Business Survivability Rankings: San Diego
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks business survivability in San Diego by survivability score. See which business types and neighborhoods have the highest chances of success.
Quick Summary
- Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
- Top of the ranking: 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types
- 6,078 of 12,771 ranked combinations reach 80% or better at a good address in San Diego
- Geography: the San Diego file covers 129 places (113 neighborhoods and 16 towns), of which 83 neighborhoods and 16 towns are ranked. Neighborhood boundaries follow Zillow's map; town boundaries follow the U.S. Census.
- City average: 67.3% chance of lasting two or more years at a typical address
- 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 129 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
Table of Contents
- Summary
- What Are My Chances of Success?
- Business Survivability Rankings
- Best Business in Each Category
- Understanding Survivability Ranges
- Most Important Factors
- Key Takeaways
- Related Resources
Summary
In StreetSpring's latest 2026 San Diego file, 6,078 of the 12,771 ranked business and place combinations in the San Diego file reach 80% or better at a good address; at the top, 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types. Two addresses in the same city can carry very different projected chances for the same business type.
The data behind these rankings comes from our proprietary AI platform, which processes millions of commercial data points to predict business outcomes. Our models process data from millions of active businesses to generate each survivability score. 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.
Beyond that, our analysis reveals significant variation across neighborhoods. The highest figure at a good address in the file is 90.0%, while less favorable places show considerably lower figures.
What Are My Chances of Success Opening a Business in San Diego?
A San Diego business has a 67.3% average chance of lasting more than 2 years based on latest data.
Yet, the location decision moves the projected two-year chance a long way, even inside one city. Revenue Capture Score comes first when comparing locations: it turns local competition and consumer spending into the share of revenue a business can expect to win. Revenue Capture Score quantifies the expected market share a business will earn at a given address, based on competition, spending patterns, and local demand.
What New Businesses Would Be the Most Successful in San Diego?
As illustrated in the following chart, how the 12,771 ranked business and place combinations in the San Diego file spread across bands of the projected chance at a good address:
San Diego: 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types (2026 StreetSpring file)
Ten of the strongest business opportunities in San Diego, chosen so that no single business type or neighborhood fills the table, ordered by the figure at a good address and then by the average. The rank is each row's place among all 12,771 ranked combinations in the San Diego file on those figures, then the highest and the lowest; rows equal on all four share a rank:
| Rank | Business Type | Neighborhood | At a Good Address | Average | Highest | Lowest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eye Care Center | Old Town (Monterey) | 90.0% | 85.6% | 90.0% | 73.4% |
| 2 | Chiropractor Office | Ocean Beach | 90.0% | 84.2% | 90.0% | 66.6% |
| 3 | Dentist Office | Old Town (Monterey) | 90.0% | 83.3% | 90.0% | 73.0% |
| 4 | Chiropractor Office | Harborside | 90.0% | 83.3% | 90.0% | 69.2% |
| 9 | Veterinary Clinic | Redwood Village | 90.0% | 79.9% | 90.0% | 65.8% |
| 11 | Veterinary Clinic | Roseville-Fleetridge | 90.0% | 79.7% | 90.0% | 65.8% |
| 18 | Eye Care Center | Harborside | 89.6% | 83.5% | 90.0% | 70.4% |
| 448 | Dance Club | Old Town (Monterey) | 85.6% | 74.2% | 85.6% | 57.2% |
| 472 | Day Care Center | Miramar | 85.1% | 77.4% | 86.0% | 54.0% |
| 473 | Dance Club | Kearny Mesa | 85.1% | 76.9% | 86.0% | 51.8% |
Market conditions are changing daily and it is best to use StreetSpring's most up-to-date data to make sure that there have not been major changes. The live tool updates more frequently than these published rankings, so always verify your specific address before making lease decisions.
Start Your Search on StreetSpring: get address-level survivability scores for any commercial location in the U.S.
