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How Much Does It Cost to Start an RV Park?

By Muhammad Tayyab Shabbir, Business Plan Firm, the US practice of Avvale, a London consultancy. Published 11 September 2026. Last updated 12 October 2026.

Verify every fee, flow rate and threshold below with the named agency before committing capital. Rules change and county practice varies. Sources were retrieved on 11 October 2026, several of them for a second time after 11 September 2026, with one exception listed under Sources; where a source's own figures carry an earlier publication date, that date is given inline.

Cost at a glance: what one RV site costs to build

Below is a per-site component build-up published by Outdoor Hospitality Weekly for a 100-plus-site, good-to-excellent quality park with land excluded, reproduced in MMCG Invest's US RV Park and Campground Market Outlook 2026 (Michal Mohelsky, J.D., 1 August 2026). MMCG's own reference list dates the underlying build-up to 10 August 2024. Treat these as 2024 costs, not 2026 costs, and escalate them with your contractor before you budget.

Land is the one exclusion the source states. Its next paragraph prices further items without saying whether they sit inside the build-up: a three-phase first-pole utility charge that alone can run $26,000; a package wastewater treatment plant that can exceed $1 million; a pickleball court at $20,000 to $45,000, a commercial pool from $30,000 into six figures and a 2,000 square foot clubhouse near $500,000; and design and engineering at 10 to 20 percent of project. The build-up already has line items for engineering, buildings and sewer, so check for overlap before you add any of these.

The band above is tighter than its own source on the line that matters most. The same MMCG report puts sewer and septic at $2,000 to $12,000 a site, not the flat $2,500 carried in the build-up. Substitute $12,000 and the per-site high becomes roughly $50,100 on our arithmetic, not $40,600, and a 100-site park runs to about $5.01m rather than $4.06m. Sewer and septic is the line this page elsewhere calls the binding constraint, so price it from your own soil evaluation rather than from either published figure. For resort-grade product, MMCG Invest puts all-in cost including land at $40,000 to $70,000 per pad, and a full bells-and-whistles resort at $60,000 to $80,000 per pad on practitioner estimates.

What actually drives the cost of an RV park?

On MMCG Invest's analysis, three variables reconcile the per-site cost spread quoted elsewhere: whether land is included, the amenity level, and terrain plus distance to utilities.

The one founders underestimate is electrical service. The National Electrical Code counts a 50-ampere RV site at 12,000 volt-amperes against 3,600 for a combined 30/20-ampere site (NEC section 551.73(A)). Twenty 50-ampere sites are therefore 240,000 volt-amperes before diversity, and at the 45 percent demand factor Table 551.73(A) assigns a park of that size, about 450 amps of service at 240 volts. Your 30/50-ampere mix is a service-sizing decision, not a marketing choice, so have your engineer run the demand factor table for your own site count. Under the 2023 NEC, at least 40 percent of new RV sites with electrical supply must carry a 50-ampere 125/250-volt receptacle, at least 70 percent of all sites with electrical supply a 30-ampere 125-volt receptacle, and every such site at least one 20-ampere 125-volt receptacle. NFPA 1194, Standard for Recreational Vehicle Parks and Campgrounds, is now in its 2026 edition, adding requirements for EV charging pedestals.

What license do you need to operate an RV park, and who issues it?

There is no federal RV park license. It is a state matter. In the three states set out below a different kind of agency issues the permit or license in each, and we verified the fee for Florida only.

Florida is the clearest published example. RV parks and recreational camps are permitted by the Florida Department of Health through the county health departments under Chapter 513, Florida Statutes, and Chapter 64E-15, Florida Administrative Code, on DH Form 4037. Rule 64E-15.010 requires a first-time application at least 30 days before operations begin, and requires anyone constructing a new park to submit plans drawn to scale showing the tract's area and dimensions, space numbers, the location and size of every proposed RV or tent space, roadways and any added service buildings.

