Gas Station Feasibility Study: Fuel Margin, Tanks, Inside Sales and Financing

A gas station feasibility study tells a lender whether one fuel and convenience site, built or bought at a stated cost, can earn enough gross profit from fuel, the store and any side businesses to pay its operating costs and its debt at the coverage the capital source requires. It answers with evidence from the site, the tank record and public data, not with the sponsor's hopes, because a station is a thin-margin business that runs on very large sales.

Three facts frame almost every gas station loan file:

• The fuel margin moves month to month. In the Energy Information Administration's breakdown of the pump price, the distribution and marketing share of a gallon of regular gasoline was worth about 69 cents in December 2025 and about 28 cents in March 2026, three months later [1]. Debt service does not move with it.
• The tank record can stop a loan. SBA requires a gas station loan secured by the station's real estate or fuel equipment to start with a Phase I environmental site assessment by an independent environmental professional, and a loan may not be disbursed until tank and equipment testing is in full compliance [2]. Across the country, 52,859 confirmed tank releases were still awaiting cleanup in March 2026 [3].
• Most stations are small businesses. In 2023, 65,123 of the 96,002 gasoline stations with convenience stores had fewer than 10 employees [4].

This page sets out what the study must prove, the federal and state data it draws on, and how each capital source reads it. For state rules, see the state pages for Georgia, Pennsylvania, Illinois and the other states listed below. For a worked example of a fuel site on an interstate, see the I-80 truck stop and convenience store model study.

Every study ends in one of three conclusions: feasible as proposed; feasible with stated conditions, such as a smaller loan, a funded reserve or completed tank work; or not feasible as proposed, with the changes that would make it work. The fee is fixed before work starts and does not depend on the conclusion.

What is a gas station feasibility study?

It is an independent analysis, written for a lender's credit file, of whether a proposed or existing fuel site can support the financing requested. USDA's rule defines a feasibility study as a report by an independent qualified consultant "evaluating the economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed project" [5]. Those five parts make a sound outline for any lender, and this page follows them.

Federal statistics split the business in two. Gasoline stations with convenience stores (NAICS 457110) sell fuel "in combination with a limited line of groceries", while other gasoline stations (NAICS 457120) include stations without convenience stores and truck stops [6]. The difference matters. A convenience store with fuel earns much of its gross profit inside the building; a high-volume fuel site or truck stop earns most of it at the pump and the diesel island. A study has to start by naming the format, because the format decides which evidence counts.

A feasibility study is not an appraisal. An appraisal estimates value at a date. A feasibility study tests whether the project works, under what conditions, and what would have to change if it does not. Lenders often need both, and for an SBA change of ownership involving special purpose property the lender must also order a business valuation [2]. The study reports income in a form the appraiser can use, but it does not give an opinion of value. The feasibility study versus appraisal page explains the split in more detail.

Exhibit 1. Formats the study must tell apart

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 NAICS descriptions and 2022 Economic Census; EIA; 49 CFR 395.3; Nebraska Department of Transportation; 23 CFR 680.106; Alternative Fuels Data Center; SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, as cited in each row.

What does a lender need the study to prove?

A lender needs proof that the site's own cash flow will repay the loan under the program's rules, and that nothing about the tanks, the supply contract or the operator breaks those rules. For an SBA start-up or construction loan, the projections must show debt service coverage of at least 1.15 within 2 years of funding or of the end of construction [2]. For a change of ownership, historical coverage must reach 1.25 on an initial acquisition [2]. USDA requires an independent feasibility study for a Business and Industry guarantee of more than $1,000,000 to a new business [5].

Exhibit 2. What the lender asks and what the study shows

Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and Appendix 15; 13 CFR Part 120; 7 CFR Part 5001; 40 CFR Part 280; EIA, as cited in each row.

SBA does not require a study on every loan. Its regulation says SBA "may require professional appraisals of the applicant's and principals' assets, a survey, or a feasibility study" [13]. The SOP lists conditions that may lead SBA to ask for one, including "Market saturation by industry type and location", a highly specialized project property, and a project size disproportionate to the community it will serve [2]. A new station at a busy interchange that already has three competitors can meet the first test, and every station meets the second, because SBA lists gas stations among its examples of limited or special purpose property [2].

USDA is stricter. Above $1,000,000 to a new business, the study must come from "an independent qualified consultant acceptable to the Agency", and the Agency sets its scope [5]. Even where a study is optional, the Agency weighs "the strength of the feasibility study and experience of management" when it judges whether a loan carries higher risk [5]. For what makes a study usable in a credit file, see what makes a feasibility study bankable.

How large is the U.S. gas station industry?

It is a $722 billion industry by sales, spread across about 114,000 establishments. The 2022 Economic Census counted 113,729 gasoline station establishments run by 64,783 firms, with sales of $721.7 billion, annual payroll of $27.1 billion and 1,028,079 employees [7]. Stations with convenience stores were 99,620 of those establishments and $533.8 billion of the sales [7].

