Knoxville sits at the crossroads of I-40, I-75, and I-81 in East Tennessee, which makes it a strong fuel and convenience corridor for both highway volume and dense neighborhood traffic. Tennessee cap rates run 5.4 to 5.75 percent, tighter than the national average of about 5.6 percent, so well-located Knoxville stations trade at a premium when the income is clean and documented. Gas Station Trader is the fuel and C-store practice of Eagle Nest Property Group in Dallas, TX, with brokerage through Eagle Nest Brokerage LLC, a licensed Texas broker. We have transacted more than 250 million dollars and bring institutional underwriting to single-store and small-portfolio owners across the Knoxville market.
The Knoxville gas station and C-store market
Knoxville is built for fuel retail. Three interstates, I-40, I-75, and I-81, converge in the metro, feeding both pass-through highway demand and steady local traffic from neighborhoods, the University of Tennessee, and area employers. That mix supports a range of formats, from high-volume highway sites to in-fill neighborhood stores.
Nationally, the convenience store is about 30 percent of revenue but roughly 70 percent of profit, and in-store items carry 20 to 40 percent margins. Net fuel profit is only a few cents per gallon even though 2025 fuel gross margins averaged 40-plus cents per gallon. In Knoxville, the stations that command the strongest pricing pair real throughput with a disciplined inside business. See our gas station profit margins guide and our Tennessee gas stations for sale page.
Buying a gas station in Knoxville
Most Knoxville buyers use SBA 7(a) financing. The program caps at 5 million dollars, treats gas stations as special-purpose property requiring a 15 percent minimum equity injection (10 to 15 percent down), offers real estate terms up to 25 years, and closes in 30 to 90 days. June 2026 rates run about 9 to 11.5 percent APR variable. Conventional financing typically requires 30 to 40 percent down and closes in 30 to 60 days, though many banks avoid underground storage tanks due to CERCLA liability.
Every SBA fuel deal requires a Phase I ESA under ASTM E1527-21, costing 1,800 to 3,500 dollars. Start with our buy-side services, the valuation calculator, and the SBA 7(a) loan guide.
Selling a gas station in Knoxville
Knoxville sellers benefit from Tennessee cap rates that run 5.4 to 5.75 percent, tighter than the national average of about 5.6 percent, which rewards a clean, well-documented income story. We price each site on its own merits using business-only multiples of 2.5x to 4.0x EBITDA, combined business-plus-real-estate at 4.0x to 7.0x, and roughly 8x EBITDA when strong real estate is included.
Business broker commissions run 10 to 20 percent on business-only deals and roughly 6 to 10 percent on real-estate-inclusive deals, with typical sale timelines of 3 to 6 months. We handle confidential marketing, buyer qualification, and the environmental file. Start with our sell-side services and the how to sell a gas station guide.
Values and cap rates in Tennessee
Cap rate is the clearest lens on value. Tennessee sits at 5.4 to 5.75 percent, ahead of the national average near 5.6 percent (roughly 5.58 percent with fuel, 6.87 percent without fuel) and well ahead of weaker markets at 6.0 to 6.5 percent and up. Branded credit tenants compress further: Murphy USA around 5.13 percent, 7-Eleven 5.00 to 5.40 percent, and Circle K 5.35 to 5.65 percent.
On the operating side, a small-to-medium station owner often nets about 70,000 to 100,000 dollars per year, reaching 100,000 to 500,000 by site. A busy urban station does 100,000 to 150,000 gallons per month against a US average near 4,000 gallons per day. Run the numbers with our cap rate calculator and read what is a good cap rate for a gas station.