The fee will surprise you. Rule 64E-15.010(3)(d) provides that a mobile home, recreational vehicle and/or lodging park "shall pay an annual fee based on $4.00 per space which shall not be less than $100.00 not more than $600.00". Under paragraph (3)(b) a commercial recreational camp pays "$4.00 per equivalent space which shall not be less than $100.00, not more than $600.00", counting each 2 campers as one equivalent space. A 150-site Florida park pays $600 a year for its operating permit. Florida's official rules site lists that version, effective 30 December 2009, as the latest adopted, and section 513.045 of the 2026 Florida Statutes still caps the total fee at $600; confirm it with your county health department. A large permits and licensing budget line is not this fee: it is the engineering, plan review, septic and stormwater work in the next section.

California permits RV parks as Special Occupancy Parks under Title 25 of the California Code of Regulations, through the Department of Housing and Community Development or a city or county that has assumed enforcement. Michigan licenses campgrounds through the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy under Part 125 of the Public Health Code, Act 368 of 1978, and requires a construction permit first. We could not retrieve a verified current fee for either and will not estimate one: ask each agency in writing.

What permits do you need before you break ground?

Five gates, roughly in this order. The second decides how big your park can be.

1. Zoning or conditional use approval. Outside unincorporated jurisdictions, RV parks are rarely a by-right use. MMCG Invest identifies the dominant national pattern as a conditional use permit or special exception, which turns approval into a discretionary public hearing, and names organized neighbor opposition as the most common reason a project dies there. Greene County, Tennessee moved RV parks from by-right agricultural use to conditional use in 2024, and Putnam County, Florida eliminated RVs on vacant lots the same summer.
2. Onsite sewage treatment and disposal permit. The binding constraint on site count where the park treats its own sewage. Florida's rule, now administered by the Department of Environmental Protection at Rule 62-6.008, assigns 75 gallons per day per vehicle space for an RV space for overnight stay with water and sewer hookup, and 50 gallons per day without. Multiply your intended pad count by your state's per-space flow figure, take it to a soil evaluation, and you have your maximum on conventional septic. A 100-pad full-hookup plan in Florida is a 7,500 gallon-per-day system. If the soil will not take it, you do not have a 100-pad park on conventional septic, whatever the site plan says.
3. Water supply. A system with at least fifteen service connections, or one regularly serving an average of at least twenty-five individuals daily at least 60 days a year, meets the federal definition of a public water system at 40 CFR 141.2, and monitoring, reporting and operator obligations attach. Work out where your own park falls against that definition with your engineer before you assume it does not apply.
4. Stormwater and erosion control. EPA states: "A Clean Water Act permit is required for stormwater discharges from any construction activity disturbing" 1 acre or more of land, or less than 1 acre "that is part of a common plan of development or sale that will ultimately disturb 1 or more acres of land" (the regulation sets this out in two size bands at 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(x) and (b)(15)(i)). Who issues the permit depends on where you build: "EPA has authorized many states to administer the NPDES stormwater permitting program", and EPA's own Construction General Permit covers "stormwater discharges from construction activities in areas where EPA is the NPDES permitting authority". Ask your state environmental agency which permit applies to your site and who issues it.
5. Electrical permitting against NEC Article 551 and, where adopted, NFPA 1194: pedestal amperage mix, service sizing and GFCI protection.

How long does approval take?

MMCG Invest's 2026 outlook puts the regulatory overlay at roughly three to six months and low tens of thousands of dollars for a simple expansion in a permissive jurisdiction, and 18 to 36 months or more, and hundreds of thousands of dollars, for a ground-up resort in a restrictive one. Geography decides which you are in. Much of unincorporated Texas has no zoning at all, so a developer answers to state environmental rules rather than a hearing room; rural Florida and Arizona are comparatively permissive; California coastal zones, Colorado mountain counties and New England towns are, on that report's assessment, effectively closed. SBA credit approval runs on its own clock on top of this, so ask your lender, or your Certified Development Company (CDC) on a 504 loan, for its timeline.

How do buyers finance an RV park, and is it an SBA special purpose property?