Exhibit 3. Gasoline stations in the 2022 Economic Census

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, Retail Trade: Summary Statistics for the U.S. (EC2244BASIC). Sales and payroll converted from thousands of dollars and rounded.

The averages show how different the two station types are. A gasoline station with a convenience store averaged $5.36 million in sales, 8.6 employees and $25,433 of payroll per employee in 2022. An establishment in the other gasoline station group averaged $13.31 million in sales and 12.0 employees, with payroll of $30,832 per employee [7]. Payroll was 4.1% of sales at convenience-store stations and 2.8% at the other group [7]. Sales here include fuel, so these ratios are a check on a budget, not a target.

Exhibit 4. Operating ratios by station type, 2022

Source: calculated by FSC from U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census (EC2244BASIC), U.S. rows for NAICS 457110 and 457120.

Most operators are small. County Business Patterns, which still uses the 2017 industry codes (447110 and 447190), counted 96,002 gasoline stations with convenience stores in 2023, with 848,306 employees and $23.7 billion of annual payroll [4]. Of those, 34,065 had fewer than five employees and only 87 had 100 to 499 employees [4]. The small-operator profile matters for the management part of the study: one owner often runs the store, manages the supply contract and holds the tank operator duties.

Exhibit 5. Gas station establishments by employment size, 2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, U.S. file (cbp23us), all legal forms of organization. "Not shown" marks a cell the file leaves blank.

Sales are spread unevenly across states. Texas had 10,299 convenience-store stations in 2022, more than any other state, but California's stations sold more per site, $7.02 million against $5.07 million in Texas [7]. These differences carry into the study: a sales-per-site figure that is normal in one state can be an outlier in the next.

Exhibit 6. Gasoline stations with convenience stores, largest states, 2022

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census (EC2244BASIC), state rows for NAICS 457110; sales per establishment calculated by FSC. Ranked by establishments.

Station sales follow the pump price

Gas station sales track fuel prices more than they track customers. Census monthly retail data put gasoline station sales at $509.5 billion in 2019, $423.6 billion in 2020, $721.7 billion in 2022 and $633.7 billion in 2025 [15]. For January to August 2026, sales were 15.6% above the same months of 2025 [15], a year when EIA expected the retail gasoline price to average $3.89 a gallon against $3.10 in 2025 [16].

Exhibit 7. U.S. gasoline station sales, 2017 to 2025

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Monthly Retail Trade, annual totals not adjusted, NAICS 447 gasoline stations (mrtssales92-present); changes calculated by FSC.

Because sales swing with price, a lender should not read sales growth as business growth. The useful measures are gallons, cents of gross profit per gallon, and inside gross profit. The Census Bureau's Annual Retail Trade Survey shows why. For gasoline station firms, gross margin as a share of sales ran between 16.1% and 19.6% from 2017 to 2021 [17], while operating expenses ran between 12.5% and 15.2% of sales [18][19]. What is left over was a thin band, between about 3% and 5% of sales.

Exhibit 8. Gasoline station firms: margin and expenses, 2017 to 2022

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Retail Trade Survey 2022 tables (sales.xlsx, gmper.xlsx, exp.xlsx), NAICS 447, employer firms; percentages of sales and the last column calculated by FSC. The Census Bureau withheld the 2022 gross margin rate because it did not meet publication standards.

Two lessons follow for a projection. First, the margin as a share of sales rises when prices fall, as in 2020, and falls when prices rise; so a cents-per-gallon margin is a better planning unit than a percentage. Second, a projection that shows a station keeping 10% or more of sales after operating costs is far outside the industry's own record and needs strong site evidence.

Is fuel demand growing or shrinking?

National gasoline demand has been flat since 2021, while the miles driven keep rising. EIA's annual data show finished motor gasoline product supplied of 8,816 thousand barrels a day in 2021 and 8,935 thousand barrels a day in 2025 [20]. Americans used about 136.53 billion gallons of finished motor gasoline in 2025, about 374.05 million gallons a day [21]. Light-duty vehicles account for about 91% of gasoline use [21], so cars and light trucks, not freight, decide most station volume.

Exhibit 9. U.S. product supplied, 2020 to 2025 (thousand barrels per day)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Product Supplied for Crude Oil and Petroleum Products, annual, thousand barrels per day. Distillate fuel oil includes on-road diesel and other distillates.

Efficiency is the reason miles and gallons can part ways. FHWA's Highway Statistics show vehicle-miles of travel rising from 3,246,817 million in 2023 to 3,294,031 million in 2024, while fuel consumed fell from 176.8 billion gallons to 171.8 billion gallons [22]. Average fuel economy across all vehicles rose from 18.4 to 19.2 miles per gallon [22]. A light-duty vehicle used 460 gallons on average in 2024 and a combination truck 7,771 gallons [22]. That gap is why one truck customer is worth many car customers to a diesel site.

Exhibit 10. Travel and fuel use, 2023 and 2024

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1 (updated February 2026).

For a feasibility study, three practical points follow.

