities and 180 million++ consumers. 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. Foggy Bottom's combination of 92.1% employment and 15.8% vacancy creates the conditions that define which business types thrive here and which struggle. Survivability scores are live, not static — StreetSpring updates them weekly. Visit the tool to see what's currently available in Foggy Bottom 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 Foggy Bottom.
What type of business should you rent your Foggy Bottom storefront to?
For landlords in Foggy Bottom, StreetSpring's 2026 analysis identifies Physical Therapy Clinics, Veterinary Clinics, and Salad Shops as the business types most likely to produce stable, long-term tenancy.
- Where you open matters more than anything else.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. 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 Foggy Bottom storefront to a Physical Therapy Clinic?
Yes — our 2026 model places a Physical Therapy Clinic at the top of the survivability rankings for Foggy Bottom storefronts, with a best-case score of ~85% and a floor of ~81% at the most challenging addresses.
- 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 Foggy Bottom?
Among all the criteria to weigh when opening a business in Foggy Bottom, Survivability Score carries the most predictive weight — choose the address with the highest score your budget allows.
- A strong Revenue Capture Score reflects the ideal balance of manageable competition and robust consumer spending at that specific address.
- StreetSpring's in-house models are continuously updated with new business outcome data to keep predictions accurate.
- Access StreetSpring's current survivability data for any address in Foggy Bottom for free at any time.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring combines proprietary data with advanced analytics to predict which businesses will succeed. 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.