STATE GUIDE
Independent third-party feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 projects across Colorado, prepared to SOP 50 10 8 standards for lenders, CDCs, and SBA review.
#7
National rank, weekly SBA proceeds
$1.21B
Colorado 7(a) dollars, calendar 2025
2,241
7(a) loans, calendar 2025
$540K
Average Colorado 7(a) loan, calendar 2025
23,477
Jobs supported, calendar 2025
153
Active SBA lenders in the state
$40.7M
Hotel SBA lending, calendar 2025
$10M
Combined 7(a) and 504 cap from July 4, 2026
Colorado ranked seventh in the country in weekly SBA loan proceeds per the SBA's own late 2025 analysis, roughly $26.4 million per week, and closed calendar 2025 with $1.21 billion in 7(a) lending across 2,241 loans at a $540,000 average, 1.1 times the national figure, supporting 23,477 jobs through 153 active lenders at a 10.1 percent average rate, 0.22 points below the national average. Restaurants lead by count, but the big tickets sit in dentistry at $48.8 million across 31 loans, hotels at $40.7 million across just 19, and childcare at $30.8 million across 16.
The named program record runs through Denver-based B:Side Capital, which together with its sister organization has approved more than 5,500 loans creating over 45,300 jobs and injecting $6.05 billion into the economy across three decades: the $5.22 million Ducts Unlimited manufacturing 504 with BOK Financial, the Choice Market convenience financing with InBank, the North Park Inn and Suites mountain lodging deal with Mountain Valley Bank, and the Novastar Kids childcare project with NBH Bank.
Under SOP 50 10 8, special-purpose properties such as hotels, car washes, gas stations, self-storage, RV parks, and marinas normally require a third-party feasibility study, and projection-based deals carry the same expectation. The SBA serves all 64 Colorado counties from the Denver district office, where David Benavides serves as deputy district director, alongside the Rocky Mountain regional office.
From FY2010 through FY2026, SBA activity in Colorado totalled 22,594 disbursed 7(a) and 504 loans across all industries, representing $12.23 billion in approved capital at an average loan size of $542,000. 87.8% ran under 7(a), with 504 taking the rest, and 3,844 loans have been approved since FY2024.
Among the 16,194 seasoned loans in Colorado (approvals FY2010–FY2021), 6.1% reached adverse resolution — purchased, liquidated, or charged off — compared with 7.3% nationally. That performance runs below the national all-industry benchmark, a credit-positive signal. The state's most active SBA asset classes by loan count are restaurant, manufacturing, and liquor store.
| Asset class | Loans FY2010–FY2026 | Approved volume | Average loan | Seasoned adverse rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 1,863 | $936.2 million | $503,000 | 6.8% |
| Manufacturing | 1,382 | $876.2 million | $634,000 | 5.1% |
| Liquor store | 941 | $595.8 million | $633,000 | 4.6% |
| Medical or dental practice | 767 | $651.3 million | $849,000 | 4.0% |
| Hotel | 532 | $955.4 million | $1.8 million | 4.2% |
| Fitness center | 393 | $211.2 million | $537,000 | 7.9% |
| Trucking and logistics | 392 | $144.6 million | $369,000 | 9.1% |
| Childcare center | 266 | $316.4 million | $1.2 million | 2.8% |
| Veterinary clinic | 227 | $236.6 million | $1.0 million | 0.5% |
| Brewery, distillery, or winery | 200 | $124.7 million | $624,000 | 7.1% |
| Gas station and c-store | 179 | $145.4 million | $812,000 | 4.4% |
| Car wash | 171 | $174.7 million | $1.0 million | 4.5% |
| Event venue | 151 | $50.3 million | $333,000 | – |
| Assisted living | 77 | $89.5 million | $1.2 million | 0.0% |
| Self-storage | 70 | $112.2 million | $1.6 million | 1.8% |
| Laundromat | 48 | $21.8 million | $454,000 | 2.9% |
| RV park | 45 | $58.0 million | $1.3 million | 10.0% |
| Marina or boat storage | 4 | $1.4 million | $356,000 | – |
– State-level rate not published where the seasoned cohort is under 30 loans; national benchmarks apply. Details in our data methodology.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of March 31, 2026. Disbursed loans only.