Here is the position under SOP 50 10 8.1, which took effect on 1 October 2026. SBA's notice of 25 September 2026 applies it to applications received by SBA on or after 1 October 2026 and keeps SOP 50 10 8 for applications submitted through 30 September 2026 (its August notice had said applications issued an SBA loan number on or after 1 October), so if yours was already in process, ask your lender which edition governs it. Every SBA rule on this page was re-read against the 8.1 text on 11 October 2026.

First, eligibility. RV parks are not automatically eligible for a 7(a) or 504 loan. SOP 50 10 8.1, Section A, Chapter 1, Paragraph E, Types of Ineligible Businesses, states under Passive Businesses: "Hotels, motels, recreational vehicle parks, marinas, campgrounds, or similar types of businesses are eligible if more than 50% of the business’s revenue for the prior year is derived from transients who stay for 30 days or less at a time and the business complies with all zoning and other legal requirements." A Start-Up Business must show the same share in its projections; Appendix 3 defines that term, which it labels 7(a), as a business in operation for 1 year or less. The same list states: "Apartment buildings and mobile home parks are not eligible." Hence a real tension: the long-stay annual and seasonal bookings that stabilize your income are exactly the revenue that can push you out of SBA eligibility.

Second, special purpose. SBA's list of Limited or Special Purpose Property examples, in the 504 chapter of SOP 50 10 8.1 (Section C, Chapter 1, Paragraph E, Borrower's Contribution), does not name RV parks or campgrounds. It runs to 25 entries including amusement parks, marinas, golf courses and "Hotels, motels, and other lodging facilities", and the SOP does not say whether an RV park is a lodging facility: the word lodging appears nowhere else in it. The SOP introduces the list with the words: "This list is not intended to be all-inclusive and SBA may determine that other properties meet the Limited or Special Purpose Property definition." On a 504 loan, "CDCs must address whether the Project Property is Limited or Special Purpose in their credit memorandum and include an explanation of their conclusion". So the list does not settle it for a park: the CDC has to address the question for your project, and the definition is in Appendix 3. A 7(a) purchase works differently: Appendix 15 has its own definition and no list, and where buying an owner-occupied Special Purpose Property is integral to buying the business operating from it, the lender may give the loan "a maturity of up to 25 years if 85% or more of the use of the total project costs are for real estate". Appendix 15's examples of such purchases are "storage units and hotels where the real estate fully secures the loan".

What that does to your equity. Under 504, the Borrower's contribution, measured on Project cost excluding administrative costs, is at least 10 percent; at least 15 percent for a New Business, meaning one "in operation for 2 years or less at the time the loan is approved" (Appendix 3), or for a Limited or Special Purpose Property; and at least 20 percent where both apply, in which case "the Debenture will finance no more than 30% of the Project and at least 50% of the Project financing will be from banks or other financial institutions, state or local government, or foundations or other non-profit institutions". For a change of ownership the same definition adds that a business in operation for more than 2 years "may be considered a New Business if it is a change of ownership that will result in new, unproven ownership/management and increased debt unrelated to business operations", which can bring the 15 percent tier to the purchase of a long-established park, and that "the CDC must review the management and level of debt in order to decide whether an additional Borrower’s contribution of 5% is necessary". The 7(a) test is different and shorter: for Standard 7(a) and 7(a) Small loans, SBA considers an equity injection of at least 10 percent of total project costs necessary for a start-up, meaning a business "in operation (i.e., generating revenue from intended operations) for 1 year or less". A 7(a) loan to buy an operating park and continue its business is a change of ownership under Appendix 15, where the minimum for an Initial Acquisition, the default category, is 10 percent of total project cost and "cannot be reduced or eliminated". Our SBA equity injection requirements guide sets the tests side by side.

How much you can borrow. The maximum for any one Standard 7(a) loan is $5,000,000, and the 504 gross debenture is limited to $5,000,000 outstanding for each small business concern, affiliates included, except Eligible Energy Public Policy Projects and Projects for Small Manufacturers. Effective 4 July 2026, SBA decoupled 7(a) loan balances from the 504 limit (Policy Notice 5000-879058), and SOP 50 10 8.1 now counts only 504 loans toward that limit. SBA's release of 18 May 2026 says qualified borrowers "who secure a 7(a) loan first" may access up to $5 million through each program, "a combined total of $10 million in SBA-backed financing".

