Gas Station Site Selection Checklist
Before you tour a site — or make an offer — run it through this checklist. It's the same set of factors that decide whether a corner performs, grouped the way a feasibility study reads them.
1. Access — can drivers see it and reach it?
The single biggest lever, and the one a spreadsheet misses. Walk the approaches.
- Is the site on the right side of the busy commute direction?
- Is the intersection signalized (protected left turns) or is there a median that blocks the turn in?
- Clear sightlines — can a driver see it in time to react?
- Easy ingress and egress — multiple curb cuts, no awkward queuing?
- Any barriers — a bridge, rail crossing, one-way, or elevated road that cuts off half the traffic?
2. Competition — who splits the traffic?
- Count the operating stations within ~1.5 miles. How many share your cars?
- Any warehouse clubs or big-box fuelers nearby that undercut on price and rewards?
- Check for permitted or under-construction stations — a competitor that's coming is a real forward risk.
- How strong are the incumbents — modern, branded, high-volume, or tired?
3. Traffic quality — not just the count
- What's the combined VPD at the intersection — and which road carries it?
- Is it commuter traffic (peaks AM/PM) or steady all-day local trips?
- What's the posted speed? Fast pass-by converts worse than slower, captive traffic.
- Is there a daytime workforce nearby to carry the midday?
4. Trade-area demand — the rooftops behind the traffic
- Population and households within 0.5–1.25 miles.
- Median household income — and whether the area is growing.
- Daytime employment — offices, industrial, schools nearby.
- Any demand generators — highways, distribution, big employers, new rooftops coming?
5. The site & facility — what turns capture into dollars
- Fueling positions — enough to serve peak without queuing?
- Brand — a trusted canopy pulls more traffic off the road.
- Store size and layout, and a real convenience/foodservice draw (coffee, food program, car wash).
- Signage and visibility — an LED price sign visible from the approach.
From checklist to a defensible number. A walk-through is a great first filter. When it's time to commit capital — or take it to a lender — you want these factors scored consistently and backed by traceable data: measured traffic counts, real competitor positions, and Census demographics. That's the jump from a gut read to a feasibility study.
Turn the checklist into a report
Site Scouts scores every factor above — access, competition, traffic, demand — for any US address, from $399.
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