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Data hub · updated from SBA's FOIA release

SBA Loan Data: Who Actually Got Funded

The SBA publishes every 7(a) and 504 loan it approves — the lender, the state, the county, the industry, the amount, the rate and the jobs behind it. We read 388,338 7(a) approvals and 117,983 504 approvals and turned them into the answer nobody else will give you: who says yes to a business like yours, where, and for how much.

Not the SBA. Goldspur Capital is not the U.S. Small Business Administration and is not a government agency. This page analyses public SBA data; it is not published or endorsed by the SBA. Lenders are named because the SBA publishes them, for identification only.
78,0787(a) loans · FY2025
$37.3 billionApproved FY2025
$166,850Median 7(a) loan
832,969Jobs reported supported

The number that reframes everything

The median 7(a) loan approved in FY2025 was $166,850 — and the average was $477,571, dragged up by a tail of very large deals. Most owners assume SBA money is for buying buildings. It is mostly six-figure working capital for ordinary businesses. On the 504 side, built for property and heavy equipment, the median was $747,000 across 6,762 approvals.

Loan size7(a) loansShare
Under $50K12,18715.6%
$50K-$150K19,61725.1%
$150K-$350K19,97325.6%
$350K-$1M16,87721.6%
$1M+9,42412.1%

15.6% of 7(a) approvals were under $50,000 and 12.1% were $1 million or more. Both ends are real, and they are served by completely different lenders — which is the whole point of the lender tables below.

Was it only established businesses?

No. 29.8% of FY2025 7(a) approvals went to businesses SBA classified as new — startups, or under two years old. That is roughly 23,250 loans to new businesses in a single year, which is worth remembering the next time someone tells you a startup cannot get funded.

What the money cost

The median initial interest rate recorded at approval was 10.25%, with the middle of the market between 8.25% and 12.5%. 87.6% of 7(a) loans were variable-rate, so most SBA borrowers are exposed to the base rate moving. These are historic rates recorded at approval across FY2025, not an offer and not a current quote.

Seven years of approvals

Fiscal year7(a) loans7(a) approvedMedian 7(a)504 loans
FY202042,298$22.5 billion$200,0007,119
FY202151,856$36.5 billion$323,6009,676
FY202247,678$25.7 billion$200,0009,254
FY202357,362$27.5 billion$150,0005,924
FY202470,242$31.1 billion$150,0005,993
FY202578,078$37.3 billion$166,8506,762
FY2026 (partial)40,824$21.8 billion$200,0004,459

The 15 most active 7(a) lenders

Ranked by the number of loans approved in FY2025, not by anyone's opinion. Note how far apart the median loan sizes are — the same "SBA lender" label covers a bank writing $35,000 loans and one writing $1.5 million loans.

Lender7(a) loansMedian sizeTotal approved
Northeast Bank7,815$146,800$1.3 billion
The Huntington National Bank7,784$101,950$2.5 billion
Newtek Bank, National Association4,828$210,000$2.0 billion
U.S. Bank, National Association3,453$50,000$871.2 million
TD Bank, National Association3,424$50,000$495.2 million
Readycap Lending, LLC3,137$143,500$1.2 billion
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company2,701$50,000$293.9 million
Live Oak Banking Company2,280$500,000$2.9 billion
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association1,914$211,500$590.5 million
BayFirst National Bank1,895$150,000$301.6 million
Lendistry SBLC, LLC1,849$150,000$384.8 million
Wells Fargo Bank National Association1,607$20,000$539.1 million
Celtic Bank Corporation1,482$150,000$592.9 million
Zions Bank1,217$105,000$239.5 million
United Midwest Savings Bank National Association963$150,000$380.6 million

See the full lender analysis — including the lenders most active under $150,000, the ones doing million-dollar deals, and the biggest CDCs on the 504 side.

What businesses borrowed for

Industry (SBA NAICS description)LoansMedian loan
Full-Service Restaurants3,574$250,000
Limited-Service Restaurants2,584$311,800
Residential Remodelers1,768$100,000
Fitness and Recreational Sports Centers1,607$250,000
Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors1,406$200,000
All Other Specialty Trade Contractors1,260$185,600
General Automotive Repair1,250$176,350
Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars1,241$300,000
Landscaping Services1,200$100,000
Beauty Salons1,192$75,000
Child Care Services1,145$350,000
General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload1,009$89,900
Electrical Contractors and Other Wiring Installation Contractors1,008$150,000
Other Personal Care Services911$200,000
Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)865$250,000

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan data (data.sba.gov), files as of 30 June 2026, read on 1 September 2026. Figures cover loan APPROVALS, not disbursements, and the files contain no declined applications — so no approval rate can be calculated from them. Fiscal year 2026 is partial (1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026). Aggregated by Goldspur Capital; borrower-level records are not published. Program guidelines shown are our lending partners' published minimums as of September 2026 and can change. They are qualification floors, not an offer.

By industry

SBA lending by industry

What lenders approved for businesses like yours — sizes, terms and the banks most active in each trade.

SBA lending by state

Every state, with the lenders actually approving loans there, the counties taking the money, the industries borrowing, and how loan sizes compare to the national median.

How to read this data honestly

  • These are approvals, not disbursements. Some approved loans are never drawn.
  • There are no declines in the file. Anyone quoting an "SBA approval rate" from this data is inventing it. We will not.
  • FY2026 is a partial year — nine months, to 30 June 2026. Compare it to a full year and you will conclude the market collapsed. It did not.
  • A lender's loan count is activity, not quality. The most active lender is not automatically the right one for your file; the point of these tables is appetite — which institutions actually write your size of deal, in your state, in your industry.
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Straight answers

SBA lending, answered with SBA's own numbers

What is the average SBA loan amount?
In fiscal year 2025 the median SBA 7(a) approval was $166,850 and the average was $477,571. The average is higher because a small number of multi-million-dollar loans pull it up, so the median is the better expectation. On the 504 program, built for property and heavy equipment, the median was $747,000.
How many SBA loans are approved each year?
SBA lenders approved 78,078 7(a) loans worth $37.3 billion and 6,762 504 loans worth $7.8 billion in fiscal year 2025, according to SBA's own FOIA data release.
What interest rate do SBA loans actually carry?
Across FY2025 approvals the median initial rate recorded was 10.25%, with most loans between 8.25% and 12.5%, and 87.6% written on a variable rate. Those are historic rates at approval, not current pricing and not an offer — 7(a) pricing moves with the base rate.
Do startups get SBA loans?
Yes. 29.8% of FY2025 7(a) approvals went to businesses SBA classified as new — startups or under two years old. It is harder, and lenders substitute an equity injection, collateral and management experience for trading history, but it happens in volume every year.
Can I see SBA approval rates by lender?
No, and be sceptical of anyone who publishes them. SBA's public file contains approved loans only — there are no declined applications in it, so an approval rate cannot be calculated from this data. What it does show honestly is each lender's activity and the size of deal it habitually writes.