1. Mature-site volume should not grow with traffic alone. If miles rise about 1.5% while fuel use falls, as it did from 2023 to 2024 [22], a projection that grows gallons in line with traffic overstates fuel sales. The study holds mature gallons flat or declining unless the site has a specific cause for growth, such as a new interchange or new housing.
2. Price changes move dollars, not gallons. EIA expected the retail gasoline price to average $3.89 a gallon in 2026 and $3.73 in 2027, with diesel at $5.25 and $5.03 [16]. Those prices change sales, card fees and working capital. They do not, by themselves, change cents of margin.
3. Electric vehicles are a long-run sensitivity. The Alternative Fuels Data Center listed 83,995 public electric charging station locations with 263,961 charging ports, 79,827 of them DC fast ports, on November 11, 2026 [11]. That is a real network, but national gasoline use was still near its post-2021 level in 2025 [20]. The study tests a slower-volume case over the loan term instead of building a decline into the base case without local evidence.

How should the study set the fuel margin?

It should set a normalized margin and a stress margin, both in cents per gallon, both net of card fees, and both tied to the station's supply terms. The public record shows why a single average is not enough. EIA's breakdown of the retail price puts the "distribution and marketing" share of a gallon of regular gasoline at an average of 55.0 cents in 2025, but it ranged from 27.6 cents in March 2026 to 72.1 cents in June 2026 [1].

EIA describes this component as covering "Distribution, marketing, and retail dealer costs and profits" [23]. It is wider than a station's gross margin: it also pays for terminals, trucking and wholesale marketing. So the study uses it as a public index of how the whole downstream margin moves, not as the station's own number. The station's margin comes from its supply contract, its posted prices and, for an operating site, its own records.

Exhibit 11. Distribution and marketing component of the pump price, annual averages

Source: calculated by FSC from U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline Pump Components History and Diesel Pump Components History (release of November 10, 2026). Each month's cents equal the retail price times EIA's distribution and marketing percentage; annual figures are simple averages of the months.

The monthly pattern is the part a lender should study. When wholesale prices jump, retail prices lag and the station's margin is squeezed; when wholesale prices fall, the margin widens for a while. Early 2026 showed both in a few months.

Exhibit 12. Monthly swings, December 2025 to August 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline Pump Components History and Diesel Pump Components History; cents per gallon calculated by FSC (retail price times the distribution and marketing percentage).

From those records the study builds its margin in four steps:

1. Start from the contract. A branded supply agreement, an unbranded rack purchase and a dealer or commission arrangement each leave the station a different share of the downstream margin. The study models the terms actually offered, including volume minimums, rebates and image obligations.
2. Normalize over a full cycle. The base case uses the station's own history or a local price survey across several years, not the best recent year. The EIA series shows why: 2025 averaged 55.0 cents downstream, but 2019 averaged 38.4 [1].
3. Stress the opening years. The stress case takes the margin down to a level the public record has actually reached, and holds it there through the ramp, when coverage is thinnest.
4. Net out card fees and shrink. Card fees are charged on the full pump price, including taxes, so they rise with price even when the margin does not. Federal tax alone is 18.4 cents a gallon on gasoline (18.3 cents plus the 0.1-cent Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund rate) and 24.4 cents on diesel [24]. As of January 2026, state taxes and fees on gasoline averaged 33.55 cents a gallon [23].

Margin stress check

The margin check below tests one question: how much annual fuel gross profit a station loses if its margin falls from a base level to a stress level. Enter monthly gallons, a base margin and a stress margin, all in the units shown; it returns annual fuel gross profit at each margin and the difference. Its starting values are illustrative only, not market data and not a finding for any site. A study replaces them with the gallons and margins its evidence supports, and then carries the stress result into the coverage test.

As an illustration only: a station selling an assumed 150,000 gallons a month earns $900,000 a year of fuel gross profit at an assumed 50 cents a gallon, and $496,800 at 27.6 cents, the lowest monthly downstream level in EIA's 2026 data [1]. Card fees and other fuel selling costs come out of both figures.

How are fuel volume and traffic capture estimated?

Volume starts with the vehicles that pass the site and ends with the share that can and will stop. State transportation departments publish annual average daily traffic (AADT) counts by road segment, and many publish truck counts as well. Those counts are the base of the demand model, but a count is not a sale.

The study works through five filters:

1. Direction and access. Traffic on the far side of a divided road may not be able to turn in. The study maps which directions can reach the pumps without a U-turn, and at what speed.
2. Trip purpose. Commuters, local errands, through travelers and trucks behave differently. A commuter fills up near home or work; a long-distance driver stops where the trip and the rules on driving hours say to stop.
3. Competition. Each station within the trade area is mapped with its fueling positions, price posture and store format. The study asks what share the new site can win from that set, not what share of the road it can "capture" in the abstract.
4. Visibility and price. Drivers compare posted prices. A site that must price above the corner to cover a higher rent or a bigger loan will sell fewer gallons than one that can match.
5. Calibration. Where an operating station is close by and comparable, its volume is the best check. For an acquisition, the seller's monthly gallons by grade are the base and the model explains every change from them.

