What are the best businesses to open in Santa Monica?

The top businesses to open in Santa Monica include Pet Grooming Shop with a ~87% chance on average of surviving more than 2 years, best-case locations reaching ~89%, followed by Diner and Japanese / Sushi Restaurant.

How much money could a business in Santa Monica make?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, selecting one of the best locations in Santa Monica could lead to making ~2% more than selecting an average location, and ~5% more than one of the worst locations.

What businesses are most in demand in Santa Monica?

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis, the most in-demand business types in Santa Monica are Pet Grooming Shops, Diners, and Japanese / Sushi Restaurants.

Is Santa Monica a good place to start a business?

Santa Monica is ranked number 3 across neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles to start a business, with an average Survivability Score of ~81%. Best-case locations for the top business types in Santa Monica produce survivability scores ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.

Business Survivability in Santa Monica, Los Angeles

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Santa Monica is a Pet Grooming Shop with a ~87% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average.

April 24, 2026•19 min read

Quick Summary

Best business: a Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica (~87% average survival rate, ~89% at best locations)

Neighborhood rank: #3 across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles

Neighborhood average: ~81% two-year survival across all business types

Rankings updated quarterly with latest market data

Detailed methodology

Last reviewed: May 11, 2026 by Bobby Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

In this article:

Summary
Is Santa Monica 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 Santa Monica is a Pet Grooming Shop with a ~87% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a ~89% chance; next is a Diner with a ~87% chance, followed by a Japanese / Sushi Restaurant with a ~87% chance.

What does the data say about opening in Santa Monica?

**Comparable neighborhoods:** Among the ~2,500 neighborhoods StreetSpring scores, Santa Monica's profile most resembles **Morning Sunwood (Los Angeles)** and **Central (Seattle)**. All three exhibit less transit-reliant — operators with experience in any of those neighborhoods will see familiar patterns in Santa Monica.

**Failure-mode analysis for Santa Monica.** The single strongest subtype in our data is **Pet Grooming Shop** at 87% average survivability. But the within-neighborhood spread for Pet Grooming Shops runs **70% to 95%** — meaning a poorly-sited Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica can score 25 points below a well-sited one. Saturation reality check: Middle Eastern Restaurants are the most-competed tracked subtype here, with 11 existing competitors within a 0.5-mile radius.

Across all neighborhoods in and around Los Angeles, StreetSpring's data places Santa Monica at #3 with a ~81% average Survivability Score.

Best-case locations for the top business types in Santa Monica produce survivability scores ~2% above the neighborhood-wide average.
That said, the same business types at the worst-fit addresses in Santa Monica can drop substantially below average. The survivability gap between the best and worst addresses in a single neighborhood can be 20 points or more.
The 93.4% employment rate in Santa Monica supports consumer spending, while a 12.9% vacancy rate reflects available storefronts — both of which shape the survivability landscape for any new business here.

Employment and vacancy figures sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey.

Which blocks in Santa Monica offer the strongest survivability?

StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Santa Monica — so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. The map below highlights the highest-survivability address for a Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica:

Why the right block matters more than the right neighborhood

Loading live map preview...

The 2026 model from StreetSpring places the strongest storefronts inside this circle for a Pet Grooming Shop in Santa Monica. Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or foot traffic; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. StreetSpring's prediction model analyzes 100 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 →

The strongest business categories for Santa Monica

#1-5: Highest Survivability in Santa Monica

Pet Grooming Shop (Ranked #1): ~87% average in Santa Monica. Best-case storefronts: ~89%. Challenging locations: ~85%.
Diner is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: ~87% chance on average, best at ~89%, challenging at ~85%.
Japanese / Sushi Restaurant — ~85%–~88% survivability range, with an average of ~87% across Santa Monica.
Opening a Brunch Restaurant in Santa Monica shows ~87% average survivability. Top locations reach ~89%; lower-end sites show ~85%.
Scandinavian Restaurant (Ranked #5): ~87% average in Santa Monica. Best-case storefronts: ~88%. Challenging locations: ~85%.

#6-10: Strong Performers in Santa Monica

Brazilian Restaurant is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: ~86% chance on average, best at ~89%, challenging at ~84%.
Pet Boarding Facility — ~85%–~88% survivability range, with an average of ~86% across Santa Monica.
Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Santa Monica shows ~86% average survivability. Top locations reach ~88%; lower-end sites show ~84%.
Filipino Restaurant (Ranked #9): ~86% average in Santa Monica. Best-case storefronts: ~88%. Challenging locations: ~84%.
Italian Restaurant is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Santa Monica: ~86% chance on average, best at ~88%, challenging at ~85%.

Top 3 Compared Nationally

Diner — See how this compares to other cities →

How location selection in Santa Monica affects revenue

Best location vs. average location

Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, picking the highest-scoring storefront in the neighborhood in Santa Monica could lead to you making ~2% more than if you selected an average location, and ~5% more than if you selected one of the worst locations.

