Dallas-Fort Worth self storage: fourth nationally, 22 of 39 at home

The Dallas-Fort Worth record for self storage spans FY2017 to FY2026: 42 loans, $61.5 million. Dallas-Fort Worth has two ranks to read: 22 of 39 among its own classes and 4 of 513 for self storage against other areas. Self storage is underweight in Dallas-Fort Worth: a 0.67x location quotient sits below the national share. Four counties share the record, Dallas County, TX at the head. Project counties: Dallas County, TX (9), Collin County, TX (8), Denton County, TX (6), and Tarrant County, TX (5).

Typical size is $1.2 million, and the central half stretches $686,375 to $1.5 million in Dallas-Fort Worth. Beside the country's median, Dallas-Fort Worth comes to 1.25x. The Dallas-Fort Worth count is 33 for 7(a) and 9 for 504. The franchise share for Dallas-Fort Worth is withheld.

Two 7(a) lenders

Live Oak Banking Company shows the larger dollar total even with fewer loans than Bank Five Nine. Bank Five Nine, 10 loans and $8.4 million and Live Oak Banking Company, 9 loans and $16.0 million hold the 7(a) loans shown. The Dallas-Fort Worth holder list reflects SBA records, leaving standards unaddressed.

The FY2017 to FY2024 cohort in Dallas-Fort Worth shows cancellations of 21.6% at the least. With undisbursed loans counted, Dallas-Fort Worth still reads 21.6%. No charge-off rate appears for Dallas-Fort Worth since fewer than 30 loans stand in the cohort; blank is not zero. The yearly record shows FY2020 with 5 loans worth $6.8 million, FY2021 with 9 loans worth $11.4 million and FY2023 with 6 loans worth $3.7 million. Loan Analytics withholds the missing years on thin counts. RV and boat storage lacks its own code and is counted with self storage or other warehousing, which keeps it inseparable. The July 2023 list of counties defines Dallas-Fort Worth, and unplaced projects go missing.

What Dallas-Fort Worth borrowers and lenders should test

A storage facility earns only after it fills, so the study should model lease-up month by month: unit mix between climate-controlled and drive-up, rate per square foot, and the occupancy reached at each stage. Rival facilities in the four counties should be tested for rents and absorption speed, and so should new supply that could arrive during construction. Management and marketing cost money long before income does, so a reserve for the empty months must be in sources and uses. Because the cancellation floor is above one in five, closing risk deserves attention too. The appraisal rests on stabilized income, and should treat lease-up and vacancy with care.

SBA self storage loans in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026	42
Gross dollars approved	$61.5 million
Median loan	$1.2 million
Middle half of loans, from	$686,375
Middle half of loans, to	$1.5 million
SBA 7(a) loans	33
SBA 504 loans	9
Franchise share of loans	withheld
Rank among metro and micro areas for self storage loans	4 of 513
Rank of self storage among the classes in this area	22 of 39
Location quotient (share of loans against the national share)	0.67x
Median loan against the national median for the class	1.25x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	21.6%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)	21.6%
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort

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 self storage loans approved in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area, by fiscal year

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	withheld	withheld
FY2018	withheld	withheld
FY2019	withheld	withheld
FY2020	5	$6.8 million
FY2021	9	$11.4 million
FY2022	withheld	withheld
FY2023	6	$3.7 million
FY2024	withheld	withheld
FY2025	withheld	withheld
FY2026	withheld	withheld

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
Lender	Loans	Dollars
Bank Five Nine	10	$8.4 million
Live Oak Banking Company	9	$16.0 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
Dallas County, TX	9
Collin County, TX	8
Denton County, TX	6
Tarrant County, TX	5

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.

RV and boat storage cannot be separated from self storage.

Shared code: RV and boat storage has no own code; it is self storage (531130) or other warehousing (493190).

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 MA-19100-C04.

Related feasibility study pages

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a self storage project in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 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.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Self Storage Feasibility Study in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area