Business Survivability in Georgetown, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Georgetown is a Cafe with a 78.1% 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 Cafe in Georgetown (78.1% Typical, 87.8% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #51 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- Neighborhood average: 71.6% 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 Georgetown 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 Georgetown is a Cafe with a 78.1% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 87.8% Best; next is an Eye Care Center with 85.1% Best, followed by a Laundromat with 84.6% Best.
Is Georgetown a good place to start a business?
Georgetown is ranked number 51 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC to start a business, with an average 71.6% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 87.8% Best is 9.7 points above 78.1% Typical in Georgetown.
- Yet even the strongest business types in Georgetown see survivability scores drop significantly at the worst addresses. No business type is immune to the consequences of poor location selection within this neighborhood.
- StreetSpring's model reads Georgetown's 10.3% housing vacancy rate, a Census measure of vacant homes and apartments, as one input among many.
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 Georgetown?
StreetSpring's address-level analysis reveals which specific storefronts in Georgetown offer the strongest survivability odds for your business type. The location below represents the address in Georgetown with the highest projected survivability for a Cafe:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Cafe in Georgetown. The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. 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 Georgetown?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cafe | 87.8% | 78.1% | 72.8% |
| 2 | Eye Care Center | 85.1% | 80.3% | 75.5% |
| 3 | Laundromat | 84.6% | 75.7% | 69.7% |
| 4 | Convenience Store | 83.8% | 76.3% | 71.0% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | 83.6% | 77.9% | 72.1% |
| 6 | Veterinary Clinic | 83.4% | 76.0% | 68.6% |
| 7 | Bar | 82.8% | 74.6% | 68.6% |
| 8 | Gym | 82.4% | 74.6% | 68.9% |
| 9 | Dentist Office | 82.4% | 76.1% | 69.8% |
| 12 | Coffee Shop | 81.9% | 72.9% | 65.6% |
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 Georgetown
- #1 Cafe is ranked #1 for top businesses to open in Georgetown: 78.1% Typical, 87.8% Best, 72.8% Worst.
- #2 Eye Care Center: 80.3% Typical across Georgetown; Best 85.1%, Worst 75.5%.
- #3 Opening a Laundromat in Georgetown shows 75.7% Typical survivability, 84.6% Best and 69.7% Worst.
- #4 Convenience Store (Ranked #4): 76.3% Typical in Georgetown. Best: 83.8%. Worst: 71.0%.
- #5 Chiropractor Office is ranked #5 for top businesses to open in Georgetown: 77.9% Typical, 83.6% Best, 72.1% Worst.
Strong Performers in Georgetown
- #6 Veterinary Clinic: 76.0% Typical across Georgetown; Best 83.4%, Worst 68.6%.
- #7 Opening a Bar in Georgetown shows 74.6% Typical survivability, 82.8% Best and 68.6% Worst.
- #8 Gym (Ranked #8): 74.6% Typical in Georgetown. Best: 82.4%. Worst: 68.9%.
- #9 Dentist Office is ranked #9 for top businesses to open in Georgetown: 76.1% Typical, 82.4% Best, 69.8% Worst.
- #12 Coffee Shop: 72.9% Typical across Georgetown; Best 81.9%, Worst 65.6%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Cafe: See how this compares to other cities →
- Eye Care Center: See how this compares to other cities →
- Laundromat: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Georgetown make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Georgetown 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
- StreetSpring calculates survivability for each business type separately at each address, so the best location for your concept may differ from the neighborhood's overall top-ranked site.
- 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 Georgetown?
The top businesses to open next in Georgetown:
- Cafes: 78.1% Typical, 87.8% Best
- Eye Care Centers: 80.3% Typical, 85.1% Best
- Laundromats: 75.7% Typical, 84.6% Best
The most reliable survivability data for any specific location is always StreetSpring's most recent live analysis, not aggregate neighborhood rankings. 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. StreetSpring's model accounts for Georgetown's 96.5% employment rate when projecting survivability: businesses reliant on discretionary spend benefit disproportionately in well-employed neighborhoods. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring regularly updates every location's survivability score: you can see current scores for available storefronts in Georgetown 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 Cafe survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Georgetown.
What type of business should you rent your Georgetown storefront to?
According to StreetSpring's 2026 data, the strongest tenant types for a storefront in Georgetown are Cafes, Eye Care Centers, and Laundromats.
- 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. StreetSpring can show you which specific address in your portfolio scores highest for each tenant type.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Georgetown storefront to a Cafe?
According to our 2026 survivability model, a Cafe leads all business categories for Georgetown landlords: 87.8% Best and 72.8% 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 Georgetown?
Check the Survivability Score for your specific address in Georgetown before signing a lease, alongside your own read of foot traffic and the local customer base.
- 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 forecasting tools are purpose-built for commercial location decisions and are not available through any publicly accessible data source.
- Start a free 10-minute trial on StreetSpring to see the current survivability score for any address in Georgetown.
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 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.