Truck stops add a sixth filter: where drivers must stop. Federal hours-of-service rules let a property-carrying driver drive up to 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours off duty, within a 14-hour window, and require a 30-minute break after 8 hours of driving [8]. Those limits put rest stops at fairly predictable distances from freight origins.

The I-80 corridor in Lincoln County, Nebraska shows what a public count series looks like. FSC's model study averaged the Nebraska Department of Transportation counts for five interstate segments.

Exhibit 13. I-80 traffic in Lincoln County, Nebraska (mean of five segments)

Source: Nebraska Department of Transportation, Annual Average Daily Traffic Segments layer; means of the five I-80 segments wholly inside Lincoln County, calculated in FSC's Lincoln County model study.

Two points stand out. Traffic and trucks did not move together year to year, and the truck share rose from 42.4% to 44.9% over the decade. A truck stop study built on one year's total count would miss both. Truck parking matters too: FHWA's national truck parking work counted about 313,000 truck parking spaces, about 40,000 of them at public rest areas, and 98 percent of drivers reported problems finding safe parking [25]. For a travel center, parking capacity drives diesel share, so the study counts spaces at every competing site.

The study then converts stops to gallons. It uses the site's own data or comparable sites for gallons per transaction and transactions per hour by daypart, and it checks the result against dispenser capacity at the peak hour. A forecast that needs more transactions at 7 a.m. than the islands can serve is a forecast the site cannot deliver.

The competitor survey

Every competing station in the trade area is visited, not just found on a map. The survey records fueling positions, diesel lanes, posted prices on the survey date, brand, store size, food offer, car wash and charging, and hours. State tank registries help find sites and show their tank ages; a site with old single-walled tanks may close or rebuild, which changes the competitive set. Planned stations count too: the study checks local permit and zoning records for approved sites that have not opened yet.

How is the inside store and food program modeled?

Category by category, with each category's own margin, labor and rules. Inside sales do not follow gallons in a fixed ratio; they follow the store's size, its food offer, the daytime population near the site and the time customers can spend. A truck driver on a 30-minute break [8] buys differently from a commuter who stops for two minutes.

The study builds inside revenue from the merchandise plan the operator will actually run, then checks it against the Census ratios for the format. A convenience-store station averaged $5.36 million of total sales, fuel included, in 2022 [7]; a projection far above the state's own average in Exhibit 6 needs site-specific support.

Exhibit 14. Inside categories the study builds separately

Source: FSC method; 21 CFR 1140.14 for the federal tobacco age rule.

Tobacco shows why the study works category by category. Federal rules bar retailers from selling cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to anyone under 21, require a photo ID check for buyers under 30, and limit sales to face-to-face exchanges except in narrow cases [26]. A store whose sales lean on tobacco carries more compliance risk than one that leans on food, and a study should say so.

What environmental and tank rules decide a gas station loan?

The tank record decides whether a station loan can close at all. SBA's rules for gas station loans apply to any loan secured by real estate or by equipment such as tanks, pumps and lines used to run a gas station or commercial fueling facility [2]. For those loans, the environmental investigation must:

• begin with a Phase I environmental site assessment conducted by an independent environmental professional [2];
• include a determination of whether the station complies with the rules on tank and equipment testing, and "A loan may not be disbursed until full compliance is achieved" [2];
• include any Phase II the professional recommends, performed by an independent professional engineer or professional geologist with the equivalent of 3 years of full-time relevant experience [2];
• describe and price the cleanup if the property is contaminated [2].

Any leaking or defective equipment must be repaired or replaced before disbursement [2]. If an oil company or anyone else holds a right to indemnification from later owners, it must sign SBA's indemnification agreement or a recorded waiver and release [2]. And the borrower must register for any available petroleum storage tank fund that would reimburse cleanup costs, even a voluntary one [2].

The feasibility study does not replace the Phase I. It reads it, along with the tank registration, testing and release records, and turns the findings into money and time: a repair budget, a closing condition, a reserve, a delay to opening, or a conclusion that the site does not work.

Exhibit 15. SBA environmental requirements for gas station loans

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, SOP 50 10 8.1, Appendix 7 and related environmental provisions.

Federal tank rules the study checks

Federal tank rules apply to nearly every station. Tanks and piping installed or replaced after April 11, 2016 must be secondarily contained and use interstitial monitoring [12]. Owners must check spill prevention and release detection equipment every 30 days [12], and test spill prevention equipment and certain containment sumps at least once every three years unless they are double walled and monitored [12]. Suspected releases must be reported within 24 hours [12].

Exhibit 16. Federal UST requirements and what the study documents

Source: 40 CFR Part 280 (GovInfo annual edition revised as of July 1, 2025).