How the credit performs. MMCG Invest tabulated SBA loan-level FOIA files and found RV parks and campgrounds charged off at 0.91 percent of disbursed 7(a) loans against 4.66 percent for the whole SBA book, fiscal 2010 through March 2026, and 2.63 percent against 6.11 percent on the fully seasoned 2010 to 2016 cohort. That is a better-than-average credit, worth putting in front of a hesitant lender.

What do the operating economics look like?

Newmark's 2026 Valuation and Advisory market survey, as reported by MMCG Invest, puts going-in cap rates near 8.0 percent for Class A and B parks and near 9.0 percent for Class C. Revenue per site depends almost entirely on tenure mix: Outdoor Hospitality Weekly's revenue-per-site analysis of April 2024, as reported by MMCG Invest, estimated roughly $7,000 of reservation revenue per site across the KOA franchisee portfolio, about $5,000 at Equity LifeStyle's annual-heavy RV portfolio, and about $10,000 at Sun Communities' resort-style portfolio. The national weighted average nightly rate in July 2026 was $103.60 (Insider Perks pricing index, via MMCG Invest). Build your expense side from the actual operating statements of the park you are buying, or from contractor and utility quotes for the park you are building, rather than from a published expense ratio.

Is building a new RV park viable for you right now?

Often, no. MMCG Invest's 2026 outlook states: "Ground-up resort construction at 2026 costs requires roughly $12,000 of revenue per site per year to clear a development hurdle, against the $5,000 to $10,000 that operating parks actually achieve".

MMCG works it through as follows. A $60,000-per-site resort build needs about $6,000 of net operating income per site, roughly $12,000 of revenue at a 50 percent margin, which at $103.60 a night is about 116 occupied site-nights a year, roughly 32 percent annualized occupancy, before ancillary income. MMCG puts the season-equivalent figure at 64 to 68 percent; on our own arithmetic a 183-day season gives about 63 to 64 percent. The 50 percent margin there is MMCG's own assumption rather than a benchmarked figure, so test it against real operating statements before you lean on it. Achievable in a genuine destination market. Not achievable in most places, and the more amenities you add, the wider the gap.

For most buyers, acquiring an existing park with a proven rate and occupancy history beats building one. Build when you have demonstrable destination demand, a permissive jurisdiction and soil that will take the flow. Buy otherwise. If your honest answer to why here is that the land was cheap, that is the answer telling you no.

What makes RV park projects fail?

• Buying land before the soil evaluation. Septic capacity caps the pad count, the pad count caps revenue, and revenue caps value. Get the flow calculation done at option stage.
• Assuming zoning. A conditional use permit is a political decision, not an administrative one.
• Under-sizing electrical service, then discovering the three-phase extension cost after the pro forma is fixed.
• Building the revenue mix that disqualifies the loan. Filling the park with annual tenants stabilizes income and can cost you SBA eligibility under the more-than-50-percent transient test.
• Flood exposure. Whether guests' rigs, park models and your own structures are insurable against flood, and on what terms, is a question for your carrier and your counsel rather than an assumption. Settle it in writing before buying river frontage.

The environmental trigger worth checking before you sign

SBA lists environmentally sensitive industries at Appendix 6 of SOP 50 10 8.1. Your category appears, but with a condition attached:

7212 RV (RECREATIONAL VEHICLES) PARKS & RECREATIONAL CAMPS (if fuel tanks are present or if vehicle repairs or maintenance is performed onsite)

Read the bracket, because it decides which side of the line you are on. Two conditions: fuel tanks present, or vehicle repairs or maintenance performed onsite. A park with sites, hook-ups and amenities but no fuel tank and no vehicle repair or maintenance meets neither. Add a fuel island or a service bay and it meets one. The bracket does not say what kind of fuel tank, so if your park has a propane filling tank or a diesel tank for a generator, ask your lender how it reads the entry.

