City Survivability Rankings for International Grocery Store
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for International Grocery Stores across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for an International Grocery Store to succeed.
Quick Summary
- Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
- The highest-ranked city for International Grocery Store is Charlotte: 84.1% at a good address, 76.1% 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
- 6 of 22 analyzed US metros average above 70% for International Grocery Store survivability at a typical address
- The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 76.0%
- National average chance of lasting two or more years for International Grocery Store: 68.1%
- Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 22 US metro areas · Full methodology →
Table of Contents
- Summary
- Top Cities for International Grocery Stores
- Key Insights
- What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
- Related Resources
- How current is this ranking?
- Can an International Grocery Store succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?
- What tools can help me choose the right city for an International Grocery Store?
- Which US city has the best survivability for International Grocery Stores?
Summary
According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Charlotte ranks as the #1 city for opening an International Grocery Store 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 Denver with 84.1%. International Grocery Stores sit at a national average of 68.1% survivability across our 22-city analysis, with Charlotte leading the field by a meaningful margin. Our data shows that strong individual locations exist in every city we analyze, regardless of the city's overall ranking. These rankings reflect data through early 2026: check StreetSpring for the latest figures before any location decision.
Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →
Best-to-worst International Grocery Store survivability within individual metros: Charlotte, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Miami 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 International Grocery Stores
Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 22 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for International Grocery Stores:
| # | Metro | Metro area | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charlotte | Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 84.1% |
| 2 | Atlanta | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA | 84.1% |
| 3 | Denver | Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO | 84.1% |
| 4 | Houston | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 84.1% |
| 5 | Orlando | Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 83.2% |
| 6 | Washington DC | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 83.2% |
| 7 | Seattle | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 82.8% |
| 8 | St. Louis | St. Louis, MO-IL | 82.3% |
| 9 | Minneapolis | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 81.4% |
| 10 | Phoenix | Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ | 81.4% |
| 11 | Detroit | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 81.0% |
| 12 | Philadelphia | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 81.0% |
| 13 | Baltimore | Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD | 81.0% |
| 14 | San Francisco | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 81.0% |
| 15 | Portland | Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | 80.5% |
| 16 | Chicago | Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 79.6% |
| 17 | Tampa Bay | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL | 79.2% |
| 18 | Boston | Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 79.2% |
| 19 | Los Angeles | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 79.2% |
| 20 | San Diego | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 78.7% |
| 21 | Miami | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL | 78.2% |
| 22 | New York City | New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 76.0% |
1. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC
- At a good address: 84.1%
- At a typical address: 76.1%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.4%
2. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA
- At a good address: 84.1%
- At a typical address: 74.5%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
3. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO
- At a good address: 84.1%
- At a typical address: 73.4%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
4. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX
- At a good address: 84.1%
- At a typical address: 73.3%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
5. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL
- At a good address: 83.2%
- At a typical address: 72.4%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
6. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
- At a good address: 83.2%
- At a typical address: 69.9%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
7. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
- At a good address: 82.8%
- At a typical address: 70.4%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
8. St. Louis Metro: St. Louis, MO-IL
- At a good address: 82.3%
- At a typical address: 69.3%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
9. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI
- At a good address: 81.4%
- At a typical address: 68.9%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
10. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ
- At a good address: 81.4%
- At a typical address: 68.0%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
11. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI
- At a good address: 81.0%
- At a typical address: 68.8%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
12. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD
- At a good address: 81.0%
- At a typical address: 68.0%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
13. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD
- At a good address: 81.0%
- At a typical address: 67.3%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
14. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
- At a good address: 81.0%
- At a typical address: 65.1%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
15. Portland Metro: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA
- At a good address: 80.5%
- At a typical address: 65.4%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
16. Chicago Metro: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN
- At a good address: 79.6%
- At a typical address: 64.4%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
17. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL
- At a good address: 79.2%
- At a typical address: 65.9%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
18. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH
- At a good address: 79.2%
- At a typical address: 64.5%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
19. Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA
- At a good address: 79.2%
- At a typical address: 63.5%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
20. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA
- At a good address: 78.7%
- At a typical address: 65.0%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
21. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL
- At a good address: 78.2%
- At a typical address: 62.8%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
22. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ
- At a good address: 76.0%
- At a typical address: 60.3%
- Best scored location: 85.0%
- Weakest scored location: 49.0%
Key Insights
Moderate variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Charlotte at 84.1%) and the #22 city (New York City at 76.0%) is 8.10 percentage points. At well under a point apart, Charlotte and Atlanta are effectively tied for International Grocery Stores. The survivability difference that matters shows up block by block.
National average: Across all 22 analyzed cities, the average survivability for an International Grocery Store is 68.1%.
What Makes These Cities Stand Out?
The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor International Grocery Stores:
- Strong survivability signals: Charlotte leads with a 76% average chance of lasting two or more years for International Grocery Stores: significantly above the national average for this business category.
- Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for International Grocery Stores, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
- Supply chain access: Cities at the top of this ranking benefit from mature supplier networks for this category, reducing operating costs and inventory lead times.
- Geographic distribution: The top cities span multiple U.S. regions, giving franchise operators or multi-location owners diverse market options without concentrating risk.
Our analysis draws on millions of commercial real estate data points to produce survivability predictions for professionals nationwide. We have been studying the businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans. StreetSpring generates these results using its proprietary prediction system, tailored to each business and location.
Related Resources
City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:
- Business Survivability Rankings: Charlotte
- Business Survivability Rankings: Atlanta
- Business Survivability Rankings: Houston
- Business Survivability Rankings: Orlando
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 International Grocery Stores, 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 an International Grocery Store 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 International Grocery Stores in cities that don't appear in our top 10. International Grocery Stores 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 an International Grocery Store?
StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for International Grocery Stores across all 22 metros we track. For this category specifically, the model reads competition density, the consumer spending index for International Grocery Stores, and Census neighborhood characteristics such as the housing vacancy rate, and turns them into the projected chance that an International Grocery Store 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 International Grocery Stores?
Charlotte ranks as the #1 city in the US for International Grocery Stores survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average 76% chance of lasting two or more years. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Charlotte, an International Grocery Store has approximately a 76% chance of still operating after two years, above the national average for this category. Atlanta ranks second, followed by Denver. 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.
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, Denver, Houston, Orlando, Washington DC, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Detroit, Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Portland, Chicago, Tampa Bay, Boston, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami, 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.