SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in California

The costliest gas station loans in this group

California fuel station borrowers take large loans, and the median proves it. The FY2017 to FY2026 file holds 1,112 loans worth $2.34 billion, with a median of $1.8 million that is 1.64x the program's median for this class across the country. Half of the loans fall between $958,000 and $3.0 million. California ranks second among states by number of loans, and fuel retail takes seventh place of 39 on California's own class table. Franchising is heavy at 59.8%, so a majority of borrowers carry a brand's name over the pumps.

A charge-off record that is distinctive

The charge-off measure is one of this cell's distinctive metrics. The disbursed cohort of 524 loans from FY2017 to FY2021 shows a charged-off share of only 0.19% so far, identical to the 0.19% recorded inside five years. Open loans may still fail, but that is far below the loss rates seen for restaurants and many service businesses. Cancellation is a different matter: across FY2017 to FY2024, cancellation reaches at least 15.4%, or 15.5% when undisbursed loans are counted. Many approvals never close, while those that do rarely default.

Lenders and where the loans sit

Celtic Bank Corporation holds 153 loans worth $407.1 million, Commonwealth Business Bank 123 worth $203.8 million, Open Bank 120 worth $274.1 million, Bank of Hope 53 worth $125.2 million and PCB Bank 51 worth $104.9 million. The tally follows loans on each bank's books, which identifies who carries the paper but not what any of them asks of a borrower. Los Angeles County has 157 loans, San Bernardino 96, Kern 82, Riverside 65, Fresno 60 and Sacramento 55, with Tulare, San Joaquin and Stanislaus close behind. The Central Valley and Inland Empire figure here as strongly as the coast, which fits corridor and highway sites.

Years and coding limits

Approvals ran from 142 in FY2021 down to 77 in FY2024, then back to 121 in FY2026. A truck stop cannot be told apart from other fuel stations in the coding, and the 2022 industry index has no line for electric charging, so a California site built mainly around charging will not show up here.

What a California gas station study has to test

In California the site is as much a land-use question as a retail one. The study has to establish entitlements, setback and environmental review, the cost of tank removal or upgrade, and the long-term outlook for fuel demand where electric vehicles are spreading. Inside sales, car wash or food service may carry more of the profit than gallons, and they should be modelled separately. With loans centred near $1.8 million, the purchase price and the equipment should be reconciled against actual comparable sales, and franchise fees and fuel supply contracts must be in the cash flow. Debt payments should stay covered on a downside for volume, and the appraisal must support the property without assuming growth in gallons.