Feasibility Study Data for the El Centro, CA Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the El Centro, CA Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
El Centro: volume, rank and loan size
El Centro drew 213 SBA approvals across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $186.4 million gross. By loan count, El Centro stands 302 of 928 among all areas. El Centro loans center on $350,000, the median. $100,000 to $1.0 million spans the El Centro middle half. The El Centro median sits at 1.68x nationally. In El Centro, 178 loans were 7(a) and 35 were 504. Franchise brands account for 14.6% of El Centro loans. Those 213 El Centro loans carry $186.4 million.
El Centro: asset mix and geography
Gas station and truck stop (15) tops El Centro; hotel and motel (14) and limited-service restaurant (12) follow. Fourth in El Centro is medical office, with 9 loans. 117 loans in El Centro fit no class, so El Centro class patterns say less. El Centro consists of Imperial County, CA, where SBA places 213 loans.
El Centro: lenders in the record
The names below are current holders in SBA's record. Among El Centro 7(a) holders: Frontwave Credit Union (36 loans, $18.1 million), Wells Fargo Bank National Association (26 loans, $6.4 million), and JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association (11 loans, $2.0 million). El Centro 504 holders include 15 loans at CDC Small Business Finance Corp. ($16.1 million), 7 loans at California Statewide Certified Development Corporation ($9.3 million), and 5 loans at AMPAC Tri-State CDC, Inc. ($5.7 million). For a El Centro borrower, the rows are context only. No El Centro row recommends any institution.
El Centro: what the floors can say
Of El Centro approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, 7.2% were cancelled, a floor. The El Centro ceiling is 9.9%, counting undisbursed loans as cancelled. El Centro charge-offs are 5.2% among the 116 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, a floor. The El Centro five-year rate is withheld by Loan Analytics: the cohort has under 30 loans. El Centro rates are floors. Loans season, and El Centro events can still raise them. El Centro is built from county names. El Centro follows the July 2023 delineation. El Centro omits loans with no county match. The El Centro total includes loans outside the classes.
El Centro: testing a project
The El Centro trend peaks in FY2021 with 34 loans ($40.7 million) and bottoms in FY2026 with 8 ($16.7 million). FY2017 opened the El Centro series with 25 loans ($14.4 million). The latest year, FY2026, shows 8 loans and $16.7 million for El Centro. A El Centro feasibility study tests demand first, from Imperial County, CA outward, not from the area average. The El Centro median is $350,000. Set El Centro budgets beside it; nationally it is 1.68x. Coverage for El Centro is run on weaker income. El Centro floors shape that downside. El Centro value is tested against cost by appraisal. El Centro comparables decide how. Sources and uses in El Centro must tie to bids near Imperial County, CA. The El Centro study states its limits beside Imperial County, CA findings.
SBA loans in the El Centro, CA Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 213 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $186.4 million |
| Median loan | $350,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $1.0 million |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 178 |
| SBA 504 loans | 35 |
| Franchise share of loans | 14.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 302 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.68x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 7.2% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 9.9% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.2% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 116 |
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 loans approved in the El Centro, CA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 25 | $14.4 million |
| FY2018 | 25 | $15.2 million |
| FY2019 | 25 | $17.4 million |
| FY2020 | 17 | $20.4 million |
| FY2021 | 34 | $40.7 million |
| FY2022 | 20 | $19.1 million |
| FY2023 | 18 | $19.5 million |
| FY2024 | 17 | $3.5 million |
| FY2025 | 24 | $19.5 million |
| FY2026 | 8 | $16.7 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 117 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 15 |
| Hotel and motel | 14 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 12 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 9 |
| Full-service restaurant | 9 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| CDC Small Business Finance Corp. | 15 | $16.1 million |
| California Statewide Certified Development Corporation | 7 | $9.3 million |
| AMPAC Tri-State CDC, Inc. | 5 | $5.7 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Frontwave Credit Union | 36 | $18.1 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 26 | $6.4 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 17 | $16.9 million |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 11 | $2.0 million |
| Enterprise Bank & Trust | 8 | $15.7 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 |
|---|---|
| Imperial County, CA | 213 |
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.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
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 MT-20940.
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