Convenience Store Franchise Statistics: Gas Stations, Fuel Brands and SBA Loans

Convenience store franchise statistics: SBA lending, April to June 2026

Summary. SBA lending to franchised gas stations and convenience stores rose in the most recent quarter of SBA data. From April 1 to June 30, 2026 (FY2026 Q3), lenders approved 82 SBA 7(a) and 504 loans to U.S. gas stations and convenience stores that carried a franchise code, worth $179.1 million, against 54 loans worth $128.4 million in April to June 2025 (SBA FOIA data). Part of that rise is a coding effect, not new borrowers: April and May 2025 still fell inside the period when SBA did not publish its Franchise Directory.

Gasoline stations with convenience stores made up 75 of the 82 franchise-coded loans in FY2026 Q3. Convenience stores without fuel had 6 and other gasoline stations had 1. The median franchise-coded c-store sector loan was $1,778,600 in FY2026 Q3, 3.7 times the $486,500 median franchise-coded SBA loan across all industries in the same quarter. The c-store sector took 4.2% of all franchise-coded SBA loans but 9.4% of the dollars.

For the fiscal year to date (October 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026), franchise-coded loans to the sector reached 259, worth $519.2 million, compared with 142 in the same months a year earlier, when the Directory gap still suppressed coding. No SBA loan in the files carries an October 2025 approval date: SBA said its loan programs were unavailable during the 43-day federal shutdown that fall (SBA, November 13, 2025). The program-wide picture of franchise lending sits in SBA franchise loans; this report covers the c-store slice only.

Quarterly SBA franchise loans to gas stations and convenience stores, FY2015 to FY2026

Summary. The quarterly series is shaped as much by SBA’s coding rules as by lending demand. In FY2015 only 14.4% of SBA 7(a) loans to the c-store sector carried a franchise code (172 loans). After SBA’s Franchise Directory was created with SOP 50 10 5(J), effective January 1, 2018 (Taft law bulletin), the coded share climbed to 46.6% in FY2021 (614 loans).

SBA stopped publishing the Directory when its affiliation rule took effect on May 11, 2023 (88 FR 21074), and SOP 50 10 8 reintroduced it effective June 1, 2025 (SBA SOP version history). Over the same windows, the franchise-coded share of c-store sector loans (7(a) plus 504) was 49.3% from October 2021 to May 10, 2023, 17.4% from October 2023 to February 2025 and 39.2% from June 2025 to June 2026 (SBA FOIA data). The coded share for all industries moved the same way (13.3%, 7.8% and 13.2%), which is why the dip reads as a recording gap rather than a collapse in franchise lending. The SBA Franchise Directory report documents the Directory’s history.

The 504 program codes a larger share of c-store loans as franchise loans than 7(a): 57.5% against 35.9% from FY2020 to June 30, 2026. Quarterly counts are small in 504 (often under 20 loans), so single quarters swing widely.

How SBA c-store franchise loans compare with other industries

Summary. Gasoline stations with convenience stores draw some of the largest SBA franchise loans. From FY2020 to June 30, 2026, the industry received 2,518 franchise-coded SBA loans worth $4.48 billion, 10.2% of all franchise-coded SBA dollars. It ranked 2 of 535 industries by franchise-coded dollars, behind hotels and motels ($13.75 billion), and 3 of 73 industries with 100 or more such loans by median loan size ($1,461,150) (SBA FOIA data).

The size gap is a 7(a) story. The median franchise-coded 7(a) c-store sector loan was $1,512,750, 4.2 times the $360,000 median for all franchise-coded 7(a) loans. In 504, the c-store median ($1,054,000) was slightly below the all-franchise 504 median ($1,160,000). The median term of franchise-coded 7(a) c-store loans was 300 months, against 120 months for all franchise-coded 7(a) loans, which suggests many of these loans include real estate.

Franchise-coded 7(a) c-store loans were more often for a change of ownership (31.4%) than uncoded c-store loans (23.7%), and a similar share were startups (11.7% against 10.5%). Convenience stores without fuel rarely carry a franchise code: 4.6% of their SBA loans in the period (88 of 1,903).

How many gas stations and convenience stores are franchises (Economic Census 2007 to 2017)

Summary. On the latest Census count, about one in five U.S. gas stations and convenience stores operated as a franchise. The 2017 Economic Census counted 17,782 franchise establishments among 98,788 gasoline stations with convenience stores (NAICS 447110), a franchise share of 18.0% (Census EC1700FRAN). Convenience stores without fuel (445120) were 18.6% franchised (5,282 of 28,460) and other gasoline stations (447190) 25.2% (4,185 of 16,581).

Across all industries in the 2017 franchise tabulation, the franchise share was 11.5%, and across the tabulated retail industries 11.0%. By count, gasoline stations with convenience stores ranked 2 of 62 retail industries for franchise establishments in 2017, behind only new car dealers (21,637), and 8th among all tabulated industries. In 2007 and 2012 the industry was first in retail and second among all industries, after limited-service restaurants (Census EC1200CFRA1, EC0700CFRA1). By share, the picture is more modest: the industry ranked 25 of 247 industries with 1,000 or more establishments.

