Child Care Center Feasibility Study in Idaho

Idaho child care borrows well below the class median

Idaho child care operators borrow far less than their counterparts nationally. The median of 95 SBA approvals from FY2017 to FY2026 was $240,000, just 0.53x what child care borrowers take at the median nationwide, and the Idaho median is where this cell clears our margin against both the Idaho all-asset book and the class across the country. The middle half of Idaho loans ran from $111,500 to $532,500, with $44.7 million approved in all. Smaller loans usually mean leased space, acquisitions of existing centers and equipment rather than new purpose-built schools, although the upper quartile shows that some Idaho projects do include property.

The class ranks 8 of 39 among Idaho asset classes, Idaho ranks 26 of 53 for child care lending, and the location quotient of 0.94x keeps it near its national weight. Franchise centers are rare at 3.2%. Activity has picked up lately: FY2026 alone brought 14 approvals worth $11.3 million.

Idaho lenders and the program split

SBA 7(a) carries 73 approvals and SBA 504 22. Northwest Bank holds 12 loans worth $2.6 million and Idaho Central CU 8 worth $6.4 million, followed by First Interstate Bank and Zions Bancorporation, National Association with 7 each and Mountain America FCU with 5. On the 504 side, Capital Matrix, Inc. holds 8 and East-Central Idaho Development Company 5. A borrower buying a building will likely meet one of those development companies; a borrower buying a going concern will more likely work with a 7(a) bank or credit union.

Floors, and what a study must show

Idaho's cancellation floor for FY2017 through FY2024 approvals is 7.0%, and the ceiling is also 7.0%, which means essentially no Idaho approval from that window is still waiting on disbursement. Among 44 Idaho centers funded in FY2017 through FY2021, charge-offs so far stand at 0.00%, and at 0.00% inside five years. The Idaho cohort is still repaying, so these describe past performance only.

A feasibility study for an Idaho center has to count Idaho children by age band within the drive parents will actually make, the licensed capacity the building supports, and the staffing that capacity requires. Ada County holds 46 approvals, Kootenai 16, Canyon 12 and Bonneville 9, so a project elsewhere has less local history to lean on. Cost work should price build-out, playground and code requirements at current quotes. Debt service coverage must rest on tuition at a sustainable occupancy, and where Idaho real estate is financed, its appraisal must stand without the business. The SBA code also covers family child care run in homes, so the Idaho figures mix home-based providers with centers.