The national record shows why lenders insist. EPA counted 534,189 active regulated tanks at about 190,224 facilities in March 2026 [3]. Between April 2025 and March 2026, facilities met all technical compliance measures at a rate of 60.9%, and walkthrough requirements at 83.2% [3]. Cumulative confirmed releases since the program began reached 583,313, with 530,454 cleanups completed [3]. When the program started there were about 2.1 million regulated tank systems [27], so most of the substandard tanks of the 1980s are gone, but a station's history can still hold an open case. In fiscal year 2025 alone, states confirmed 4,307 new releases and completed 5,920 cleanups, leaving 53,777 releases awaiting cleanup at the end of September 2025 [28].

Exhibit 17. National UST program measures

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Semiannual Reports of UST Performance Measures, end of fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025) and mid fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 to March 2026; compliance rates for April 2025 to March 2026).

The backlog is not spread evenly. Florida and Michigan each had more than 7,000 releases awaiting cleanup in March 2026, while New York had 239 [3]. A state with a large backlog is a state where an old release near the site, or on it, is more likely to still be open.

Exhibit 18. Tanks and releases in selected states, March 2026

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Semiannual Report of UST Performance Measures, Mid Fiscal Year 2026, state tables (cumulative through March 31, 2026).

Environmental timing on a purchase

Timing matters on an acquisition. Under the federal "all appropriate inquiries" rule, the inquiry must be conducted within one year before the acquisition, and several parts, including interviews, lien searches, government record reviews and the site visit, must be done or updated within 180 days before it [29]. A study that relies on an older Phase I should flag the update as a closing condition.

State tank funds and what they leave the owner

Most states run a fund that reimburses cleanup costs above a deductible, up to a cap. The fund's terms decide how much of a release the owner still pays, so the study reads them for the site's state. Several states pay for the fund with a per-gallon fee, which is one more cost inside the fuel margin.

Exhibit 19. State tank fund terms in selected states

Source: state statutes, rules and fund agencies as cited in each row; "Set by" entries mark terms this table does not quantify.

Fund coverage is not automatic. Eligibility usually depends on paying tank fees on time, registering before a release and cooperating with the agency, and some funds cover only releases discovered after a set date. Michigan's cleanup fund, for example, reimburses owners for petroleum leaks "originating after 2014" [48]. The study states which fund applies, whether the seller's eligibility transfers, and what the owner would pay out of pocket for one release at the deductible.

Which air quality rules apply to fuel throughput?

Federal air rules for gasoline dispensing facilities scale with monthly gasoline throughput, so the projected gallons decide the equipment the site needs. Under EPA's area-source rule, a facility with monthly throughput under 10,000 gallons follows basic work practices; one at 10,000 gallons or more must load its tanks by submerged filling; and one at 100,000 gallons or more must also follow the management practices in Table 1 of the subpart, or meet the rule's vapor balance alternative [49][50][51][52]. States and local air districts can add stricter rules.

Exhibit 20. Gasoline dispensing facility rules by monthly throughput

Source: 40 CFR Part 63, Subpart CCCCCC (GovInfo annual edition revised as of July 1, 2025).

The thresholds matter for the volume forecast. A station projected at 120,000 gallons a month crosses the 100,000-gallon line in the model, and the budget must carry the vapor control equipment and testing that come with it. The study checks that the gallons and the equipment agree.

How do fuel taxes and supply agreements affect the projection?

Taxes are a pass-through in the price, but they still shape the business. They raise the price on which card fees are charged, they change when a state changes its rate, and they create price gaps at state lines that move volume. The federal excise is 18.3 cents a gallon on gasoline and 24.3 cents on diesel, each plus the 0.1-cent Leaking Underground Storage Tank Trust Fund rate [24]. State rates differ widely.

Exhibit 21. State gasoline taxes in selected states

Source: state statutes, revenue departments and legislative fiscal offices as cited in each row. Rates change often; the study confirms the rate in force for the site's state at the date of the report.

Two recent changes show why. Michigan raised its motor fuel tax from 31.0 cents to at least 51.0 cents a gallon effective January 1, 2026 [64]. Under an energy emergency declaration, Indiana's revenue department will not collect its gas use tax or gasoline excise tax from August 7 through December 4, 2026 [60]. Either change moves pump prices and can move volume at a site near a state line.

Supply agreements and the franchise law

The supply agreement is part of the collateral. The Petroleum Marketing Practices Act bars a motor fuel franchisor from terminating a franchise before the end of its stated term, or from failing to renew it, except on the grounds and with the notice the Act allows [71]. SBA treats agreements covered by that Act, such as distributor, fuel supply, dealer or jobber agreements, as franchises for its own eligibility review [2]. A study therefore reads the agreement for:

• the remaining term and renewal rights;
• volume minimums and the cost of missing them;
• who sets the retail price, and who keeps which part of the margin;
• image, rebranding and equipment obligations, with their cost and timing;
• assignment and transfer terms on a sale;
• any right of first refusal held by the supplier.

A branded agreement can bring a recognized sign, card programs and supply security, but it usually comes with volume commitments and image costs. An unbranded supply arrangement gives price freedom and exposes the station to rack price swings. The study does not assume either is better. It models the terms on the table and shows coverage under each when the sponsor is still choosing.

