Gas Station Feasibility Study in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area

Cincinnati fuel stations: thin local weight, spread across three states

Gas stations and truck stops carry a location quotient of only 0.44x in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN Metro Area, and the class holds 14 of 39 on the local list. The metro still stands 43 of 600 for the class, and with $500,000 as the median loan, 0.48x the nationwide median, the loans are about half the usual size. For FY2017 to FY2026 the area has 29 approvals totaling $15.7 million, and brand-affiliated stations are 44.8% of loans.

Counties, years and holders

The area crosses a state line: Kenton County, KY, Clermont County, OH and Hamilton County, OH each carry 6 loans, and Campbell County, KY carries 5. A wide range from $52,500 to $761,300 holds the middle half of loans. FY2021 shows 10 loans and $5.2 million, and FY2024 records none ($0). The Huntington National Bank holds 10 loans valued at $3.5 million on SBA's books, and no lending preference follows. Under RiverHills Bank (OH), SBA files 6 loans and $3.7 million, and no lending preference follows. The smaller block carries the larger dollar sum, a reminder that counts and dollars tell different stories.

Coding limits and blanks

The industry is whatever the borrower reports, which leaves travel centers and truck stops indistinguishable from stations without a store, and a charging site has no heading in the 2022 index. Program counts are not shown. Cincinnati withholds cancellation and charge-off floors, because 29 approvals leave a thin early group, and a blank is not a zero.

Implications

A median of $500,000 together with a wide middle range suggests that many loans here are for acquisitions or upgrades of existing sites rather than for ground-up stations. A borrower with a larger plan should expect to explain the gap in scale. Lenders will ask for environmental history, since fuel sites carry tank and cleanup obligations that bear on collateral.

What a Cincinnati-area study must test

Fuel volume comes first: gallons at the site, tested against traffic counts, competing pumps and the entry from the road, with the state line in mind where tax or regulation might differ, which the study should verify rather than assume. In-store sales and food service need their own build-up. The budget should set out tank age, closure and cleanup cost. A lender needs to see the payment covered when fuel margin slips, and an appraiser should keep land and building apart from the going business, so that value is not overstated.