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.
Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
Survivability Score is not just a survival metric — it's a revenue predictor, and the higher the score, the stronger the long-term financial outlook.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

Where the next great business in Santa Monica should go

The top businesses to open next in Santa Monica:

Pet Grooming Shops — ~87% average survival rate, up to ~89% at best locations
Diners — ~87% average survival rate
Japanese / Sushi Restaurants — ~87% average survival rate

Static rankings can't capture every recent change in competition or foot traffic; StreetSpring's live platform provides the current score for your exact address. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. A 12.9% vacancy rate in Santa Monica reflects the current commercial environment; StreetSpring weights this directly in every survivability score for addresses in this neighborhood. Because market conditions shift constantly, StreetSpring updates every location's survivability score weekly — you can see current scores for available storefronts in Santa Monica right now.

See the Survivability Score for your new business

Related Articles:

See the Los Angeles Business Survivability Rankings
See the Los Angeles Neighborhood Survivability Rankings

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Santa Monica.

What type of business should you rent your Santa Monica storefront to?

StreetSpring's analysis shows that the tenant types with the best odds of staying open and paying rent for 2+ years in Santa Monica are Pet Grooming Shops, Diners, and Japanese / Sushi Restaurants.

Location shapes survivability more than branding, pricing, or operational quality — the data is unambiguous on this point.
StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood. Rather than guessing which tenant type will last, landlords can verify survivability for each category at their exact address using StreetSpring.

Should you rent your Santa Monica storefront to a Pet Grooming Shop?

The data shows a Pet Grooming Shop is the safest long-term bet for a Santa Monica storefront. Top locations reach ~89% survivability; the least favorable addresses in this neighborhood score around ~85%.

StreetSpring's address-level precision means the difference between choosing a site with a 65% survival rate and one with a 90% rate — even within the same neighborhood.

What should I consider when opening a business in Santa Monica?

Among all the criteria to weigh when opening a business in Santa Monica, Survivability Score carries the most predictive weight — choose the address with the highest score your budget allows.

Of all the variables StreetSpring analyzes, Revenue Capture Score has the strongest predictive power.
These forecasts are generated using StreetSpring's unique analytical framework.
You can access the most up-to-date forecasts with StreetSpring for free.

See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.

StreetSpring's models are built from millions of real business outcomes, making predictions grounded in what actually happened. Aggregated survivability rankings for Los Angeles are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

Lease structure questions to ask first

Area to check	What can go wrong	How to de-risk it
Anchor co-tenancy	Signing next to a high-traffic anchor that closes 6 months later, leaving you orphaned.	Ask for a co-tenancy clause — rent abatement or termination right if the anchor leaves. Standard for strong markets.
Competitor density	Counting only direct competitors and missing adjacent-category overlap (e.g. coffee shop near a bakery).	Map all businesses serving overlapping customer needs within a 5-min walk. Use StreetSpring's competitor view as a starting point.
CAM + hidden costs	Stated rent looks great, then CAM fees, signage charges, and after-hours utilities add 15-30%.	Get the full operating expense breakdown for the past 2 years. Ask which costs are landlord-capped vs. uncapped.

Full dataset for Los Angeles: /resources/data/los-angeles-survivability-scores-2026.csv — includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Visual Data

Dumbbell chart comparing best vs worst locations for businesses in Los Angeles — Best vs worst neighborhood per business type in Los Angeles — the gap shows how much location choice matters for each subtype.

Treemap of Los Angeles business mix by survivability score — Treemap of business mix in Los Angeles — cell size = number of locations, color = average survivability score.

Radar chart of business-subtype survivability in Santa Monica, Los Angeles — Top business types scored in Santa Monica, Los Angeles — each axis is a subtype, taller = stronger survival rate.

How we measure this: Our gradient-boosted survivability model has 100+ input features. The waterfall shows the top 6-8 contributors to a final score.

**A bit of history.** Santa Monica is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Monica%2C_California))

**Daytime population context (Santa Monica):** Per US Census LEHD LODES, the median 1-mile workplace-jobs population within Santa Monica is **16,700** — about **0.3× the resident population**, which qualifies as a primarily-residential signal with some daytime worker pull. Retail-sector jobs in that radius: **1,256**. This shapes which business models have a natural demand floor here.

Landmark anchor: Santa Monica Route 66 Museum and Visitors Center sits in Santa Monica as a history-museum anchor — the kind of cultural draw that shapes weekend foot-traffic patterns nearby.

**Economic indicators for Santa Monica:** Three local signals — neighborhood unemployment **6.6%** (ACS; above the median we track), Los Angeles-area average weekly wage **$1,127** (BLS QCEW; below our metro median), and **22,446** new residential units permitted in Los Angeles County in 2025 (Census BPS). Use these to ground demand and labor-cost assumptions for your specific business plan.

**Sector-level context:** BLS data (BLS Business Employment Dynamics, March 2025 release) shows 5-year survival rates of **47.8%** (Active Life), **47.9%** (Retail Trade), **50.0%** (Restaurants), **50.5%** (Beauty & Personal Care), and **61.8%** (Health & Medical) — the five industry buckets covering most StreetSpring subtypes. Location-specific factors explain the rest of the variance.

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