Should the study model EV charging and other side businesses?

Yes, each on its own line, with its own revenue, cost and capital, because a blended "other income" line cannot be tested. Electric vehicle charging is the side business lenders now ask about most.

Charging economics differ from fuel economics. The station pays for power, demand charges and network fees, and the charger may sit idle for long stretches. Where federal highway money is involved, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure standards in 23 CFR Part 680 apply: a DC fast charging station serving a designated alternative fuel corridor must have at least four network-connected ports able to charge four vehicles at once, supply up to 150 kW to each port at the same time, and stay open to the public 24 hours a day, year-round [10]. Those standards raise the capital cost and the power demand of a qualifying site.

Exhibit 22. Side businesses and how the study tests each

Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (station counts by state, public access, November 11, 2026); 23 CFR 680.106; 49 CFR 395.3; Nebraska Department of Transportation; FHWA; FSC method.

For a charger, the study models utilization by hour and month from local evidence: registered electric vehicles nearby, the corridor's traffic, and the use of the nearest existing chargers. It treats the extra time a charging driver spends at the store as an inside sales effect only where the store is built to capture it. And it states the capital and power cost even if a grant pays part of it, because a grant can carry its own operating conditions.

Which financing paths fit a gas station?

Four paths cover most loans: SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry guarantees, and conventional bank loans. Net lease buyers and private lenders finance stations too, on their own terms. The right path depends on location, loan size, equity and whether the borrower is buying a going business or building a new one.

Exhibit 23. Financing paths compared

Source: 13 CFR Part 120 (revised as of January 1, 2026); SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and Appendix 15; SBA 504 loans page; 7 CFR Part 5001 (revised as of January 1, 2026); USDA fiscal year 2026 OneRD notice, 91 FR 11272. Confirm current fees and guarantee percentages with the lender, CDC or USDA State Office.

SBA 7(a)

The 7(a) loan fits owner-operators who buy or build a single station or a small group. SBA counts a business as a start-up if it has operated for one year or less, and every 7(a) loan to a start-up requires an equity injection of 10% of the project cost [2]. Projections for a start-up or construction project must show coverage of at least 1.15 within 2 years [2], and the projected coverage may not include rental income from the project property [2]. For a station that leases its kitchen to a restaurant brand, that rent helps only the global analysis.

SBA's guaranty to one borrower and its affiliates is capped at $3,750,000 [13]. The 7(a) term can reach 25 years, and the part used to buy or improve real estate can add the time needed to finish construction [13]. More on SBA files is on the SBA feasibility study consultant page, and the SBA DSCR calculator shows the coverage tests.

SBA 504

The 504 loan fits a borrower who wants long-term fixed-rate financing for the land and building. SBA describes it as "long-term, fixed rate financing for major fixed assets that promote business growth and job creation" [72], with 10, 20 and 25-year terms and a rate pegged to an increment above 10-year Treasury issues [72]. Because SBA lists gas stations as limited or special purpose property, the borrower contributes at least 15%, or 20% if the project also involves a new business, and the CDC must address the property type in its credit memorandum [2]. A 504 repayment analysis must address debt service coverage of at least 1.15, calculated on historical cash flow [2]. A new station has no history, so the projections, and the evidence behind them, carry most of the weight in the CDC's credit memorandum.

USDA Business and Industry

The B&I guarantee fits rural stations and travel centers, including loans larger than SBA can make. The project must be in a rural area, defined as outside any city or town of more than 50,000 people and the urbanized area next to it [5]. For a new business, the borrower needs 20% balance sheet equity, or 25% if the lender wants the guarantee issued before construction is complete [5]. The loan term follows the useful life of the assets and cannot exceed 40 years [5]. For fiscal year 2026, the guarantee fee is 3.0% and the annual retention fee 0.55%, with an 85% guarantee below $5 million and 80% from $5 million to $25 million [73].

For loans of $1,000,000 or less, the Agency may still require a study when the lender's analysis does not show technical feasibility or economic viability [5]. The lender must also obtain appraisals for real estate collateral worth more than $250,000 [5]. The USDA feasibility study consultant page covers the program in more detail.

Conventional bank loans

Without a federal guarantee, the terms come from each bank's credit policy. The study is built to the strictest test likely to apply: annual and monthly coverage, a margin stress case, a ramp case and a rate case. The Federal Reserve's H.15 release showed a bank prime loan rate of 7.00% in November 2026 [74], a useful reference point for floating-rate stress. A study written to the USDA five-part standard, with SBA's environmental items added, usually serves a bank as well, and the lender requirements matrix compares the tests side by side.

What does a gas station acquisition study test?

It tests whether the price is supported by what the station actually earns, and whether that history will hold under a new owner. SBA's change of ownership rules set the frame. A business valuation is required [2]. For special purpose property, the valuation must allocate separate values to land, building, equipment and intangible assets, and the real property appraiser must have completed at least four going concern appraisals of equivalent special use property within the last 36 months [2].

