Cleveland: child care center

SBA records 103 child care center loans for Cleveland, with $52.4 million approved from FY2017 to FY2026. Cleveland holds spot 23 of 493 among metro areas on 103 loans; in Cleveland, the class holds 5 of 39. Cleveland: the 0.84x quotient shows a lighter concentration. With 103 loans behind it, $185,000 in Cleveland sits near its parents; ranks and the 0.84x quotient decide.

$185,000 in Cleveland, well below the national median (0.41x), is its median; Cleveland's middle half spans $65,000 to $588,000. Program choice in Cleveland: 89 used 7(a), 14 used 504. 20.4% of the 103 loans went to franchisees.

Cleveland's 7(a) table, 48 loans held by The Huntington National Bank, $13.0 million; 11 held by KeyBank National Association, $7.1 million. Cleveland's 504 table, 7 loans held by Growth Capital Corp., $3.6 million. Cleveland leaves holders under 5 loans unnamed. Cleveland counties, of 103 loans: Cuyahoga County, OH 71; Lorain County, OH 10; Lake County, OH 9; Medina County, OH 7.

Outcome floors in Cleveland and approvals

19.5% or more of Cleveland approvals were cancelled by FY2024. Cleveland's undisbursed-loan ceiling is withheld. Cleveland charge-off floor: withheld, not zero. Cleveland: the cohort is too small. Cleveland open loans may raise floors. Cleveland, moving from 13 loans and $9.5 million in FY2017, ended on 13 loans and $3.0 million in FY2024; the peak was 13 loans and $9.5 million in FY2017, the trough 5 in FY2018. Loans by year in Cleveland: FY2017 13, FY2018 5, FY2019 10, FY2020 12, FY2021 11, FY2022 12, FY2023 6, FY2024 13. Dollars per year: FY2017 $9.5 million, FY2018 $1.4 million, FY2019 $3.4 million, FY2020 $10.5 million, FY2021 $5.6 million, FY2022 $4.1 million, FY2023 $948,500, FY2024 $3.0 million. Missing Cleveland years are withheld, not zero.

Cleveland: what a feasibility study must prove

Cleveland's quotient, 0.84x: count rivals by age group. Across 103 loans, licensed enrollment in Cleveland carries $185,000. Cleveland: facing slow enrollment, debt service holds with $52.4 million approved. For 103 loans in Cleveland, classroom costs outside $65,000 to $588,000 need cases. For 103 approvals in Cleveland, appraisers weigh special purpose resale. Cleveland approvals ran from 5 in FY2018 to 13 in FY2017; for Cleveland, plan for licensing delays.

Cleveland's 103 loans blend centers with family homes. Cleveland counts 103 loans by project county. Cleveland borders follow the July 2023 delineation. Cleveland omits counties it cannot place. 103 loans are a rough guide to Cleveland, not a census.

SBA child care center loans in the Cleveland, OH Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	103
Gross dollars approved	$52.4 million
Median loan	$185,000
Middle half of loans, from	$65,000
Middle half of loans, to	$588,000
SBA 7(a) loans	89
SBA 504 loans	14
Franchise share of loans	20.4%
Rank among metro and micro areas for child care center loans	23 of 493
Rank of child care center among the classes in this area	5 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	0.84x
Median loan against the national median for the class	0.41x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	19.5%
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 Cleveland, OH Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	13	$9.5 million
FY2018	5	$1.4 million
FY2019	10	$3.4 million
FY2020	12	$10.5 million
FY2021	11	$5.6 million
FY2022	12	$4.1 million
FY2023	6	$948,500
FY2024	13	$3.0 million
FY2025	withheld	withheld
FY2026	withheld	withheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Growth Capital Corp.	7	$3.6 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
The Huntington National Bank	48	$13.0 million
KeyBank National Association	11	$7.1 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
Cuyahoga County, OH	71
Lorain County, OH	10
Lake County, OH	9
Medina County, OH	7

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-17410-C36.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a child care center project in the Cleveland, OH Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Child Care Center Feasibility Study in the Cleveland, OH Metro Area