Gas Station Feasibility Study in the Waco, TX Metro Area

Waco: fuel stops lead by a wide margin

In Waco, TX, gas stations and truck stops are the first-ranked class of 39, and the area stands 34 of 600 for them. The location quotient of 8.64x is the loudest number on the page: fuel retailers fill a far larger share of Waco's loan book than of the national one. By contrast the median loan, $1.1 million, is 1.00x the national median, so Waco's loans are no larger than normal; there are simply more of them. The file counts 37 loans and $52.7 million from FY2017 to FY2026, every one under 7(a), with 0 under 504.

Middle-half loans go from $728,000 to $2.3 million. Franchise units form 51.4% of the 37. SBA lists Metro City Bank as the holder of 9 loans worth $10.5 million. McLennan County carries 26 loans and Bosque County 11, so the record reaches well beyond the city into a neighbouring rural county, which matters when a site is on a highway edge rather than in town.

What the industry code hides

The code records the borrower's industry, and Waco's fuel class cannot tell a truck stop or travel center from a gas station without a store; both share one code. Charging stations for electric vehicles do not appear in the 2022 industry index, so the file is silent on them. Read the 37 as fuel retailers broadly, not as one format. Two years publish: FY2019 with 5 loans and $8.2 million, and FY2022 with 5 loans and $4.7 million. Waco's remaining years sit below the publishing floor. Waco shows no cancellation or charge-off rate, its cohort having fewer than 30 loans.

Testing a fuel and convenience site near Waco

Any study for a Waco fuel site needs gallons per day and inside sales estimated separately, with margin on each, then set against tanks, canopy, building and land. Environmental history of the parcel deserves early attention, as does whether the property is appraised as real estate or as a going concern. Debt service should be shown covered with fuel margin squeezed. Given a $1.1 million median and the 8.64x location quotient, a lender will ask what makes this specific corner worth adding to an area already well served, and our study answers that with traffic and competitor evidence.