Gas stations get one important flexibility. For the purchase of an owner-occupied special purpose property that is already operating, the lender may rely on projections to meet the coverage requirement when the appraised value fully secures the loan, and the projections must meet the required ratio within two years from loan funding [2]. The lender must still calculate the historical coverage and explain the difference between history and projection [2]. A Quality of Earnings report, otherwise required on larger purchases, is not required for these special purpose acquisitions [2]. That puts more weight on the feasibility study: it is the document that explains why the projection departs from the seller's results.

Exhibit 24. SBA change of ownership rules that shape a station purchase

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, SOP 50 10 8.1, Appendix 15, Changes of Ownership.

For a station purchase, the study adds the items a valuation alone does not cover:

1. Gallons by grade by month for at least three years, tied to supplier invoices and tank inventory records. Gallons are harder to inflate than dollars.
2. Margin by month, rebuilt from purchase costs and posted prices, set against the public margin record in Exhibits 11 and 12.
3. Inside sales by category, tied to sales tax returns where the state requires them.
4. The tank file: registration, testing, release reports and the state fund status. Under SBA's rules, the dispensing equipment must have been tested by an independent contractor within the preceding twelve months [2].
5. The supply agreement: term, transfer rights and the supplier's consent. The Petroleum Marketing Practices Act limits when a franchisor may end or refuse to renew a franchise [71], but a sale can still require consent.
6. Owner labor: if the seller worked 70 hours a week unpaid, the study charges a market wage for that work before it measures coverage.

How does the study test coverage under stress?

It moves one variable at a time, then several together, and reports the coverage at each step against the program's threshold. The aim is to show where the project stops covering its debt, and how likely that point is on the public record. The tests below use public anchors rather than arbitrary percentages.

Exhibit 25. Stress tests and their public anchors

Source: EIA; FHWA; Federal Reserve H.15; state fund statutes and rules, as cited in each row. The stress levels a study uses are its assumptions, chosen and stated for each site.

The order of the results matters to a lender. The study reports coverage for each year from opening through stabilization under the base case, then the year with the lowest coverage under each stress case, then the margin or volume at which coverage falls to the program's threshold. A project that needs both a strong margin and a fast ramp to reach 1.15 is a project that should carry a funded reserve or a smaller loan.

FSC's Lincoln County truck stop model study shows the method on an illustrative interstate site. Its model assumes a 30-cent diesel margin in the opening year and finds a year-three break-even of 25.7 cents, a cushion the study itself calls the thinnest number in the file. Those are model results, not market facts, but they show why a single base case is never enough.

What the public record means for your study

1. Fuel margin is normalized and stressed. The base case uses the trailing five-year industry average by product, adjusted to the local market. The stress case uses the 2021 level for at least the first 24 months. Margins are shown net of card fees and fuel-selling costs.
2. Volume and inside sales are benchmarked to a stated format. The study names which public operator or NACS benchmark it uses and why, because chain averages range from about 100,000 to about 236,000 gallons a month.
3. The ramp is analyzed honestly. Fuel reaches near-mature volume by year two; inside sales mature over 30 to 36 months; year-one coverage is reported as the binding test.
4. Mature volume is flat to declining. After maturity, same-store gallons are projected flat to down 1% to 3% a year, with competitive entry modeled explicitly.
5. EVs are handled as a long-run sensitivity, not a headline. The study reports fleet share and local adoption, and tests a slower-volume case over the loan term.
6. The inside P&L is built by category, with foodservice and tobacco projected for the specific format and market.
7. The tank record gates the deal. Tank and line testing, release history and state-fund coverage are documented before the projection is relied on.

After closing

The study's assumptions also make a monitoring baseline. When the station opens, the lender can compare monthly gallons, cents of margin and inside gross profit against the study's ramp, and see early whether the project is tracking the base case or a stress case. That comparison is far more useful than a covenant test run once a year on audited statements.

What does it cost to build and operate a gas station?

The cost depends on the site plan, the tank system and the store, and no federal source publishes a reliable cost per station, so the study prices the plan from bids, quotes and the engineer's estimate and labels anything it cannot support as an assumption. Census data give operating anchors, such as payroll at 4.1% of sales for convenience-store stations in 2022 [7] and operating expenses of 12.2% to 15.2% of sales for gasoline station firms from 2017 to 2022 [18][19].

Development budget. Land; entitlement, traffic study and permits; site work, paving, stormwater and access; tanks, piping, dispensers, canopy and leak detection; the store building, kitchen and coolers; car wash or charging equipment if planned; point of sale and fuel controls; signs; and contingency, interest during construction, pre-opening costs, opening inventory (fuel and merchandise), working capital and reserves. New tanks and piping must be secondarily contained [12], and a site expected to sell 100,000 gallons of gasoline a month or more must budget for the vapor controls the federal rule requires [52].

