Worked Example: USDA B&I Gas Station Feasibility Study in Oregon
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Oregon, financed with a USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan.
Feasibility Study Data for the Salem, OR Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Salem, OR Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Salem at a glance
Salem drew 941 SBA approvals across FY2017 to FY2026, worth $380.3 million gross. 102 of 928 is the Salem place when areas are ordered by loans. The Salem median loan is $50,000. $25,000 to $382,500 spans the Salem middle half. 0.24x is the Salem median set beside the national one. In Salem, 881 loans were 7(a) and 60 were 504. Salem shows a franchise share of 6.8%. Salem dollars add to $380.3 million.
Salem: classes and counties
In Salem, full-service restaurant leads at 38 loans. Limited-service restaurant follows with 21. Automotive mechanical repair follows with 20. That is the Salem class lead. Next in Salem comes fitness center at 14 loans. Outside every class stand 752 Salem loans, so each Salem project is judged on its own facts. The counties carrying most Salem loans: Marion County, OR (789) and Polk County, OR (152).
Salem: SBA holders
A Salem lender row names today's holder, which can differ from an earlier holder. Among Salem 7(a) holders: 352 loans at Columbia Bank (OR) ($41.8 million), 132 loans at U.S. Bank, National Association ($21.2 million), and 49 loans at KeyBank National Association ($17.1 million). Salem holders under 504 include Cascade Capital Funding (26 loans, $12.6 million) and Evergreen Business Capital (15 loans, $11.3 million). In Salem, a borrower treats the rows as context. Salem rows promise no one a loan.
Salem: what the floors can say
Salem cancellation, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals: 14.9%. It is a floor for Salem. Loan Analytics withholds the Salem ceiling: too few loans stand behind it. 372 Salem loans make the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort; 5.1% are charged off, a floor. Within five years of approval, Salem stands at 3.5%. Salem rates are floors. Loans season, and Salem events can still raise them. In Salem, a county name places each loan. For Salem, the July 2023 list governs. Salem omits loans with no county match. Salem totals count loans outside the tracked classes.
Salem: the feasibility questions
The Salem trend peaks in FY2025 with 121 loans ($55.8 million) and bottoms in FY2017 with 64 ($30.9 million). FY2026 closes the Salem series at 86 loans, $51.7 million. A Salem study weighs local demand against Marion County, OR competitors, not national patterns. Cost follows in Salem: site, build and equipment priced against a $50,000 median. Salem is 0.24x of the national one. A Salem study runs coverage on a slow ramp. Salem history of cancellations argues for it. The Salem appraisal uses area sales and income evidence. Sponsor equity and reserves in Salem are shown beside Marion County, OR costs. The Salem study states its limits beside Marion County, OR findings.
SBA loans in the Salem, OR Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 941 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $380.3 million |
| Median loan | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $25,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $382,500 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 881 |
| SBA 504 loans | 60 |
| Franchise share of loans | 6.8% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 102 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.24x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 14.9% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.1% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 3.5% |
| Loans in that cohort | 372 |
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 Salem, OR Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 64 | $30.9 million |
| FY2018 | 89 | $35.0 million |
| FY2019 | 103 | $31.5 million |
| FY2020 | 98 | $26.2 million |
| FY2021 | 85 | $34.0 million |
| FY2022 | 101 | $54.5 million |
| FY2023 | 74 | $38.9 million |
| FY2024 | 120 | $21.6 million |
| FY2025 | 121 | $55.8 million |
| FY2026 | 86 | $51.7 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 752 |
| Full-service restaurant | 38 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 21 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 20 |
| Fitness center | 14 |
| Liquor store | 10 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 8 |
| Beauty salon | 8 |
| Hotel and motel | 7 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 7 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 6 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 6 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 6 |
| Child care center | 6 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 6 |
| Car wash | 5 |
| Dental office | 5 |
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cascade Capital Funding | 26 | $12.6 million |
| Evergreen Business Capital | 15 | $11.3 million |
| The Mortgage Capital Development Corporation | 9 | $26.0 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Columbia Bank (OR) | 352 | $41.8 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 132 | $21.2 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 49 | $17.1 million |
| Wells Fargo Bank National Association | 36 | $13.5 million |
| Banc of California | 30 | $47.8 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.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Marion County, OR | 789 |
| Polk County, OR | 152 |
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-41420.
Related feasibility study pages
- Oregon feasibility study company
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
- Feasibility Study Data for the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Eugene-Springfield, OR Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Bend, OR Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Medford, OR Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Astoria, OR Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Newport, OR Micro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Albany, OR Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Roseburg, OR Micro Area
Feasibility study data by asset class in the Salem, OR Metro Area
Worked examples
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Salem, OR 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.
Request Scope & Timeline
Start with the data.
Contact Us