City Survivability Rankings for Chicken Shop

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Chicken Shops across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Chicken Shop to succeed.

•16 min read

Quick Summary

  • Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
  • The highest-ranked city for Chicken Shop is Charlotte: 84.1% at a good address, 74.4% at a typical address
  • Dallas is left out of this ranking while a gap in its input data is repaired, and San Antonio is left out because it has too few scored locations to rank fairly
  • 8 of 22 analyzed US metros average above 70% for Chicken Shop survivability at a typical address
  • The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 76.9%
  • National average chance of lasting two or more years for Chicken Shop: 68.2%
  • Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 22 US metro areas · Full methodology →

Table of Contents

Summary

According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Charlotte ranks as the #1 city for opening a Chicken Shop in the United States, with an 84.1% chance of lasting two or more years at a good address. Following close behind are Atlanta with 84.1%, and Orlando with 83.7%. The national picture for Chicken Shops shows 68.2% average survivability across 22 cities, with the gap between Charlotte and lower-ranked metros revealing significant geographic variation. However, the specific location is very important: there are excellent locations even in neighborhoods that might not appear to be a great fit at the city level. Market conditions shift frequently: use StreetSpring's live tool to confirm the current picture before committing to a location.

Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →

Chicken Shops city survivability range chart: Charlotte vs New York City (2026)

Best-to-worst Chicken Shop survivability within individual metros: Charlotte, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Boston and New York City. Each box spans the middle of that metro's range; whiskers are its best and worst locations (2026).

All 22 Cities Ranked for Chicken Shops

Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 22 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Chicken Shops:

#MetroMetro areaChance of lasting two or more years at a good address
1CharlotteCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC84.1%
2AtlantaAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA84.1%
3OrlandoOrlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL83.7%
4HoustonHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX83.7%
5DenverDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO83.7%
6SeattleSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA83.2%
7MinneapolisMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI82.8%
8St. LouisSt. Louis, MO-IL82.8%
9Washington DCWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV82.3%
10DetroitDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI81.8%
11BaltimoreBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD81.8%
12Los AngelesLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA81.8%
13San DiegoSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA81.4%
14MiamiMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL81.4%
15ChicagoChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN81.4%
16PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD81.0%
17PhoenixPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ81.0%
18PortlandPortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA80.5%
19Tampa BayTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL80.0%
20San FranciscoSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA80.0%
21BostonBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH78.2%
22New York CityNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ76.9%

1. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

  • At a good address: 84.1%
  • At a typical address: 74.4%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

2. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

  • At a good address: 84.1%
  • At a typical address: 73.6%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

3. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

4. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

5. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

6. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

7. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

8. St. Louis Metro: St. Louis, MO-IL

9. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

10. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

11. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

12. Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

13. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

14. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

15. Chicago Metro: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

  • At a good address: 81.4%
  • At a typical address: 65.5%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

16. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

17. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

18. Portland Metro: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

19. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

20. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

21. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

  • At a good address: 78.2%
  • At a typical address: 63.3%
  • Best scored location: 85.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 49.0%

22. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Key Insights

Moderate variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Charlotte at 84.1%) and the #22 city (New York City at 76.9%) is 7.20 percentage points. Chicken Shops show a difference of under a point between the top two metros. Treat this ranking as a starting filter, not a decision.

National average: Across all 22 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Chicken Shop is 68.2%.

What Makes These Cities Stand Out?

The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Chicken Shops:

  • Strong survivability signals: Charlotte leads with a 74% average chance of lasting two or more years for Chicken Shops: significantly above the national average for this business category.
  • Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Chicken Shops, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
  • Consumer demand signals: StreetSpring's data captures competitor review velocity, spending patterns, and demographic fit, all pointing toward sustained demand for Chicken Shops in these markets.
  • Regulatory environment: Top-ranked cities tend to have streamlined commercial permitting and lower business tax burdens relative to their metro size, reducing friction for new operators.

Powered by advanced AI, StreetSpring predicts how businesses will perform in neighborhoods across the country. Our forecasting engine processes data from over 24 metro areas covering 180+ million consumers. These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.

City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:

National guides:

How current is this ranking?

Rankings are updated quarterly. The current data reflects StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with the next full dataset refresh scheduled for Q3 2026. As market conditions shift across major metros, individual city scores can move meaningfully between updates: particularly for Chicken Shops, where local competition density and consumer spending patterns respond quickly to new entrants and neighborhood change. For the most current score at any specific address, use StreetSpring's live survivability tool rather than the static ranking above.

Can a Chicken Shop succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?

Yes, our top 10 ranking reflects cities with the strongest average conditions, but lower-ranked metros can still contain exceptional individual neighborhoods. Many operators successfully open Chicken Shops in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Chicken Shops in particular can find strong performance in secondary markets where the right demographic concentration, household income, and limited direct competition within walking distance align, even outside our highest-ranked cities. StreetSpring's neighborhood-level data surfaces these pockets of opportunity in every city we analyze, regardless of where the city as a whole ranks nationally.

What tools can help me choose the right city for a Chicken Shop?

StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Chicken Shops across all 22 metros we track. For this category specifically, the model reads competition density, the consumer spending index for Chicken Shops, and Census neighborhood characteristics such as the housing vacancy rate, and turns them into the projected chance that a Chicken Shop lasts two or more years at a given address. You can check any specific address before signing a lease and compare multiple neighborhoods side by side to identify the highest-survivability site within your target city.

Try the Survivability Score tool →

Which US city has the best survivability for Chicken Shops?

Charlotte ranks as the #1 city in the US for Chicken Shops survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average 74% chance of lasting two or more years. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Charlotte, a Chicken Shop has approximately a 74% chance of still operating after two years, above the national average for this category. Atlanta ranks second, followed by Orlando. The full ranking reflects data across 22 major US metro areas: see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 24 metros are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

View national technical data

StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.

Methodology: Each metro's figures pool the scored locations in its published neighborhoods. Metros are ranked the way the national data file ranks them, on the chance of lasting two or more years at a good address; the typical-address figure is shown alongside. Coverage includes 22 major US metropolitan areas: Charlotte, Atlanta, Orlando, Houston, Denver, Seattle, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Washington DC, Detroit, Baltimore, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Boston, New York City. 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.