Business Survivability in Old City, Philadelphia
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Old City is a Veterinary Clinic with a 72.8% 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 Veterinary Clinic in Old City (72.8% average survival rate, 90.0% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #120 of 127 neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia
- Neighborhood average: 57.4% 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: October 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring
In this article:
- Summary
- Is Old 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 Old City is a Veterinary Clinic with a 72.8% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a 90.0% chance; next is a Chiropractor Office with a 73.8% chance, followed by a Convenience Store with a 80.4% chance.
Is Old City a good place to start a business?
Old City holds the #120 position of 127 neighborhoods in and around Philadelphia for new business survivability, with an average score of 57.4% across the business types ranked there.
- At its best addresses in Old City, the top-ranked business type scores 17.2 points above its own average in the neighborhood.
- But at poorly chosen addresses within Old City, even the top-ranked business types can fall well below the neighborhood average. Location selection remains critical: a promising concept at the wrong spot still carries significant risk.
- The 8.7% housing vacancy rate in Old City comes from the Census American Community Survey and describes homes and apartments, not shops or offices.
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 Old City?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Old City, so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. The location below represents the address in Old City with the highest projected survivability for a Veterinary Clinic:
This map shows the optimal location for a Veterinary Clinic in Old City based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point: the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. The prediction model incorporates hundreds of location-specific factors, including competitive density, forecasted consumer spending, mobility patterns, and Revenue Capture Score.
Check if this location is still available →
What are the best businesses to open in Old City?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 90.0% |
| 2 | Chiropractor Office | 89.2% |
| 3 | Convenience Store | 84.6% |
| 4 | Cafe | 84.0% |
| 5 | Eye Care Center | 84.0% |
| 6 | Coffee Shop | 83.9% |
| 7 | Hair Salon | 83.6% |
| 8 | Spa | 83.6% |
| 9 | Gym | 83.6% |
| 10 | Bar | 83.6% |
Ties at a good address: Cafe and Eye Care Center are tied; Hair Salon, Spa, Gym and Bar are tied. A tie is a tie: the rank column is the published file's order, which looks at the average and the best address next.
Highest Survivability in Old City
- #1 Veterinary Clinic (Ranked #1): 72.8% average in Old City. Best-case storefronts: 90.0%. Challenging locations: 56.4%.
- #2 Chiropractor Office is ranked #2 for top businesses to open in Old City: 73.8% chance on average, best at 89.6%, challenging at 56.4%.
- #3 Convenience Store: 80.4% on average across Old City; best at 85.0%, challenging at 54.4%.
- #4 Opening a Cafe in Old City shows 81.8% average survivability. Top locations reach 84.0%; lower-end sites show 51.2%.
- #5 Eye Care Center (Ranked #5): 68.8% average in Old City. Best-case storefronts: 87.4%. Challenging locations: 56.0%.
Strong Performers in Old City
- #6 Coffee Shop is ranked #6 for top businesses to open in Old City: 79.1% chance on average, best at 84.0%, challenging at 49.4%.
- #7 Hair Salon: 67.8% on average across Old City; best at 84.0%, challenging at 48.0%.
- #8 Opening a Spa in Old City shows 66.5% average survivability. Top locations reach 84.0%; lower-end sites show 48.0%.
- #9 Gym (Ranked #9): 63.5% average in Old City. Best-case storefronts: 84.0%. Challenging locations: 48.0%.
- #10 Bar is ranked #10 for top businesses to open in Old City: 61.6% chance on average, best at 84.0%, challenging at 48.0%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chiropractor Office: See how this compares to other cities →
- Convenience Store: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Old City make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, identifying the optimal address for your business type in Old City 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
- However, each business concept should be evaluated for fit within each potential location.
- Site selection is the highest-leverage decision most entrepreneurs make: it sets every other variable in motion.
- When the question is money, the Revenue Capture Score comes first: it is StreetSpring's estimate of the revenue a business can capture at a specific address.
- Two storefronts on the same street can have different survivability scores: StreetSpring calculates each one individually.
What businesses should open next in Old City?
The top businesses to open next in Old City:
- Veterinary Clinics: 72.8% average survival rate, 90.0% at the best address
- Chiropractor Offices: 73.8% average survival rate
- Convenience Stores: 80.4% average survival rate
Neighborhood-level averages are a starting point: the exact address will determine your actual survivability score. StreetSpring has analyzed hundreds of thousands of business outcomes across major U.S. metros. 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. The 97.0% employment rate in Old City is a key signal of consumer health, and the 8.7% housing vacancy rate is another Census characteristic the model reads for the rankings above. The data behind these rankings is updated regularly, so the best available storefront in Old City today may score differently than it did last month: check StreetSpring's live tool for the current picture.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Philadelphia Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Philadelphia Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Philadelphia neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Old City.
What type of business should you rent your Old City storefront to?
Based on 2026 survivability scores across all business types in Old City, the top three tenant categories for landlords are Veterinary Clinics, Chiropractor Offices, and Convenience Stores.
- 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. Landlords can use StreetSpring to match their exact address to the tenant types most likely to stay open and paying rent for two or more years.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Philadelphia Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Old City storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
Yes. Among all business types analyzed for Old City in 2026, a Veterinary Clinic posts the highest survivability ceiling at 90.0% and maintains a reasonable floor of 56.4%, making it the most reliable tenant choice here.
- 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 Old City?
Start any location decision in Old City with the Survivability Score: it combines 100+ location factors into one projected two-year chance.
- Revenue Capture Score is the top factor to weigh before signing a lease, because it measures how much of the local customer spending a business at that address can win.
- The underlying models are StreetSpring's own: built, trained, and maintained using data external platforms cannot access.
- StreetSpring's live scoring tool starts with a free 10-minute trial: enter any address in Old City to see its current Survivability Score for your business type.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
Using predictive analytics, StreetSpring helps entrepreneurs and landlords make smarter location decisions. Aggregated survivability rankings for Philadelphia are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Philadelphia: /resources/data/philadelphia-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.