How much does a Gas Station (Basic) cost to buy?

A typical Gas Station (Basic) sells for 3x to 4.5x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $75K, expect to pay roughly $225K to $338K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a Gas Station (Basic)?

Startup costs range from $300K to $1.0M depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Physical

Gas Station (Basic)

Q: What are the profit margins for a Gas Station (Basic)?

The average profit margin for a Gas Station (Basic) is around 5%. Fuel inventory is the largest cost, plus labor (2-4 employees), utilities, insurance, tank maintenance, and environmental compliance fees.

Thin margins, massive volume

Bottom line

Worth studying, but do not buy without strong local proof.

Basic gas stations sell fuel to consumers and make money on slim per-gallon margins multiplied by high volume. While fuel margins are tight, the real value is in the underlying real estate and the captive traffic that can be monetized through add-on services. Many owners operate multiple locations to achieve scale.

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Acquisition score

Speculative

Avg Revenue

$1.5M

Profit Margin

Acquisition Multiple

3x - 4.5x

Startup Cost

$300K - $1.0M

How It Works

You purchase fuel wholesale and sell it at a markup of $0.10-$0.30 per gallon. Revenue is huge but margins are razor thin on fuel alone. Profits come from volume, plus ancillary income like air/vacuum machines, car washes, and lottery. Most operators work with a branded supplier (Shell, BP, etc.) or go unbranded for better margins.

Revenue Range

Low End

$800K

Typical

$1.5M

High End

$3.0M

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Pass for now

Gas Station (Basic) has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Avoid / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+SBA dataset shows 2 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet
!Thin margin profile

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 447110 · Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores

Deals tracked

397

2 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$1.3M

$741K–$2.2M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$1.5M

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

130

>$2M

114

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

+0.0%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

+29.6%

1 recent · 1 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

8.88%

0% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

300 mo

real-estate heavy

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

Celtic Bank Corporation44

Metro City Bank24

Open Bank22

Commonwealth Business Bank19

UniBank17

Where deals happen

TX89

CA77

WA60

IL20

WI18

MN17

AZ11

GA9

CO8

FL7

Franchise vs independent

Franchised acquisitions finance at $1.4M median vs $898K for independents — a +55% franchise premium. Franchises make up 70% of deals tracked.

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Mar 2026	GA	$4.2M	$4.9M	5	S.A. White Oil Company, Inc. Petroleum Marketing Agreement
Jun 2024	GA	$3.2M	$3.8M	8	—
Jun 2023	WA	$5.0M	$5.9M	5	PacWest Energy (Shell) Retail Sales Agreement
May 2023	MT	$886K	$1.0M	6	—
Apr 2023	MN	$777K	$915K	3	—
Oct 2022	WA	$2.2M	$2.6M	6	Wilson Oil, Inc. Contract of Sale (Branded) Dealer Operating Agreement
Oct 2022	WA	$4.7M	$5.6M	6	Chevron - Retail Supply Contract
Sep 2022	WA	$1.5M	$1.8M	9	Christensen Inc. dba Powell Product Sales Agreement
Sep 2022	CO	$495K	$582K	2	—
Jun 2022	OR	$2.8M	$3.3M	12	AM/PM Mini-Mart Agreement - ARCO Fuel - Contract Dealer Gasoline Agreement (BP West Coast Products)

Volume rank #17/544Deal-size rank #84/544Momentum rank #125p90 loan: $3.3MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Massive top-line revenue creates lending opportunities
+Real estate value provides asset protection
+Essential service with consistent demand
+Multiple add-on revenue streams available

Cons

-Extremely thin margins on fuel (3-7%)
-Environmental liability and tank compliance costs
-Requires significant working capital for fuel inventory

Best For

Operators comfortable with high-volume, low-margin businesses

Operating Costs

Fuel inventory is the largest cost, plus labor (2-4 employees), utilities, insurance, tank maintenance, and environmental compliance fees.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

$-20499/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $3.8M

Range: $3.8M (3×) to $8.3M (4.5×+)

Down payment — 15% ($563K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 9.00%

SBA median for this category: 8.9%

Loan term — 25 years (300 mo)

SBA median for this category: 300 months

Down payment

$563K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$3.2M

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$27K/mo

$4.8M total interest

Monthly profit

$6K/mo

at 5% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

$-20499/mo

Margin does not cover debt service at these terms. Lower the deal price, increase the down payment, or extend the loan term.

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.