Business Survivability in Petworth, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Petworth is a Smoke Shop with a 83.9% 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 Smoke Shop in Petworth (83.9% Typical, 89.8% Best)
- Neighborhood rank: #16 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- Neighborhood average: 78.7% 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 Petworth 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 Petworth is a Smoke Shop with a 83.9% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, and 89.8% Best; next is an African Restaurant with 89.0% Best, followed by a Dance Club with 89.0% Best.
Is Petworth a good place to start a business?
StreetSpring ranks Petworth #16 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC, with an average Survivability Score of 78.7% across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, 89.8% Best is 5.9 points above 83.9% Typical in Petworth.
- That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Petworth can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
- At 93.7% employed, Petworth's consumer base has the spending capacity that makes the neighborhood viable for a wide range of business types, though location selection within the neighborhood still determines actual survivability.
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 Petworth?
StreetSpring's Petworth data goes block by block (not just neighborhood averages) so you know which specific storefront gives your concept the strongest foundation. Of all available storefronts analyzed in Petworth, StreetSpring ranks this area highest for a Smoke Shop in 2026:
According to StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, this circle outlines the best area for a Smoke Shop in Petworth. These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. 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 Petworth?
| Rank | Business type | Best | Typical | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smoke Shop | 89.8% | 83.9% | 78.5% |
| 2 | African Restaurant | 89.0% | 83.7% | 78.3% |
| 3 | Dance Club | 89.0% | 83.0% | 78.3% |
| 4 | International Grocery Store | 88.9% | 83.1% | 78.2% |
| 5 | Chiropractor Office | 88.9% | 86.6% | 84.3% |
| 6 | Dentist Office | 88.6% | 85.6% | 82.6% |
| 7 | Gym | 88.5% | 84.6% | 80.6% |
| 8 | Grocery Store | 88.5% | 82.8% | 78.0% |
| 9 | Ethiopian Restaurant | 88.4% | 82.4% | 77.2% |
| 10 | Bakery | 88.3% | 82.8% | 77.7% |
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 Petworth
- #1 Opening a Smoke Shop in Petworth shows 83.9% Typical survivability, 89.8% Best and 78.5% Worst.
- #2 African Restaurant (Ranked #2): 83.7% Typical in Petworth. Best: 89.0%. Worst: 78.3%.
- #3 Dance Club is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Petworth: 83.0% Typical, 89.0% Best, 78.3% Worst.
- #4 International Grocery Store: 83.1% Typical across Petworth; Best 88.9%, Worst 78.2%.
- #5 Opening a Chiropractor Office in Petworth shows 86.6% Typical survivability, 88.9% Best and 84.3% Worst.
Strong Performers in Petworth
- #6 Dentist Office (Ranked #6): 85.6% Typical in Petworth. Best: 88.6%. Worst: 82.6%.
- #7 Gym is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Petworth: 84.6% Typical, 88.5% Best, 80.6% Worst.
- #8 Grocery Store: 82.8% Typical across Petworth; Best 88.5%, Worst 78.0%.
- #9 Opening an Ethiopian Restaurant in Petworth shows 82.4% Typical survivability, 88.4% Best and 77.2% Worst.
- #10 Bakery (Ranked #10): 82.8% Typical in Petworth. Best: 88.3%. Worst: 77.7%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Smoke Shop: See how this compares to other cities →
- African Restaurant: See how this compares to other cities →
- Dance Club: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Petworth make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, securing a location with maximum Revenue Capture potential in Petworth 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
- Every business type has unique location requirements that must be considered.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make: it sets every other variable in motion.
- 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 Petworth?
The top businesses to open next in Petworth:
- Smoke Shops: 83.9% Typical, 89.8% Best
- African Restaurants: 83.7% Typical, 89.0% Best
- Dance Clubs: 83.0% Typical, 89.0% Best
These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. 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. Petworth sits at 93.7% employment and 7.5% housing vacancy in Census data, context the model reads alongside competition and consumer spending. New competitors open and close every week, changing the survivability landscape for every address in Petworth. StreetSpring's regular 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 Smoke Shop survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Petworth.
What type of business should you rent your Petworth storefront to?
Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Petworth, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Smoke Shops, African Restaurants, and Dance Clubs.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make: it sets every other variable in motion.
- 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 Petworth storefront to a Smoke Shop?
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, a Smoke Shop ranks as the top tenant type for your Petworth storefront: 89.8% Best and 78.5% 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 Petworth?
When selecting a location in Petworth it is crucial to select a location with a very high Survivability Score.
- StreetSpring's proprietary Revenue Capture Score, the revenue a business can capture at a specific address, is the factor that matters most when choosing where to open.
- Each forecast is specific to the exact address and business type, generated by StreetSpring's internally developed prediction engine.
- You can check the Survivability Score for any storefront in Petworth with a free 10-minute trial of StreetSpring's live tool.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring uses AI to project business survivability across U.S. neighborhoods. 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.