In fiscal year 2025, lenders approved 3,339 SBA 7(a) loans worth $1.2 billion to businesses in Ohio. Here is where that money went, which institutions approved it, and how big a loan a business like yours actually gets — straight from the SBA's own published records.
The median approval was $116,000, $50,850 below the national median of $166,850. That number matters more than the headline total: it is the size of deal lenders in this state are comfortable writing, and asking for something far outside it is the quiet reason many files stall.
| Loan size | 7(a) loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Under $50K | 747 | 22.4% |
| $50K-$150K | 1,072 | 32.1% |
| $150K-$350K | 717 | 21.5% |
| $350K-$1M | 503 | 15.1% |
| $1M+ | 300 | 9.0% |
31.3% of Ohio approvals went to new businesses (startups or under two years old), against 29.8% nationally.
Ranked by number of FY2025 approvals to Ohio businesses. The single most active 7(a) lender in the state was The Huntington National Bank with 1,714 approvals at a median of $68,000 — which tells you exactly the size of deal it wants.
| Lender | Loans in Ohio | Median size | Total approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 1,714 | $68,000 | $342.8 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 194 | $50,000 | $64.0 million |
| Northeast Bank | 158 | $128,100 | $24.1 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 104 | $221,000 | $39.3 million |
| Newtek Bank, National Association | 89 | $175,000 | $38.9 million |
| First Commonwealth Bank | 64 | $363,000 | $48.8 million |
| Readycap Lending, LLC | 62 | $50,000 | $21.0 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 58 | $650,000 | $80.4 million |
| United Midwest Savings Bank National Association | 45 | $150,000 | $23.6 million |
| Telhio Credit Union Inc | 44 | $110,000 | $12.0 million |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association | 44 | $237,350 | $12.8 million |
| BayFirst National Bank | 41 | $150,000 | $6.0 million |
Lenders are listed because the SBA publishes them. Inclusion is not a recommendation, an endorsement, or a statement that any of them will approve your file — and Goldspur Capital is not affiliated with any lender named.
The median initial rate recorded at approval was 10.0%, with most loans between 8.25% and 11.5%, and 87.6% written on a variable rate. Historic rates at approval across the year — not a quote, and not what you would be offered today.
| Industry | Loans | Median loan |
|---|---|---|
| General Freight Trucking, Long-Distance, Truckload | 140 | $71,200 |
| Full-Service Restaurants | 113 | $130,000 |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 101 | $150,000 |
| Residential Remodelers | 88 | $100,000 |
| General Freight Trucking, Local | 74 | $64,950 |
| Landscaping Services | 73 | $42,000 |
| Home Health Care Services | 70 | $126,400 |
| All Other Specialty Trade Contractors | 69 | $105,000 |
| Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars | 65 | $150,000 |
| Child Care Services | 54 | $142,000 |
| County | Loans | Median loan |
|---|---|---|
| Franklin | 469 | $125,000 |
| Cuyahoga | 400 | $140,000 |
| Hamilton | 229 | $150,000 |
| Summit | 212 | $135,000 |
| Stark | 140 | $100,000 |
| Lucas | 132 | $100,000 |
| Montgomery | 130 | $114,550 |
| Delaware | 129 | $113,500 |
504 money buys property and heavy equipment, at a long fixed rate, through a Certified Development Company partnered with a bank. Ohio saw 127 504 approvals worth $116.1 million in FY2025, median $616,000. The most active CDCs:
| CDC | 504 loans | Median size | Total approved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alloy Development Co., Inc. | 32 | $953,500 | $38.8 million |
| Growth Capital Corp. | 22 | $651,500 | $19.5 million |
| Community Capital Development Corporation | 17 | $401,000 | $9.3 million |
| Cascade Capital Corporation | 14 | $1,100,000 | $20.4 million |
| Valley Economic Development Partners, Inc. | 11 | $289,000 | $3.7 million |
| Ohio Statewide Development Corporation | 10 | $626,000 | $6.3 million |
| Fiscal year | 7(a) loans approved | Total approved | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2023 | 3,661 | $1.0 billion | $75,000 |
| FY2024 | 3,843 | $1.1 billion | $86,000 |
| FY2025 | 3,339 | $1.2 billion | $116,000 |
| FY2026 (partial) | 1,488 | $757.2 million | $150,000 |
Three practical readings. First, size your ask to the state's median band — a request that sits where lenders are already active is a materially easier file than one that does not. Second, a decline is a matching problem far more often than a credit problem: the tables above show institutions with completely different appetites operating in the same state in the same year. Third, if your industry is not in the list above, it does not mean no, it means fewer lenders — and that is exactly the situation where going through a partner who knows which desk to call is worth more than another application.
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. State figures are aggregated on the project state of each loan. Program guidelines shown are our lending partners' published minimums as of September 2026 and can change. They are qualification floors, not an offer.
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