Owner type. Franchisees, not brands, owned most franchised stations in 2017: 14,745 of 17,782, or 82.9%, were franchisee-owned. In 2012 the split was close to even (54.7% franchisee-owned), with 14,871 franchisor-owned stations. The 2017 count of franchisor-owned stations, 3,037, is 79.6% lower. That drop coincides with a reworded question and lower response coverage, so it cannot be read as a real change on its own.

Trend. The franchise share of gasoline stations with convenience stores was 34.9% in 2007, 33.7% in 2012 and 18.0% in 2017. The three industries together went from 47,144 franchise establishments in 2007 to 27,249 in 2017, and from 10.4% to 5.5% of all franchise establishments in the tabulation. Read the note below before using the trend.

Franchise share of gas station firms, 2019 to 2023 (Annual Business Survey)

Summary. Firm-level survey data from 2019 to 2023 put gasoline stations among the most franchised U.S. industries. In 2023 (2024 ABS), 16.7% of responding gasoline station employer firms (NAICS 4571) said all or part of the business operated as a franchise, with a standard error of 1.0 points (Census ABS AB2300CSCB01). That puts gasoline stations at rank 5 of 174 4-digit industries with a published share and 2 of 21 retail industries, behind automobile dealers (31.6%). The gasoline station share is 2.0 times the retail-trade share of 8.5% and well above the 4.7% share for all sectors.

The share has held in a narrow band: 17.5% in 2019 (3-digit NAICS 447), 16.3% in 2020, 16.5% in 2021, 17.6% in 2022 and 16.7% in 2023. The ABS counts firms, not locations, and has no franchisee or franchisor split. Convenience stores without fuel cannot be isolated: from 2022 they sit inside NAICS 4451, grocery and convenience retailers, which was 8.1% franchised in 2023. The next ABS release (data year 2024) is listed for December 3, 2026 (Census upcoming releases).

Franchise vs independent convenience stores and gas stations: size per establishment, 2017

Summary. Franchise convenience stores were much larger than independent ones in 2017; franchise gas stations with convenience stores were about the same size as other stations. Receipts averaged $1,713,685 per franchise convenience store against $753,382 per non-franchise store, a ratio of 2.27, with 7.7 paid employees per franchise store against 3.8 (Census EC1700FRAN). For gasoline stations with convenience stores the ratio was 0.96: $3,687,463 per franchise station and $3,834,977 per non-franchise station, with 7.8 and 8.1 employees.

One reading, which the data cannot confirm, is that most stations sell branded fuel whatever their franchise answer, so the franchise and non-franchise groups run similar fuel-heavy formats. Receipts include fuel sales and are revenue, not profit. Non-franchise includes establishments that did not answer the question. For the cross-industry comparison of franchise and independent businesses see franchise vs independent business.

Fuel brand franchises under the PMPA vs business-format c-store franchises

Summary. Two kinds of franchise sit under one canopy. A fuel brand agreement is a franchise under the federal Petroleum Marketing Practices Act (PMPA, 15 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.); a convenience store brand such as Circle K or APlus is a business-format franchise under the FTC Franchise Rule. SBA loan data show the fuel side dominates: 83.3% of franchise-coded SBA loans to the c-store sector from FY2015 to June 30, 2026 (3,291 of 3,949) carried a motor fuel supply or branding code, and 10.4% (410) a convenience store business-format code (SBA FOIA data).

What the PMPA covers. The PMPA defines a franchise as a contract under which a refiner or distributor lets a retailer or distributor use a refiner’s trademark in selling motor fuel, and it includes related leases of marketing premises and fuel supply contracts (15 U.S.C. 2801). A franchisor may end or not renew the relationship only on the grounds the Act lists, generally with at least 90 days’ notice; a franchisee has 1 year to sue; and the Act preempts state termination and nonrenewal rules where it applies. The FTC Franchise Rule does not apply to a relationship covered by the PMPA (16 CFR 436.8(a)(4)), so fuel brand franchisors need not issue an FTC-format disclosure document. SBA nonetheless treats PMPA-covered gas station agreements, including distributor, fuel supply, dealer and jobber agreements, as franchises for its loan procedures (SBA SOP 50 10 8.1). The franchise relationship laws tracker left the PMPA out of scope; this section fills that gap for fuel retail only.

The Directory count. SBA’s Franchise Directory file of October 9, 2026 lists 2,436 coded entries. By our name-based classification, 164 of them (6.7%) are motor fuel supply, branding or dealer agreements, mostly between jobbers and retailers for refiner brands, against 5 convenience store business-format agreements, a ratio of 32.8 to 1 (SBA Franchise Directory, Oct 9, 2026). Another 11 uncoded fuel agreements, mostly unbranded or consignment contracts, are marked as not meeting the FTC franchise definition.

