Physical Therapy Clinic Feasibility Study in California

California ranks 1 of 54 among states for SBA loans to rehabilitation and therapy clinics, with 349 approvals and $163.7 million from FY2017 to FY2026. The class is a small part of the state's SBA market, though: therapy clinics sit 18 of 39 among California classes, and their location quotient of 0.77x is below the share they take nationally. The clinic median of $252,700 is what separates the cell from both comparators: it is 1.68x the national median for the class.

Larger tickets for clinics that own their space

The middle half of California clinic loans runs from $102,700 to $596,000. SBA 7(a) carries 276 of the approvals and SBA 504 carries 73, a real estate share that helps explain the higher median: some California clinic owners are buying their space. The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation and California Statewide Certified Development Corporation hold 14 of the 504 loans each. JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association holds 31 of the 7(a) loans but only $6.5 million, while U.S. Bank, National Association holds 24 worth $21.6 million, a sign of larger loans in its book; Newtek Bank, National Association holds 22. Holder names follow SBA's record of who owns each clinic loan now. Franchise units are 2.9% of loans.

Outcomes for California therapy clinics

The charge-off floor is 2.5% across 121 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, with 1.7% lost within the first five years. Clinic cancellations range from a floor of 12.5% to a ceiling of 12.9%, so few approved clinic loans were left waiting to fund. Lending has grown: FY2017 brought 23 approvals and $6.7 million, FY2024 brought 44 and $24.4 million, and FY2025 and FY2026 brought 55 and 54. For a lender, that growth means more recent loans whose outcomes are not yet in the cohort.

What a California clinic study must test

Demand for a therapy clinic comes through referrals, so the study has to document referring physicians, payer contracts and visit volume in the trade area. Los Angeles County leads clinic approvals with 74, then Orange with 46, San Diego with 38 and San Bernardino with 23. Cost testing covers treatment space, equipment and, if the clinic buys, its building. Coverage should be run on reimbursed visits per therapist, with payer mix and denials stressed, because reimbursement rather than demand often sets the ceiling on revenue. Where real estate is bought, the appraisal must stand on comparables for small medical and flex space. The therapy class has no coding caveat of its own, and both outcome rates are floors.