Updated SBA Loan Statistics 2026 [New Data]

SBA loan statistics give us insights into which industries default most commonly, which lenders approve the most loans or have the highest volumes of financing, and whether small business lending is rising or falling year over year.

Here are some of the top SBA loan statistics we’ve found in our research.

• The average SBA 7a loan in 2026 is $541,427.
• The average SBA 504 loan in 2026 is $1,176,711.
• The total number of SBA 7a loans issued in 2025 was 78,078.
• The total number of SBA 504 loans issued in 2025 was 6,762.
• The total amount of SBA 7a loans issued in 2025 was $37,287,816,200.
• The total amount of SBA 504 loans issued in 2025 was $7,804,172,000.

We inferred that the average SBA 504 loan is higher because those loans often involve real estate purchases. But SBA 7a loans were issued way more often: about 11x as many. While the SBA 7a loan tops out at $5,000,000, the average amount issued is far lower than that at $541,427.

Top SBA Lenders by Volume

Live Oak Bank, Newtek Bank, and Huntington National Bank are the top three SBA 7a lenders in 2026. This tracks when you consider the top SBA lenders by state, which we’ve covered in sections below using available lending data.

Here’s the full overview of top lenders by volume:

As you can see, Live Oak Bank approved fewer SBA 7a loans than some of the other high-volume lenders on this list, despite approving the highest volume of small business lending financing throughout the year.

Meanwhile, loan approval numbers were higher for Newtek Bank, Huntington National Bank, and U.S. Bank for SBA 7a loans, albeit at much lower volumes. Keep in mind that these are total loan approvals, not the SBA loan approval rate.

Top SBA Lenders by State

The Live Oak Banking Company is the top SBA 7a lender across 13 states in 2026. No other lender came close as the top choice for SBA funding.

They are an SBA lender with a strong reputation for low rates and strict underwriting guidelines (including a strong SBSS score, great personal credit score, time in business, and other factors).

This small business lending approach may make them a more appealing SBA preferred lender to borrowers seeking business funding.

The states where Live Oak Bank was the top SBA lender include:

• Arizona
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Georgia
• Massachusetts
• Mississippi
• New Hampshire
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia

U.S. Bank is the top SBA 7a lender for financing across five states. These states include:

• California
• Iowa
• Oregon
• Washington
• Wyoming

Surprisingly, The Huntington National Bank is only the top SBA 7a lender across four states. These include:

• Alabama
• Indiana
• Michigan
• Ohio

Newtek Bank, offering B2B online banking, ranks as the top SBA approved lender in two states: Florida and Kentucky.

The same applies to Byline Bank and Oakstar Bank. Byline Bank is the top choice for SBA lending in Illinois and Washington.

Oakstar Bank is the top lender for SBA 7a financing in Kansas and Missouri.

Meanwhile, America First FCU, which is a credit union rather than a financial institution like one of the big banks listed here, ranks as the top SBA 7a lender in Nevada and Utah.

There are only seven multi-state lenders that multiple states look to for funding. SBA lending data reveals that there are 21 single-state local champions.

These single-state financing leaders are as follows:

• Alaska Growth Capital BIDCO: Alaska
• Alerus Financial: North Dakota
• American Bank: Louisiana
• BancFirst: Oklahoma
• Bank of Hope: Montana
• Beacon Bank and Trust: Vermont
• Community Trust Bank: West Virginia
• First Bank & Trust: South Dakota
• First-Citizens Bank & Trust: South Carolina
• Hanmi Bank: District of Columbia
• Idaho Central Credit Union: Idaho
• Maine Community Bank: Maine
• M&T Bank: Maryland
• Northeast Bank: Hawaii
• Old National Bank: Minnesota
• Southern Bancorp Bank: Arkansas
• TD Bank: New Jersey
• Union Bank and Trust: Nebraska
• Webster Bank: Rhode Island
• Western Commerce Bank: New Mexico
• Wilmington Savings Fund Society: Delaware

The above illustrates that the national or larger banks tend to be the most popular options for funding on the coast and in the industrial Midwest. Those in these areas will go the large bank lending route and enlist the help of large banking institutions.

Meanwhile, smaller states tend to favor small banks (regional) or credit unions for SBA lending and financing.

Lender type will vary depending on where the small business is located.

SBA Loan Statistics by Year

Each fiscal year provides us with more insights into how many small businesses are seeking and successfully acquiring small business financing. This comes in the form of total loan approval, overall approval amount, and average loan size.

SBA loan statistics reveal that the number of loans, the total SBA approval amount, and the average small business loan size are growing each fiscal year.

Here’s a look at SBA 7a loan approval numbers, loan amount, and average loan size from 2021 to 2026.

It’s important to note that the 2026 lending numbers above are extrapolated from YTD lending numbers. Here are 2026 lending actuals (loan approval, loan amount, and average loan size) based on the data we have, as the fiscal year hasn’t concluded yet:

SBA Loan Default Rates by Industry

Statistics surrounding SBA loan default rates by industry are difficult to find. We managed to source SBA loan default rates by industry from the years 1962 to 2014, with the majority of these statistics being from the 1990s and 2000s.

The data reveals a 20.2% overall small business loan default rate on average by count, with the full breakdown being the following:

We see unsurprising industries have the lowest default rates. Public administration, healthcare and social assistance, and mining, oil, & gas extraction, for example, naturally have lower default rates.

One industry that does stand out is finance & insurance, which had an impressive 28.4% default rate.

Note: This data does not include companies without a listed NAICS code.

Methodology

Data for the top SBA lenders by volume, the top SBA lenders by state, and SBA loan statistics by year were obtained from the SBA 7(a) and 504 Lender Report.

SBA 7a loans were our primary focus. Far fewer SBA 504 loans were distributed throughout 2025.

We were also focused more heavily on SBA 7a loans than niche SBA financing solutions other than 504 loan programs. For example, an SBA loan program for those seeking SBA loans for immigrants.

Yearly small business loan data was produced from Kaggle.