Feasibility Study Data for the Columbus, OH Metro Area

What the record shows for Columbus

7,338 loans for projects in Columbus, OH over FY2017 through FY2026 come to $2.58 billion gross. Separately, Columbus stands at 20 of 928 within the full set of metropolitan and micropolitan areas by loans. In addition, $101,850 stands as the median; the central half extends from $50,000 to $336,000. Also, the local median is 0.49x against the median nationwide, meaning loans tend to run less than what the country sees. For context, Columbus counts only projects inside its borders, where a state page gives a statewide average: 7,338 loans in total.

Programs, franchises and lenders in Columbus

6,906 loans under 7(a) accompany 432 loans under 504. Also, 11.4% of the approvals involve franchisees in this area. Separately, under 7(a) loans, the largest lending names on loan count come out as The Huntington National Bank with 3,696 loans and $711.8 million, Telhio Credit Union Inc booking 402 loans for $106.2 million, plus U.S. Bank, National Association at 211 loans worth $39.5 million. Under 504 lending, the biggest CDCs on loan count rank as Community Capital Development Corporation holding 202 loans totalling $131.6 million then Ohio Statewide Development Corporation booking 184 loans for $106.8 million. Beyond that, the names here come from SBA's own records for 7,338 approvals; they list past loans and no more, never what lenders want in Columbus.

Asset classes and counties in Columbus

368 in full-service restaurant, 208 for limited-service restaurant, 203 for child care center; and fitness center with 127 rank first by class in loan count. Next, 5,502 loans lie apart from the named classes, so its $2.58 billion total is wider than any class table. Next, 5 loans in school within Columbus are too few to read as a pattern. In turn, among the counties, Franklin County (4,706), Delaware County (1,001); and Licking County (590) head the county list. In practice, taking each approval year, FY2017 starts at 716 loans and $235.9 million; FY2024 is the high point at 935 loans and $280.2 million, while FY2026, a year not fully booked, closes the sequence at 519 loans and $293.8 million.

What the floors allow in Columbus

10.7% among FY2017 through FY2024 loans in Columbus were cancelled before they funded, a floor; 12.4% is the upper bound if undisbursed loans count. 4.9% among FY2017 through FY2021 loans disbursed in Columbus have been charged off, and that is a floor; 2.9% were charged off inside the first five years after approval, out of 3,058 disbursed loans. Read every rate above as a lower bound, because approvals made in the latest years got little runway to cancel or default, and the file holds 7,338 loans. Also, each area here is defined as the CBSA that takes in the loan's county of project, under July 2023 boundaries as issued; counties are tied by name, but any loan whose site county has no CBSA is missing from every area without exception. Counting every class and none, every approval in either program inside the area is included in its $2.58 billion total.

The feasibility questions for Columbus

Within Columbus, a study covering a venture should start at the actual proposal, not from the 7,338-loan file. Beyond that, customer demand in Columbus is tested first: does Columbus's local customer base sustain the turnover planned, net of nearby competition in and near Franklin County? The local median is 0.49x of the median nationwide, so many deals are small; a larger project needs to show why its size is sound. Separately, debt service coverage joins revenue to cost for Columbus: projected operating income compared with the annual debt service, with a stress case. An independent appraisal completes the test in Columbus: value as built has to bear the amount put forward. Here, any borrower carrying an outside written study for Columbus, before meeting a lender, has answered the outcome floors up front; the call is made by SBA's reviewers and the lender in Columbus, and no study can promise it.