Business Survivability in Ivy City, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Ivy City is a Dance Club with a ~79% 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 Dance Club in Ivy City (~79% average survival rate, ~81% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #42 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
- Is Ivy City 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 Ivy City is a Dance Club with a ~79% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~81% chance; next is a Diner with a 78.32% chance, followed by a Seafood Restaurant with a 78.31% chance.
Is Ivy City a good place to start a business?
In Washington DC's neighborhood survivability rankings, Ivy City comes in at #42, with an average Survivability Score of ~77% across all business types.
- The survivability gap between the best and average addresses in Ivy City reaches ~5% for the strongest-performing business categories.
- But these same concepts at less optimal addresses within Ivy City can score meaningfully below average. Survivability data shows that even the highest-demand business types fail at the wrong location.
- Ivy City's employment rate of 90.2% and commercial vacancy of 8.6% are two of the inputs StreetSpring's model uses to differentiate survivability within this neighborhood.
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 Ivy City?
StreetSpring's model evaluates every available address in Ivy City for your business type, ranking them by survivability so the best storefront is always identifiable. This is the address StreetSpring's 2026 analysis recommends most strongly for a Dance Club in Ivy City:
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis of hundreds of location-specific factors, this area offers the highest projected survivability for a Dance Club in Ivy City. These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. Factors evaluated include competition at every distance band, consumer spending forecasts, mobility patterns, and market share projections.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Ivy City?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dance Club | 78.92% |
| 2 | Diner | 78.32% |
| 3 | Seafood Restaurant | 78.31% |
| 4 | Brunch Restaurant | 78.29% |
| 5 | Liquor Store | 78.28% |
| 6 | African Restaurant | 77.51% |
| 7 | Nail Salon | 77.45% |
| 8 | Coffee Shop | 77.27% |
| 9 | Gym | 76.30% |
| 10 | Dessert Shop | 76.22% |
#1-5: Highest Survivability in Ivy City
- Dance Club — ~77%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.92% across Ivy City.
- Opening a Diner in Ivy City shows 78.32% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~75%.
- Seafood Restaurant (Ranked #3): 78.31% average in Ivy City. Best-case storefronts: ~81%. Challenging locations: ~75%.
- Brunch Restaurant is ranked #4 for top businesses to open in Ivy City: 78.29% chance on average, best at ~81%, challenging at ~76%.
- Liquor Store — ~76%–~81% survivability range, with an average of 78.28% across Ivy City.
#6-10: Strong Performers in Ivy City
- Opening an African Restaurant in Ivy City shows 77.51% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~74%.
- Nail Salon (Ranked #7): 77.45% average in Ivy City. Best-case storefronts: ~80%. Challenging locations: ~73%.
- Coffee Shop is ranked #8 for top businesses to open in Ivy City: 77.27% chance on average, best at ~82%, challenging at ~74%.
- Gym — ~74%–~79% survivability range, with an average of 76.30% across Ivy City.
- Opening a Dessert Shop in Ivy City shows 76.22% average survivability. Top locations reach ~81%; lower-end sites show ~72%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Dance Club — See how this compares to other cities →
- Diner — See how this compares to other cities →
- Seafood Restaurant — See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Ivy City make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, going with one of the top-scoring locations in the neighborhood rather than an average one in Ivy City could lead to you making ~5% more than if you selected an average location, and ~13% 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.
- Nothing influences a business's future more than its location.
- Maximizing your Survivability Score is the most reliable path to profitability.
- 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 Ivy City?
The top businesses to open next in Ivy City:
- Dance Clubs — 78.92% average survival rate, ~81% at the best address
- Diners — 78.32% average survival rate
- Seafood Restaurants — 78.31% average survival rate
These rankings are based on the latest available data; check StreetSpring for real-time updates. The model draws from 100+ location-specific factors to generate each survivability score. 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. A 8.6% vacancy rate in Ivy City reflects the current commercial environment; StreetSpring weights this directly in every survivability score for addresses in this neighborhood. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in Ivy City. StreetSpring's weekly updates mean you can always see the current score for any available storefront.
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 Dance Club survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Ivy City.
What type of business should you rent your Ivy City storefront to?
If you own commercial space in Ivy City, StreetSpring's 2026 data points to Dance Clubs, Diners, and Seafood Restaurants as the tenant types with the strongest projected longevity at this location.
- Nothing influences a business's future more than its location.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. With StreetSpring, you can rank every potential tenant type by survivability score at your property address before committing to a lease.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Ivy City storefront to a Dance Club?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to a Dance Club in Ivy City: best-in-class addresses achieve ~81% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at ~77% — above average for most business types.
- 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 Ivy City?
Among all the criteria to weigh when opening a business in Ivy City, Survivability Score carries the most predictive weight — choose the address with the highest score your budget allows.
- Revenue Capture Score is the single best indicator of whether a business will thrive at a location.
- StreetSpring's proprietary algorithms power these predictions.
- StreetSpring's address-level survivability data is available free of charge — start with your top candidate locations in Ivy City.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring analyzes millions of data points with AI to forecast business survivability. 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.