Worked Example: Conventional Bank Gas Station Feasibility Study in Missouri
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Missouri, financed with a conventional bank loan.
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
For Joplin, SBA shows $212.8 million on 447 loans, FY2017 to FY2026. By loan count, Joplin stands 182 of 928 among all areas. Joplin loans center on $191,000, the median. Joplin middle half: $95,500 to $553,850. Joplin: 0.92x of the national median. By program, Joplin has 435 7(a) loans and 12 504 loans. Joplin shows a franchise share of 7.8%. Those 447 Joplin loans carry $212.8 million.
Class by class, Joplin shows full-service restaurant (18), limited-service restaurant (17), and automotive mechanical repair (13) on top. Fourth in Joplin is fitness center, with 11 loans. 329 Joplin loans sit in no tracked class. Most Joplin credit is general business lending. SBA assigns Joplin loans mostly to Jasper County, MO (331), Newton County, MO (106), and Cherokee County, KS (10).
In Joplin, a holder can differ from the maker. Joplin lists, for 7(a), 55 loans at Guaranty Bank ($18.6 million) and 33 loans at U.S. Bank, National Association ($1.8 million). The Joplin 504 table lists no lender: counts are low. For a Joplin borrower, these rows give background only. Joplin rows promise no one a loan.
Joplin cancellation, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals: 9.6%. It is a floor for Joplin. Treating undisbursed Joplin loans as cancelled gives 9.6%, the ceiling. Joplin charge-offs: 4.8% among 189 loans disbursed FY2017 to FY2021, a floor. Joplin withholds a five-year rate: Joplin loans are too few. Joplin rates are floors. Loans season, and Joplin events can still raise them. Joplin loans are placed by county name. For Joplin, the July 2023 list governs. Joplin omits loans with no county match. Joplin totals hold untracked-class loans too.
Joplin approvals were thinnest in FY2019 (28 loans, $10.8 million) and heaviest in FY2021 (56 loans, $27.4 million). FY2017 opened the Joplin series with 35 loans ($10.4 million). FY2026 closes the Joplin series at 53 loans, $36.5 million. For a project near Jasper County, MO, the Joplin study opens with demand: payers, frequency, price. Joplin costs sit beside a $191,000 median. Joplin stands at 0.92x nationally. Joplin coverage cannot assume smooth sailing. Joplin floors say why. The Joplin appraisal rests on area comparables. The study reconciles value and cost for Joplin readers. Absorption near Jasper County, MO is tested for Joplin on a slow case. The Joplin study states its limits beside Jasper County, MO findings.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 447 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $212.8 million |
| Median loan | $191,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $95,500 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $553,850 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 435 |
| SBA 504 loans | 12 |
| Franchise share of loans | 7.8% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 182 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.92x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 9.6% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 4.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 189 |
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 Joplin, MO-KS Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 35 | $10.4 million |
| FY2018 | 49 | $14.6 million |
| FY2019 | 28 | $10.8 million |
| FY2020 | 37 | $15.7 million |
| FY2021 | 56 | $27.4 million |
| FY2022 | 44 | $18.4 million |
| FY2023 | 45 | $30.9 million |
| FY2024 | 50 | $26.7 million |
| FY2025 | 50 | $21.4 million |
| FY2026 | 53 | $36.5 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 329 |
| Full-service restaurant | 18 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 17 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 13 |
| Fitness center | 11 |
| Child care center | 9 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 9 |
| Hotel and motel | 7 |
| Car wash | 6 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 5 |
| Liquor store | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| OakStar Bank | 125 | $71.8 million |
| Guaranty Bank | 55 | $18.6 million |
| Arvest Bank | 44 | $8.3 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 33 | $1.8 million |
| Southwest Missouri Bank | 19 | $5.8 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.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Jasper County, MO | 331 |
| Newton County, MO | 106 |
| Cherokee County, KS | 10 |
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-27900.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Missouri, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Joplin, MO-KS 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.
Start with the data.
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