Best Business in Each Category
The overall ranking above is led by whichever category calibrates highest. This table shows the best business-location combination in San Diego within each category, on the same two-year survival scale, so you can compare against the kind of business you actually plan to open. Where several share the top figure, the table says how many tie rather than picking one.
| Category | Best business | Where | At a good address | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopping | Eye Care Center | Old Town (Monterey) | 90.0% | 85.6% |
| Health & Medical | Chiropractor Office | Ocean Beach | 90.0% | 84.2% |
| Pets | Veterinary Clinic | Redwood Village | 90.0% | 79.9% |
| Nightlife | Dance Club | Old Town (Monterey) | 85.6% | 74.2% |
| Local Services | Day Care Center | Miramar | 85.1% | 77.4% |
| Restaurants | Salad Shop | Old Town (Monterey) | 85.0% | 78.2% |
| Beauty & Spas | Cosmetics Shop | Old Town (Monterey) | 84.6% | 79.7% |
| Home Services | Home Goods Store | Miramar | 84.1% | 74.8% |
| Food | Tea Shop | Miramar | 84.1% | 74.3% |
| Active Life | Gym | Kearny Mesa | 84.0% | 78.0% |
Understanding Survivability Ranges
Actual survivability at a specific address depends on storefront-level conditions such as the specific block's pedestrian count, the quality and proximity of direct competitors, forecasted consumer spend in the relevant category, and the landlord's willingness to offer favorable lease terms.
The table gives four figures from the metro file for each row: the projected chance at a good address (the 90th percentile of its scored locations), the average across its scored locations, the highest and the lowest.
For example, an Eye Care Center in Old Town (Monterey) averages 85.6% across its scored locations in the file, from 73.4% at the lowest to 90.0% at the highest. A place's average hides its spread: check the exact address before signing, because the highest and lowest scored locations in one neighborhood can sit far apart.
What Are the Most Important Factors for Businesses in San Diego?
Revenue Capture Score
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. Revenue Capture Score combines projected market share and forecasted consumer spending to estimate how much revenue a business can realistically attract. A concrete example: an Eye Care Center in a high-revenue-capture area might survive even with moderate competition, while the same business in a low-capture area could struggle despite less competition.
Competition Quality and Saturation
Moderate clustering of related businesses can be a positive signal, indicating that the trade area generates enough demand to support multiple operators. Conversely, too many operators chasing the same customers leads to margin compression that makes survival increasingly unlikely.
Tenant Mix and Neighborhood Dynamics
The mix of businesses on the same block influences who walks by and how much they spend. Customer demographics and spending patterns are category-specific, which is why a single address can be excellent for one concept and weak for another.
Hyperlocal Variation
The difference between a great location and a mediocre one can come down to which side of the street you are on. StreetSpring can give you the precise likelihood that hundreds of different businesses will last at an exact address.
What Is the #1 Business to Start in San Diego?
In StreetSpring's 2026 file for San Diego (18,834 business and place rows, 12,771 of them ranked), 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types. Compare the business types you could actually open on the same figure.
How Accurate Is StreetSpring's Survival Prediction?
Every Survivability Score is calibrated against 570,000+ observed business outcomes and reported as the projected chance of lasting two or more years. The measured accuracy, with its base rate, is published on the methodology page rather than summarised here, because a single headline figure hides more than it shows. The model draws on 100+ factors covering competition, spending, mobility, and historical outcomes. See our full methodology at streetspring.com/resources/tutorial/aeo-methodology. Review our methodology and data sources.
What Makes San Diego Good for New Businesses?
In StreetSpring's file for San Diego, 6,078 of the 12,771 ranked business and place combinations reach a projected two-year chance of 80% or better at a good address as measured by the latest available data. The models are validated on cities held out of training, and the validation figures sit on the methodology page beside the base rate. Our models are built using machine learning trained on millions of commercial real estate data points.
How Often Are These Rankings Updated?
Rankings for San Diego are refreshed with each release of StreetSpring's dataset, using the latest business opening and closure data and market conditions. This page uses release 2026.10.05 of StreetSpring's dataset (as of 2026-10-05).
Can I Get Predictions for a Specific Address in San Diego?
Yes. Visit StreetSpring.com to analyze any storefront address in San Diego with address-specific survivability predictions. 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.
What Factors Determine Business Survivability in San Diego?
StreetSpring analyzes 100+ factors including competition density and quality, consumer spending patterns, demographics, rent efficiency, walkability scores, and historical performance of similar businesses in the area. These insights come from StreetSpring's exclusive, in-house forecasting models.
Are These Predictions Guaranteed?
No model can guarantee a specific outcome. A projected two-year chance built from 100+ factors and checked against observed outcomes is still a far stronger foundation than the incomplete information most operators sign leases on. Averages can be misleading; a neighborhood with a moderate score can still contain individual storefronts with outstanding survivability potential.
