Business Survivability in Dupont Circle, Washington DC
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis finds that the best business to open in Dupont Circle is a Veterinary Clinic with a 79.0% 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 Dupont Circle (79.0% average survival rate, 89.6% at best locations)
- Neighborhood rank: #103 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC
- Neighborhood average: 62.4% 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 Dupont Circle 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 Dupont Circle is a Veterinary Clinic with a 79.0% chance of surviving at least 2 years across the neighborhood on average, with the best locations offering a 89.6% chance; next is a Chiropractor Office with a 78.9% chance, followed by a Cafe with a 83.4% chance. At a good address, Veterinary Clinic is tied with Chiropractor Office; the published file ranks it first on its average.
Is Dupont Circle a good place to start a business?
Dupont Circle is ranked number 103 of 129 neighborhoods in and around Washington DC to start a business, with an average 62.4% chance of lasting two or more years across the business types ranked there.
- For the top-ranked business type, the best addresses in Dupont Circle score 10.6 points higher on the two-year chance than its average there.
- However, those high-scoring categories placed at the least-competitive addresses in Dupont Circle often fall well below average. Picking the right block (not just the right neighborhood) is what actually determines survivability.
- StreetSpring's model reads Dupont Circle's 8.6% housing vacancy rate, a Census measure of vacant homes and apartments, as one input among many.
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 Dupont Circle?
StreetSpring scores survivability at the exact address level in Dupont Circle, so you can compare two storefronts on the same block before committing to a lease. The map below shows the highest-scoring storefront area for a Veterinary Clinic in Dupont Circle per 2026 data:
This map shows the optimal location for a Veterinary Clinic in Dupont Circle based on StreetSpring's 2026 survivability analysis. These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. 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 Dupont Circle?
| # | Business type | Chance of lasting two or more years at a good address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Veterinary Clinic | 89.6% |
| 2 | Chiropractor Office | 89.6% |
| 3 | Cafe | 84.0% |
| 4 | Coffee Shop | 84.0% |
| 5 | Spa | 84.0% |
| 6 | Hair Salon | 84.0% |
| 7 | Bar | 84.0% |
| 8 | Laundromat | 84.0% |
| 9 | Gym | 83.6% |
| 10 | Clothing Store | 83.2% |
Ties at a good address: Veterinary Clinic and Chiropractor Office are tied; Cafe, Coffee Shop, Spa, Hair Salon, Bar and Laundromat 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 Dupont Circle
- #1 Opening a Veterinary Clinic in Dupont Circle shows 79.0% average survivability. Top locations reach 89.6%; lower-end sites show 56.0%.
- #2 Chiropractor Office (Ranked #2): 78.9% average in Dupont Circle. Best-case storefronts: 90.0%. Challenging locations: 56.8%.
- #3 Cafe is ranked #3 for top businesses to open in Dupont Circle: 83.4% chance on average, best at 84.0%, challenging at 82.2%.
- #4 Coffee Shop: 82.8% on average across Dupont Circle; best at 84.0%, challenging at 48.0%.
- #5 Opening a Spa in Dupont Circle shows 78.6% average survivability. Top locations reach 84.0%; lower-end sites show 48.9%.
Strong Performers in Dupont Circle
- #6 Hair Salon (Ranked #6): 74.9% average in Dupont Circle. Best-case storefronts: 84.0%. Challenging locations: 49.8%.
- #7 Bar is ranked #7 for top businesses to open in Dupont Circle: 74.7% chance on average, best at 84.0%, challenging at 48.9%.
- #8 Laundromat: 74.4% on average across Dupont Circle; best at 84.0%, challenging at 50.7%.
- #9 Opening a Gym in Dupont Circle shows 72.4% average survivability. Top locations reach 84.0%; lower-end sites show 48.0%.
- #10 Clothing Store (Ranked #10): 69.2% average in Dupont Circle. Best-case storefronts: 84.1%. Challenging locations: 49.9%.
Top 3 Compared Nationally
- Veterinary Clinic: See how this compares to other cities →
- Chiropractor Office: See how this compares to other cities →
- Cafe: See how this compares to other cities →
How much money could a business in Dupont Circle make?
Best location vs. average location
Based on StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, following the survivability data rather than relying on intuition or foot traffic estimates in Dupont Circle 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
- Even within a high-performing neighborhood, the best location varies by business type: StreetSpring scores each combination separately.
- Where you open is a decision you can measure before you sign.
- 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.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What businesses should open next in Dupont Circle?
The top businesses to open next in Dupont Circle:
- Veterinary Clinics: 79.0% average survival rate, 89.6% at the best address
- Chiropractor Offices: 78.9% average survival rate
- Cafes: 83.4% average survival rate
These figures represent averages across a neighborhood; your specific address may score meaningfully higher or lower depending on block-level competitive conditions. StreetSpring measures competition through a 30-factor framework layered on top of proprietary consumer spending forecasts and mobility models. 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. With Dupont Circle's 98.0% employment rate factored in, the businesses best positioned to succeed here are those that benefit from a well-employed, spending-capable local consumer base. Survivability scores are recalculated regularly as new competitors open and spending patterns shift: visit StreetSpring to see the current score for any open location in Dupont Circle right now.
See the Survivability Score for your new business
Related Articles:
- See the Washington DC Business Survivability Rankings
- See the Washington DC Neighborhood Survivability Rankings
- Explore Veterinary Clinic survivability across Washington DC neighborhoods
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most common questions about opening a business in Dupont Circle.
What type of business should you rent your Dupont Circle storefront to?
Our 2026 survivability data for Dupont Circle shows that Veterinary Clinics, Chiropractor Offices, and Cafes rank as the top tenant categories for minimizing vacancy risk.
- Where you open is a decision you can measure before you sign.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate. Use StreetSpring to see the survivability score for any business type at your exact storefront address before you sign a lease.
Related: See How Landlord Representatives in Washington DC Can Reduce Vacancy & Increase Tenant Longevity
Should you rent your Dupont Circle storefront to a Veterinary Clinic?
StreetSpring's 2026 analysis strongly supports renting to a Veterinary Clinic in Dupont Circle: best-in-class addresses achieve 89.6% survivability, and even the lower-end sites come in at 56.0%.
- StreetSpring gives you a precise survivability probability for any specific address and business type combination, not a generalized estimate.
What should I consider when opening a business in Dupont Circle?
Location decisions in Dupont Circle should be grounded in Survivability Score data, not intuition. The score directly measures the competitive and spending conditions at your exact address.
- The single most important number in a location decision is the Revenue Capture Score, StreetSpring's proprietary estimate of the revenue a business can capture at a specific address.
- Each forecast is specific to the exact address and business type, generated by StreetSpring's internally developed prediction engine.
- The most current survivability data for Dupont Circle is on StreetSpring, and a free 10-minute trial is enough to check your specific address.
See the best place for your business at StreetSpring.
StreetSpring's AI platform has studied businesses serving more than 180 million+ Americans, giving its predictions a scale of validation unmatched in site-selection tools. Aggregated survivability rankings for Washington DC are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.
Full dataset for Washington DC: /resources/data/washington-dc-survivability-scores-2026.csv: includes all business subtypes, all neighborhoods, survivability scores, and tier assignments. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.