The test follows the land offered as security for a 7(a) or 504 loan, and its history: the lender compares the NAICS codes for "the Property’s current and known prior uses" with Appendix 6, so an existing park's fuel tanks or vehicle repair shop count, as can an earlier listed use of the land, and a match means the investigation "must begin with a Phase I, regardless of the amount of the loan". A park that meets neither condition still has steps to clear: with no match, a loan of more than $250,000 must begin with at least an Environmental Questionnaire and a Records Search with Risk Assessment, and a footnote to Appendix 6 says a Phase I "should always be obtained if the business sells, supplies or dispenses fuel, gasoline, heating oil". Our SBA environmental requirements guide sets out every step.

This is worth deciding deliberately at design stage, because a fuel island and a service bay both look like easy ancillary revenue and either one brings a park offered as security inside the bracket. You can also check your equity position with our free SBA equity requirement calculator.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build a 50-site RV park?

On the build-up above, roughly $1.53 million to $2.03 million with land excluded, at $30,600 to $40,600 per site. That is our arithmetic, 50 times the per-site subtotal of a build-up published in August 2024 for a park of 100 or more sites, so escalate it. Add land, and allow for sewer and septic running well above the $2,500 a site the build-up carries.

Do I need a license to run an RV park?

In the three states we checked, yes. Florida permits RV parks through the Department of Health via county health departments under Chapter 513, Florida Statutes. California permits Special Occupancy Parks through its Department of Housing and Community Development or a city or county that has assumed enforcement. Michigan licenses campgrounds through EGLE. There is no federal license. We have not surveyed all fifty states, so confirm your own state's requirement.

How much is an RV park operating permit?

Less than you expect in Florida, the one state where we verified it. The annual park permit fee is $4.00 per space with a floor of $100.00 and a ceiling of $600.00, under Rule 64E-15.010(3)(d), Florida Administrative Code. Engineering, plan review, septic and stormwater permitting are separate costs, not part of that fee. Ask your own state's agency for its current schedule.

How many RV sites can I put on an acre?

Your septic permit answers that before your site plan does. Florida assigns 75 gallons per day per RV space with water and sewer hookup under Rule 62-6.008, so 100 full-hookup pads is a 7,500 gallon-per-day design flow. Soil percolation, setbacks and local density rules apply on top. Run the calculation with a licensed engineer before committing to a parcel.

Can you get an SBA loan for an RV park?

Yes, on conditions. Under SOP 50 10 8.1 an RV park is eligible for a 7(a) or 504 loan if more than 50 percent of prior-year revenue comes from transients who stay 30 days or less at a time and it complies with zoning and other legal requirements. A Start-Up Business must show that share in its projections. Mobile home parks are not eligible.

How much money do you need down for an RV park?

SOP 50 10 8.1 sets minimums. On a Standard 7(a) or 7(a) Small loan a start-up (operating 1 year or less) injects at least 10 percent of total project costs, as does a 7(a) Initial Acquisition of an operating park. A 504 project takes 10 percent, 15 for a New Business (2 years or less at approval) or a Limited or Special Purpose Property, and 20 for both.

Is an RV park a good investment in 2026?

As an acquisition the credit data is encouraging: RV park 7(a) charge-offs ran 0.91 percent against 4.66 percent for the whole SBA book, fiscal 2010 through March 2026, on MMCG Invest's tabulation of SBA FOIA files. As a ground-up build the development math is currently inverted in most markets, because you need about $12,000 of revenue per site to clear the hurdle and operating parks achieve $5,000 to $10,000.

What a lender will ask you for

Have these ready before the first meeting. Three follow from SOP 50 10 8.1: evidence that the park complies with zoning, including any conditional use permit; revenue by length of stay, prior-year actuals or a start-up's projections, showing more than 50 percent from transients who stay 30 days or less; and debt service coverage on the test for your transaction. A start-up or new business applying for a Standard 7(a) loan on projections needs detailed projections reflecting coverage of 1.15 or more "within 2 years from loan funding or, for construction projects, within 2 years from the end of construction". A 7(a) Initial Acquisition of an operating park needs 1.25:1 on the last fiscal year-end or an average of the last two: under Appendix 15 the lender must evaluate your projections but "may not rely on them to meet the DSC requirement", except for an owner-occupied Special Purpose Property whose appraised value fully collateralizes the loan. A 504 loan needs 1.15:1 on the same statements, and the CDC must analyze at least 2 years of projections if they fall short.

