SBA 7(a) Child Care Center Feasibility Study in Idaho

Idaho child care: low loan sizes and an unblemished funded cohort

In the Idaho class ranking child care comes 8 of 39, and the state is placed 27 among states for 7(a) loans to it. SBA approved 73 loans from FY2017 to FY2026, adding up to $37.9 million. The distinctive metric is size: the median loan of $240,000 is 0.62x of the national figure, and the bulk of loans lie between $50,000 and $581,000. Franchising reaches only 4.1% of loans, so most financed centers are independent. For the 33 loans of the early funded cohort no charge-offs are recorded (0.00% now, 0.00% at five years), while cancellations are 9.8% on both the floor and ceiling measure.

Credit unions in the lender table

Northwest Bank holds 12 loans for $2.6 million. Idaho Central CU holds 8 for $6.4 million, a high average, and First Interstate Bank 7 for $3.4 million. Zions Bancorporation, National Association also holds 7, but only $539,800 in total, while Mountain America FCU holds 5 for $678,700. SBA lists present holders, and nothing here speaks to how any institution lends. Ada County has 38 of the loans, Kootenai 15, Canyon 9 and Bonneville 5. Annual dollars ranged from $1.3 million in FY2018 to $6.2 million in FY2022 and $11.3 million in FY2026, the peak of the whole series.

One code, centres and homes

The code behind this class also contains family child care homes run from a residence, so these figures cannot isolate licensed centers. A zero charge-off rate is a floor, since open loans may still fail, and the cohort is modest.

What an Idaho child care study has to test

Idaho's lower median means many projects are fit-outs, equipment or modest buildings, so the study should state what is being financed and whether the property is owned or leased. Licensing comes first: the capacity the space can be approved for, ages served, outdoor area and staffing ratios. Demand must be local, using households with young children near the site, working-parent patterns, the number of licensed seats already available and local tuition rates. Payroll dominates costs, so enrollment ramp and teacher retention need explicit assumptions, with the payment covered at a realistic fill rate. Seasonal swings, such as summer school-age programs, belong in the forecast. If the borrower buys a building, the appraiser will ask whether it could serve another use. Because Ada County alone has 38 of the loans, a site elsewhere in Idaho needs its own demand evidence rather than borrowed metro data.