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US Small Business Funding Statistics

Last updated: September 2026. Statistics below are drawn from primary sources — the U.S. Small Business Administration and the Federal Reserve’s Small Business Credit Survey — and cited individually. These are third-party research figures, not Stable Core Funding’s own funding data.

SBA lending volume

  • $44.8 billion in SBA 7(a) and 504 loans were guaranteed in Fiscal Year 2025, the most capital the SBA has delivered to small businesses in a single year. (SBA.gov, September 2025)
  • The SBA guaranteed 84,400 7(a) and 504 loans in FY2025. (SBA.gov, September 2025)
  • By comparison, the SBA guaranteed roughly $43 billion across more than 62,000 loans in FY2022 through its 7(a), 504, and Microloan programs — showing sustained multi-year growth in SBA-backed lending. (SBA.gov, December 2022)

How much financing small businesses actually get

Based on the Federal Reserve’s 2026 Report on Employer Firms (surveying 6,525 small employer firms nationwide, fielded September–November 2025):

  • 42% of financing applicants received the full amount they applied for.
  • 36% received some or most of the amount requested.
  • 22% received none of the financing they sought.

(Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2026 Report on Employer Firms)

How small businesses structure their debt

  • 31% of small employer firms report having no outstanding debt at all — up from 21% in the 2020 survey, a return to pre-pandemic levels.
  • Among firms that do carry debt, 59% secured it with a personal guarantee, and 51% secured it with business assets.

(Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2026 Report on Employer Firms)

About these numbers

SBA figures reflect the 7(a) and 504 guaranteed loan programs specifically, not all forms of business funding. Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey figures reflect a nationwide convenience sample of employer firms with 1–499 employees and describe outcomes across all financing types, not one specific product. Neither source is Stable Core Funding’s own data — see our funding products for the specific programs available through our lending network.

Frequently asked questions

Where do these statistics come from? The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) and the Federal Reserve System’s Small Business Credit Survey (fedsmallbusiness.org), linked individually above.

How often is this page updated? The SBA publishes loan volume figures annually at fiscal year-end; the Federal Reserve publishes its Small Business Credit Survey report annually. This page is reviewed and refreshed when new reports are released.