Three more are our advice, not SBA wording: a site plan with a pad count supported by a soil evaluation and a wastewater design flow calculation; a utility will-serve letter; and electrical service sizing. On a 504 loan, two more points: where the collateral is a Special Purpose Property the appraiser "must be experienced in the particular industry", and "Highly specialized Project property" is one of five things the SOP says may cause SBA to request a feasibility study.

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Sources

1. SBA, SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective 1 October 2026; file as posted on SBA's page, last updated 7 October 2026): transient eligibility test, Section A, Chapter 1, Paragraph E; environmental investigations, Section A, Chapter 5, Paragraph E, and Appendix 6; 7(a) start-up equity injection, Section B, Chapters 1 and 2; Standard 7(a) maximum loan amount and projections, Section B, Chapter 1; 504 debenture limits, Section C, Chapter 1, Paragraph D; 504 debt service coverage, borrower contribution, Limited or Special Purpose Property list, feasibility study triggers and appraisals, Section C, Chapter 1, Paragraph E; definitions, Appendix 3; 7(a) changes of ownership, Appendix 15.
2. SBA news release 26-52, SBA Doubles Cumulative 7(a) and 504 Loan Limit to $10 Million, 18 May 2026; SBA Policy Notice 5000-879058, Coordination of 7(a) and 504 for Maximum Loan Limits (effective 4 July 2026); SBA Information Notices 5000-880695 (14 August 2026) and 5000-882227 (25 September 2026) on the issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1.
3. Florida Administrative Code Rule 64E-15.010, Permits and Fees (the version effective 30 December 2009, which Florida's official rules site lists as the latest adopted); section 513.045, Florida Statutes (2026); Florida Department of Health, Mobile Home and RV Parks program page (DH Form 4037).
4. Florida Administrative Code Rule 62-6.008, System Size Determinations (Department of Environmental Protection).
5. 40 CFR 141.2, definition of public water system.
6. NFPA 70, National Electrical Code: section 551.71 (2023 edition) and section 551.73, including the Table 551.73(A) demand factors; NFPA 1194, 2026 edition.
7. Michal Mohelsky, J.D., MMCG Invest LLC, "US RV Park and Campground Market Outlook 2026: Full Campgrounds, Unforgiving Math", 1 August 2026, itself citing Outdoor Hospitality Weekly (revenue-per-site analysis, April 2024; development cost build-up, 10 August 2024), the Insider Perks Outdoor Hospitality Pricing Index (July 2026) and Newmark's 2026 Valuation and Advisory survey. MMCG's body text attributes the revenue-per-site and nightly rate figures to "Innowave"; its chart source lines and reference list give the names used here.
8. California Code of Regulations, Title 25, Chapter 2.2, section 2002 (Enforcement Agency; Permit to Operate); California Health and Safety Code section 18862.43; Michigan Administrative Code R 325.1551 and R 325.1556.
9. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Stormwater Discharges from Construction Activities and Authorization Status for EPA's Construction and Industrial Stormwater Programs; 40 CFR 122.26(b)(14)(x) and (b)(15)(i), construction activity and small construction activity.

Every source listed except entry 6 was retrieved on 11 October 2026. Entries 4, 5 and 7, the release of 18 May 2026 in entry 2 and the rule and program page in entry 3 had first been retrieved on 11 September 2026. For entry 6 we have not read NFPA's own pages, which our tools could not retrieve. On both dates we read section 551.71 in a reprint made with NFPA's permission, the section 551.73 load figures in a JADE Learning article of 5 October 2018 on the 2017 edition, and the NFPA 1194 edition note in a bookseller's listing; on 11 October 2026 we also read section 551.73, with its 45 percent example for 20 sites, as reproduced in a post of 23 November 2021 on Mike Holt's Forum.

This page is general information, not legal, engineering or investment advice. Fee schedules, flow rates and SBA procedure change. Verify with the named agency before committing capital.

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