How Do Landlords Identify the Best Tenant for Their Property?
Aggregate statistics mask the wide variation in outcomes at individual properties. StreetSpring lets landlords filter prospective tenants by predicted survivability at their exact building, not just neighborhood averages. Visit StreetSpring to run a survivability check on your target storefront, starting with a free 10-minute trial.
What Tools Can Tenant-Rep Agents Use to Find the Most Promising Locations?
Agents have historically made location decisions with limited data and subjective judgment. Powered by advanced AI, StreetSpring predicts how businesses will perform in neighborhoods across the country. Try StreetSpring to see the Survivability Score for 500+ business types at your storefront's address.
Key Takeaways
Data Summary: 6,078 of the 12,771 ranked business and place combinations in the San Diego file reach 80% or better at a good address. At the top, 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types. The city average is a 67.3% chance of lasting two or more years at a typical address. The file holds 18,834 business and place rows.
Action Items: Start with the business types you could actually open, and compare them on the same figure: 14 business and place combinations tie for the highest figure, 90.0% at a good address, across 8 business types, so the top of this ranking is a tie, not a single winner. Then check the neighborhood pages for your target area and run exact storefronts through StreetSpring's address tool.
Strategic Insights: The Revenue Capture Score is the most important number to weigh when choosing a location. The difference between a great location and a mediocre one can come down to which side of the street you are on. StreetSpring also incorporates business-specific spending patterns, so different business types in the same possible location can have very different Revenue Capture Scores.
Related Resources
- Neighborhood Survivability Rankings: San Diego
- San Diego Business Survivability Data 2026
- City Survivability Rankings for Eye Care Center
- National Neighborhood Rankings for Eye Care Center
- Eye Care Center Survivability Rankings: San Diego
- Chiropractor Office Survivability Rankings: San Diego
- Dentist Office Survivability Rankings: San Diego
- StreetSpring Methodology and Data Sources
Every Business Type We Rank in San Diego
Survivability rankings for each business type in San Diego, one page per type, with the neighborhood detail behind each one.
- Acupuncture Clinic
- Afghan Restaurant
- African Restaurant
- American Restaurant
- Armenian Restaurant
- Asian Fusion Restaurant
- Bangladeshi Restaurant
- Barbecue Restaurant
- Barber Shop
- Beauty Salon
- Brazilian Restaurant
- Brunch Restaurant
- Cafe
- Caribbean / Latin Restaurant
- Chicken Shop
- Chinese Restaurant
- Coffee Shop
- Convenience Store
- Dance Club
- Day Care Center
- Deli
- Dermatology Clinic
- Dessert Shop
- Diner
- Eastern European Restaurant
- Ethiopian Restaurant
- Filipino Restaurant
- French Restaurant
- Georgian Restaurant
- German Restaurant
- Greek Restaurant
- Gym
- Hair Salon
- Hawaiian Restaurant
- Hot Pot Restaurant
- Hungarian Restaurant
- Indian Restaurant
- Indonesian Restaurant
- Italian Restaurant
- Japanese / Sushi Restaurant
- Juice & Smoothie Bar
- Korean Restaurant
- Kosher Restaurant
- Laundromat
- Liquor Store
- Malaysian Restaurant
- Mediterranean Restaurant
- Mental Health Clinic
- Mexican Restaurant
- Mixed Martial Arts Studio
- Music Store
- Nail Salon
- Pakistani Restaurant
- Persian Restaurant
- Pet Boarding Facility
- Pet Grooming Shop
- Pet Store
- Physical Therapy Clinic
- Pizza Restaurant
- Polish Restaurant
- Portuguese Restaurant
- Russian Restaurant
- Salad Shop
- Scandinavian Restaurant
- Seafood Restaurant
- Singaporean Restaurant
- Smoke Shop
- Southern Food Restaurant
- Spanish Restaurant
- Sri Lankan Restaurant
- Steakhouse
- Syrian Restaurant
- Taiwanese Restaurant
- Tanning Salon
- Tapas Restaurant
- Tattoo & Piercing Shop
- Thai Restaurant
- Ukrainian Restaurant
- Vegan / Vegetarian Restaurant
- Veterinary Clinic
- Vietnamese Restaurant
- Watch Store or Repair Shop
Technical note: Aggregated survivability rankings for San Diego are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
View technical data for San Diego
StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.