SBA 504 Child Care Center Feasibility Study in New Jersey

Child care center loans in New Jersey: size and franchising

SBA lists 43 SBA 504 loans to child care centers in New Jersey between FY2017 and FY2026, with $55.3 million in gross dollars approved in New Jersey. As a measure of scale in New Jersey, the median is $1.0 million, and loans from $379,500 to $1.8 million form the middle half in New Jersey. Relative to child care centers nationwide under SBA 504, the New Jersey figure is 1.34x, a higher tilt for child care centers in New Jersey. Brand affiliation touches 32.6% of the child care centers loans in New Jersey.

Rank 14 among states and 2 of 39 among New Jersey classes: that is how New Jersey child care centers stand under SBA 504. FY2019 was the New Jersey high point, 9 loans and $5.7 million together, and FY2026 records 3 loans for $4.4 million. In New Jersey, 504 lending to child care runs above the national median and ranks 2 of 39 among classes in the state, which makes this slice more telling than the blended page.

The largest holder SBA shows for this New Jersey cell is Trenton Business Assistance Corporation, with 24 loans and $27.5 million. After it, SBA shows Empire State Certified Development Corporation, which holds 16 loans valued at $25.4 million. Trenton Business Assistance Corporation heads New Jersey's list in SBA's file on 43 loans: a record of child care centers loans held, rating no lender. Bergen holds the most New Jersey loans among counties, 6, followed by Morris at 6 and Middlesex at 5. Further down the list stand Union 5, Camden 4 and Atlantic 3.

Cancellation and loss figures for New Jersey child care centers

Across FY2017 to FY2024 approvals in New Jersey, a cancellation floor of 17.1%; the ceiling, with undisbursed loans included, reaches 22.9%. Charge-offs cannot be given: too few New Jersey loans were funded, which says nothing about New Jersey either way. New Jersey's code gives home-based care and centers the same line. Financing without SBA never enters New Jersey's tables.

Testing a New Jersey child care building

Show the building first: land, structure and playground priced separately, with enrollment near Bergen covering them. The 504 structure puts a development company and a bank on the same property, so the plan must satisfy both. Licensed capacity caps enrollment, and wages and turnover drive cost. Should the operator leave, who else could occupy a purpose-built center? An appraiser will ask. Test a typical loan near $1.0 million with a slow first year and a staffing shortage, and compare tuition with what nearby families can bear.