SBA Loan Statistics for Contracting Businesses
SBA acquisition loan data for general contractors — median 7(a) approvals, rates, and Main Street vs public multiples.
Data as of 2025-09-30 · Based on 2,637 SBA 7(a) loans across 5 NAICS codes
Industry Debt Benchmark
Median SBA 7(a) gross approval for Contracting (FY 2025)
Avg Interest Rate (FY 2025)
9.52%
Acquisitions
11%
Loans (Selected FY)
1,386
+11% vs FY 2024
Loan Purpose Mix
How SBA 7(a) loans in your industry break down by business purpose · FY 2025
11% of SBA loans in your sector fund ownership changes — a signal of consolidation and reinvestment activity.
Typical Loan Size
Interest Rate Trend
All-years avg: 10.69% (FY 2024–2025)
Acquisition Activity in Your Sector
The share and size of Change of Ownership SBA loans signals how active acquisition financing is in your industry.
Acquisition Share
11%
Median Loan
$972,000
Median Rate
9.52%
Median Term
120 mo
1% of acquisition loans involved a franchise brand (e.g. Super 8, Urban Air, One Hour Air).
FY 2025 · 146 Change of Ownership loans · Loan approval ≠ purchase price
Two Markets for Contracting
Public markets reward scale and liquidity. SMB lending reflects the capital available to businesses your size.
Wall Street
EV / EBITDA
15.6×
EBITDA Margin
7.2%
42 public firms in dataset
Main Street
SMB Multiple
4.6×
Median SBA Loan
$605,281
1,386 SBA loans (latest FY)
Public comps in this sector trade at 3.4× the typical SMB multiple — a size and liquidity discount Main Street buyers rarely escape.
The spread between these markets is the illiquidity and size discount built into SMB economics.
Public industry cost of capital: 8.2%
Important context
SBA loan approvals reflect financing amounts, not business enterprise value. Not all exits or acquisitions use SBA debt — buyers typically combine equity, seller notes, and conventional bank financing.
Data is aggregated and anonymized from SBA FOIA disclosures and Damodaran industry datasets. Public company multiples reflect listed firms and are not direct comparables for most SMB transactions.
See our valuation methodology for how XIT blends FCFF, FCFE, and EV/EBITDA — and why SBA loan sizes are financing context, not a formal appraisal.
What owners should know
General contractors and trade businesses blend project risk, bonding requirements, and equipment collateral — SBA 7(a) FOIA data shows how lenders approve debt for construction-adjacent NAICS codes. Review median approvals, rate environment, and acquisition share before LOI or succession planning.