San Francisco: child care center

San Francisco approved child care center loans: 177 in FY2017 to FY2026, worth $186.6 million. San Francisco ranks 13 of 493 for the class on 177 loans among metro areas; in San Francisco, the class ranks 4 of 39. San Francisco's location quotient reads 1.33x on 177 loans: a far heavier concentration. San Francisco's $793,000 median differs from area and class.

$793,000 marks the median of 177 loans, well above the national figure (1.75x), and $310,000 to $1.3 million bounds San Francisco's middle half. Of 177 loans in San Francisco, 128 used 7(a) and 49 used 504. 14.7% is the franchise share of 177 loans; the rest are independents.

San Francisco's 7(a) table, 15 loans at Wells Fargo Bank National Association, $12.9 million; 14 at U.S. Bank, National Association, $13.7 million; 11 at Live Oak Banking Company, $20.3 million; 8 at Fremont Bank, $9.9 million; 7 at KeyPoint CU, $10.9 million. San Francisco's 504 table, 24 loans at The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation, $31.5 million; 10 at Capital Access Group, Inc., $10.4 million; 9 at Bay Area Employment Development Company, $12.9 million. San Francisco: holders under 5 loans go unnamed. San Francisco county counts, 177 loans: Alameda County, CA 65; Contra Costa County, CA 44; San Mateo County, CA 33.

The San Francisco loans' fate

9.9% at minimum: San Francisco's cancelled share through FY2024. San Francisco's ceiling for undisbursed loans: withheld. San Francisco charge-offs: too few, not zero. San Francisco floors may rise with open loans. San Francisco approvals ran from 10 loans and $6.2 million in FY2017 to 20 loans and $18.0 million in FY2026, peaking at 26 in FY2025 and dipping to 10 in FY2017. San Francisco loans per year: FY2017 10, FY2018 17, FY2019 21, FY2020 12, FY2021 15, FY2022 17, FY2023 16, FY2024 23, FY2025 26, FY2026 20. Yearly dollars: FY2017 $6.2 million, FY2018 $20.3 million, FY2019 $19.5 million, FY2020 $17.9 million, FY2021 $18.8 million, FY2022 $19.8 million, FY2023 $26.6 million, FY2024 $19.4 million, FY2025 $20.0 million, FY2026 $18.0 million.

San Francisco: the study's tests

San Francisco approvals ran from 10 in FY2017 to 26 in FY2025; for San Francisco, plan for licensing delays. San Francisco's quotient, 1.33x: count rivals by age group. Across 177 loans, licensed enrollment in San Francisco carries $793,000. San Francisco: facing slow enrollment, debt service holds with $186.6 million approved. For 177 loans in San Francisco, classroom costs outside $310,000 to $1.3 million need cases. For 177 approvals in San Francisco, appraisers weigh special purpose resale.

San Francisco's 177 loans may include in-home child care. San Francisco's 177 loans are placed by project county. San Francisco follows the July 2023 delineation. San Francisco drops unplaceable counties from $186.6 million. Treat 177 loans as a guide to San Francisco, not a census.

SBA child care center loans in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	177
Gross dollars approved	$186.6 million
Median loan	$793,000
Middle half of loans, from	$310,000
Middle half of loans, to	$1.3 million
SBA 7(a) loans	128
SBA 504 loans	49
Franchise share of loans	14.7%
Rank among metro and micro areas for child care center loans	13 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)	1.33x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.75x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	9.9%
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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	10	$6.2 million
FY2018	17	$20.3 million
FY2019	21	$19.5 million
FY2020	12	$17.9 million
FY2021	15	$18.8 million
FY2022	17	$19.8 million
FY2023	16	$26.6 million
FY2024	23	$19.4 million
FY2025	26	$20.0 million
FY2026	20	$18.0 million

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation	24	$31.5 million
Capital Access Group, Inc.	10	$10.4 million
Bay Area Employment Development Company	9	$12.9 million

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Wells Fargo Bank National Association	15	$12.9 million
U.S. Bank, National Association	14	$13.7 million
Live Oak Banking Company	11	$20.3 million
Fremont Bank	8	$9.9 million
KeyPoint CU	7	$10.9 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
Alameda County, CA	65
Contra Costa County, CA	44
San Mateo County, CA	33

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-41860-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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA 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 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area