Operating budget. Wages and benefits for each shift, card fees on fuel and inside sales, utilities, repairs and maintenance, tank testing and inspection, insurance, property tax, tank fund fees, franchise or brand fees, food waste and shrink, and a replacement reserve for dispensers, tanks and the roof. The study splits fixed from variable costs, because the fixed share sets the break-even margin.

Exhibit 26. Operating cost lines and how the study supports them

Source: as cited in each row; budget amounts come from the site's own quotes and records.

Entitlement and local bans

Some jurisdictions now restrict new fuel retail outright:

• Petaluma, California prohibited the creation, expansion, reconstruction and relocation of gas stations in March 2021.
• Warren, Michigan adopted a moratorium of up to eight months on new gas stations and car washes in May 2026, citing 69 stations in 35 square miles.

The study documents zoning and any moratorium for the site.

What does a gas station feasibility study cost, and how long does it take?

The fee for a gas station, convenience store or travel center study is fixed in a band of $5,500 to $9,000, and the study takes 3 to 6 weeks from a complete document set. The fee is set in the engagement letter before work starts, is never a percentage of the loan, and does not change with the conclusion. The fee estimator gives a quick range for other assets.

Documents that start the clock:

• site plan, survey and access plan;
• format: dispensers, tanks, store size, food program and any car wash or chargers;
• supply agreement or proposal, with brand terms;
• development budget or purchase agreement;
• proposed loan structure and the lender, CDC or USDA State Office;
• for an operating station, three years of statements and tax returns, monthly gallons by grade, purchase invoices, inside sales by category, and the tank registration, testing and release records;
• zoning status and any traffic study;
• the operator's experience in fuel retail.

What must a gas station feasibility study contain?

1. A conclusion first: feasible, feasible with stated conditions, or not feasible, with the conditions or changes spelled out.
2. The project defined: format, dispensers, tanks, store, food program and side businesses.
3. Program fit: SBA special purpose treatment and equity, or USDA rural eligibility, and the coverage test that applies.
4. The trade area by customer type: commuters, local residents, through travelers and trucks.
5. Traffic evidence with count years, directions and truck shares, and the access analysis.
6. A survey of every competing station, with fueling positions, price posture and store format.
7. Fuel volume by grade and month through stabilization, with the ramp.
8. Fuel margin by product: contract terms, a normalized base, a stress case and card fees.
9. Inside sales by category, with margins and the food program's labor.
10. Side businesses on separate lines.
11. An operating budget from quotes and a staffing plan, checked against Census ratios.
12. A development budget with sources and uses, contingency, interest during construction, working capital and reserves.
13. The environmental record: Phase I findings, tank compliance, release history and state fund status.
14. Air and tank compliance tied to the projected gallons.
15. Coverage by year at the program's threshold, with margin, volume, ramp and rate stress cases.
16. A management assessment, including who holds the tank operator classes.
17. Every source and assumption listed, with model outputs labeled as such.

How the study runs

1. Scoping: confirm the capital source, program, loan size and the tests that apply.
2. Document intake: site plan, budget, supply terms, the tank file and, for an operating station, the financial and gallon records.
3. Field and market research: site visit, access review, competitor and price survey, traffic and demand evidence.
4. Model: monthly by revenue line through stabilization, with base and stress cases, coverage and reserve sizing.
5. Review: the draft is checked against the lender's questions and revised only for new facts.
6. Final report: signed by Sarrah Allen, MAI, with written answers to the lender's follow-up questions. More about the practice is on the about page.

The study is independent of the sponsor, the supplier and the seller. SBA's own guidance notes that reports "prepared independently of the small business may be beneficial in mitigating any weaknesses identified in the credit analysis" [2], and USDA requires an independent qualified consultant when a study is mandatory [5]. A lender reading a study needs to know that nobody involved gains if the answer is yes.

State pages

State rules on tank funds, fuel taxes and permits change the numbers. FSC's state pages cover Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Arizona, along with Texas, Pennsylvania and Illinois linked above. For the profit side line by line, see how profitable is a gas station.

Download the evidence behind this page's exhibits (CSV, 612 data points with sources)

Who signs your study

FSC Consulting, Inc. is led by Sarrah Allen, MAI, a Member of the Appraisal Institute, who signs every study the practice issues. The certification page names the lead analyst and the senior reviewer, the data used and the independence representations, and both sign. The person who signs answers the credit officer's questions after delivery, as part of the fee.

Independence on a fuel-retail file

• No ownership or operating interest in any site evaluated.
• No referral fees from fuel suppliers, jobbers, brands, equipment vendors or brokers.
• No advisory work for the operator of any site evaluated within the prior 24 months.
• Conflicts disclosed in the engagement letter before work begins. The sponsor or lender may terminate at that point with a full retainer refund.
• No advocacy work.

Quality

• Four-pass review.
• $1 million errors and omissions coverage, with a certificate available before signing.
• Licensed data: CoStar, IBISWorld, RMA Annual Statement Studies, Esri Business Analyst and Moody's Analytics. More about the practice →