Child Care Center Feasibility Study in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about child care center lending in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Sizing up 127 Charlotte loans
Across FY2017 to FY2026, gross approvals of $175.3 million back 127 child care center loans in the Charlotte area. Half of them sit between $350,000 and $2.0 million, around a median near $757,000. The multiple to the national median for child care center is 1.67x, so Charlotte, NC loans come in above the national middle.
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia against the nation at 1.75x
7(a) outnumbers the other program in Charlotte, 104 7(a) loans to 23 504 loans. In Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, 43.3% of the 127 loans belong to a franchise brand. Of all areas, Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia is 20 of 493 on child care center loans; of all classes in Charlotte, NC, child care center is 4 of 39. A location quotient of 1.75x leaves child care center taking a bigger share of Charlotte, NC lending than nationwide. The busiest counties: Mecklenburg County, NC at 52 loans, York County, SC at 23, Iredell County, NC at 14. With NC, SC all inside the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area, rules and costs can differ across one project search.
Lenders and floors behind 127 Charlotte loans
Charlotte, NC approvals were highest in FY2025 (26 loans, $28.2 million) and lowest in FY2019 (5 loans, $9.0 million). Among 7(a) holders of child care center loans, Pinnacle Bank (TN) holds 8 loans, $17.2 million; Live Oak Banking Company holds 7 loans, $28.0 million; Bank of America, National Association holds 6 loans, $7.0 million. By count the top holder is Pinnacle Bank (TN); by dollars it is Live Oak Banking Company, so a Charlotte borrower should read the two rankings separately. Treat Pinnacle Bank (TN)'s $17.2 million as a ledger of holdings around Charlotte, not a profile of any lender. SBA 504 loans in Charlotte are listed to Business Expansion Funding Corporation with 17 loans for $30.4 million. The cancellation floor is 8.3%, while the ceiling version is one Loan Analytics withholds, and it is no zero. The missing charge-off rate is no sign of a clean record; the cohort inside 127 loans is too small to state one.
Testing a child care center project in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia
For child care center in Charlotte, the first question is the local share of working parents, competing centers and family enrollment, measured site by site. Cost comes next: a Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia budget must carry classroom furnishings, playground and outdoor space and a building fit for licensed use, each priced against Charlotte, NC quotes. Stress Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia earnings with a $350,000 loan and a $2.0 million loan, then check where coverage weakens. Charlotte, NC appraisers will value the land, the licensed building and classroom fit-out one at a time, so the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia study should do the same. 127 Charlotte, NC loans inform the study for Charlotte, yet approval of any Charlotte, NC project turns on that project (median $757,000) and its lender.
How to read Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia's $175.3 million
The project county puts each of Charlotte's 127 loans in the area. Counties such as Mecklenburg County, NC join Charlotte by name under the July 2023 delineation. Centers and family homes sit under one industry code, which means the 127 loans in Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia cannot be split between them. Rates in Charlotte, NC name their own cohort years, so cancellation (127 loans in all) and charge-off vary in span.
SBA child care center loans in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 127 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $175.3 million |
| Median loan | $757,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $350,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $2.0 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 104 |
| SBA 504 loans | 23 |
| Franchise share of loans | 43.3% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas for child care center loans | 20 of 493 |
| Rank of child care center among the classes in this area | 4 of 39 |
| Location quotient (share of loans against the national share) | 1.75x |
| Median loan against the national median for the class | 1.67x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 8.3% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA child care center loans approved in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 12 | $15.0 million |
| FY2018 | 9 | $13.3 million |
| FY2019 | 5 | $9.0 million |
| FY2020 | 11 | $21.5 million |
| FY2021 | 15 | $25.2 million |
| FY2022 | 7 | $10.9 million |
| FY2023 | 8 | $14.7 million |
| FY2024 | 17 | $13.1 million |
| FY2025 | 26 | $28.2 million |
| FY2026 | 17 | $24.3 million |
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 17 | $30.4 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Pinnacle Bank (TN) | 8 | $17.2 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 7 | $28.0 million |
| Bank of America, National Association | 6 | $7.0 million |
| TowneBank | 6 | $5.9 million |
| TD Bank, National Association | 6 | $4.1 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Mecklenburg County, NC | 52 |
| York County, SC | 23 |
| Iredell County, NC | 14 |
| Cabarrus County, NC | 10 |
| Union County, NC | 10 |
| Gaston County, NC | 9 |
| Lancaster County, SC | 9 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
Family child care homes cannot be separated from centers.
Shared code: 624410 also holds in-home child care.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MA-16740-C36.
Related feasibility study pages
- Child care center feasibility study and SBA loan data
- Feasibility Study Data for the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC Metro Area
- Child Care Center Feasibility Study in North Carolina
- Child Care Center Feasibility Study in South Carolina
- Feasibility study data and consultants for North Carolina
- Feasibility study data and consultants for South Carolina
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
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