Loans under convenience store business-format codes were larger at the median ($1,770,000) than loans under fuel supply codes ($1,280,000). The fuel-code share rose from 74.3% in FY2015 to FY2017 to 86.1% in FY2018 to FY2023, after SBA moved to Directory codes in 2018, which list individual jobber and distributor agreements.

What 2025 to 2026 c-store and fuel franchise filings disclose

Summary. The site’s 259-FDD sample has only one c-store-type brand, so this section reads the filings directly. We pulled the latest filings of 11 convenience store, travel center and motor fuel franchise offers registered in Minnesota and issued or received from 2025 to 2026 (Minnesota CARDS). 6 are FTC-format FDDs from business-format franchisors (Circle K, Holiday, APlus and TA). 5 are Minnesota public offering statements from motor fuel franchisors (Marathon Petroleum for ARCO, Marathon, Tesoro, Exxon, Mobil and Shell; CHS for Cenex), consistent with the FTC Rule’s PMPA exemption. Every one of the filings cites the PMPA.

Units and ownership. Circle K’s store franchise FDD, issued July 10, 2026, reports 515 franchised stores against 5,556 company-owned stores at April 26, 2026. Holiday Stationstores reported 83 franchised and 455 company-owned stores at April 27, 2025. APlus is the exception, with 246 franchised and 19 company-owned outlets at the end of 2024. Circle K and Holiday run far more company-owned stores than franchised ones.

Investment. Cover-page investment ranges start at $239,850 for a leased APlus store and $317,500 for converting an existing store to a Circle K store, and run to $7,742,500 for a new Holiday Stationstore with an optional car wash and $54,060,700 for a new TA travel center. 2 of 6 business-format FDDs include an Item 19 financial performance representation; see franchise Item 19 for what that item can and cannot show, and franchise initial investment for Item 7 across sectors.

Where SBA c-store franchise loans go, by state

Summary. SBA franchise lending to gas stations and convenience stores is far more concentrated by state than franchise lending overall. From FY2020 to June 30, 2026, California projects received 591 franchise-coded c-store sector loans (22.4% of the U.S. total), Texas 500 (18.9%) and Washington 265 (10.0%) (SBA FOIA data). The top three states held 51.3% and the top five 65.4%, against 39.5% for the top five states in all franchise-coded lending. The concentration index (sum of squared state shares) was 1,123 for the c-store sector and 494 for all franchise lending, a ratio of 2.3.

In Washington, gas stations and convenience stores took 23.4% of all franchise-coded SBA loans, the highest share among the five states with the most such loans; in California the figure was 13.4% and in Texas 7.3%. Because most of these loans carry fuel jobber codes, state shares may partly reflect which jobbers list agreements with SBA, not only where lending happens. State totals for all franchise lending are in SBA franchise loans by state.

What to watch next quarter

• SBA FY2026 Q4 file. SBA posts FOIA files about one month after quarter end; the file covering July to September 2026 is next (SBA FOIA data). FY2026 Q4 will be the first full year-on-year comparison with both quarters after the Directory came back.
• SOP 50 10 8.1. Effective October 1, 2026, it requires a Phase I environmental review for NAICS 457 gas station loans and the PMPA treatment of fuel agreements (SOP 50 10 8.1); watch whether loan sizes or the fuel-code share shift after it.
• 2024 ABS. Census lists the 2024 ABS for December 3, 2026; it will update the gasoline station franchise share of firms.
• Directory files. SBA reissues the Directory file (this report uses the October 9, 2026 file); later files will show whether the count of fuel agreement codes keeps changing.
• FDD renewals. Holiday and APlus filings in this slice date from 2025; their 2026 clean filings will update Item 20 counts.

Where the data stops

• Old establishment counts. The 2017 Economic Census is the latest U.S. franchise tabulation, and its question wording and response coverage differ from 2007 and 2012.
• Branded fuel is ambiguous in Census data. A station selling a refiner’s brand under a PMPA agreement may or may not answer yes to the franchise question; Census does not split fuel brand franchises from store franchises.
• SBA franchise codes are lender-entered. They depend on the Directory; the gap from May 2023 to mid-2025 understates coded loans. SBA loans are a slice of financing, not a census of stations.
• Code classification is name-based. We classed codes by their agreement names; the largest unclear code (66 loans) is a distributor product sales agreement that does not name the product.
• Industry counts differ. NACS counts 151,975 convenience stores at December 31, 2025, of which 122,620 sell fuel (NACS); County Business Patterns counts 96,002 gasoline stations with convenience stores and 36,992 convenience stores in 2023 (Census CBP 2023). Definitions differ; none has a franchise flag.
• FDD slice. Minnesota registrations only, read by hand; not every c-store franchisor registers in Minnesota.