With 22,594 disbursed SBA loans and $12.23 billion in approved financing, Colorado gives credit committees a genuine local comparison set, and a rigorous third-party feasibility study is the report that anchors the projection and coverage case. On program structure, working-capital and acquisition deals typically anchor on SBA 7(a), while owner-occupied real estate and heavy equipment typically fit SBA 504. A rigorous third-party feasibility study is what turns those local numbers into a defensible credit narrative for the lender's underwriter and credit committee.
State loss experience
Mature-cohort SBA 7(a) loans in Colorado charged off at 5.36 percent by count and 2.18 percent by dollar, against national baselines of 6.44 and 2.92 percent. See the full 50-state analysis.
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Colorado's SBA market runs on two altitudes. The Front Range from Fort Collins through Denver to Colorado Springs carries the volume, Denver alone drew 382 calendar 2025 loans for $191.7 million with Colorado Springs adding 228 for $105.4 million, and the demand profile is metropolitan: dental offices at $48.8 million, childcare at $30.8 million, fitness centers across 59 loans, and one of the strongest pet economies in the country at $17.7 million in non-veterinary pet care alone. The mountains carry the tickets: hotels drew $40.7 million across just 19 loans, and lodging deals like the North Park Inn and Suites financing in Walden run on resort seasonality that bears no resemblance to a Front Range comp set.
The capital stack has a Colorado signature too. Live Oak leads the state by dollars at $117.3 million while Huntington leads by count at 291 loans, a split between national vertical lending and high-volume small-ticket credit that mirrors the market itself. Underneath, B:Side Capital anchors the 504 field as a multi-state Premier CDC that also holds a small-business lending company license for 7(a) loans to $350,000, and the state's SSBCI suite adds cash collateral support through CHFA and a startup loan fund where B:Side is one of eight participating lenders.
$191.7M
Denver SBA lending, calendar 2025
$40.7M
Hotel SBA dollars across 19 loans
$48.8M
Dental SBA lending, calendar 2025
5,500+
B:Side loans approved across three decades
Anonymized summaries of comparable feasibility studies we have delivered, including scope, methodology, and lender outcome.
NAICS NAICS 7211 family
NAICS 721211
NAICS NAICS 7225 family
NAICS No dedicated NAICS; 812990 proxy segment
NAICS 811192
NAICS NAICS 447 and 457 families
NAICS 531130
NAICS 624410
NAICS NAICS 6233 family
NAICS NAICS 6211, 6212
NAICS 541940
NAICS 713940
NAICS 812310
NAICS NAICS 445310, 445320
NAICS NAICS 484, 4885, 4931 families
NAICS 31-33
NAICS 3121
NAICS 713930
The SBA serves all 64 Colorado counties from the Denver district office, where David Benavides serves as deputy district director, alongside the Rocky Mountain regional office. Denver-based B:Side Capital, formerly Colorado Lending Source, anchors the CDC field as a Premier Certified Lender serving Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona, with Pikes Peak Regional Development Corporation active in the south and the Colorado Enterprise Fund covering microloans, supported by a statewide SBDC network.
SBA lending has no geographic eligibility test, so Colorado feasibility work follows the altitude line: the Front Range corridor from Fort Collins through Boulder, Denver, Aurora, and south to Colorado Springs carries the overwhelming share of volume, with Denver at 382 calendar 2025 loans for $191.7 million and Colorado Springs at 228 for $105.4 million; the mountain resort corridors from Summit County through the Vail Valley and Aspen run premium lodging and hospitality economics on seasonal curves; and the Western Slope and eastern plains carry rural and HUBZone geography where state enterprise zones add stacking depth.
Colorado's lender table splits its crown: Live Oak leads by dollars at $117.3 million across 97 calendar 2025 loans at the state's second-lowest major-lender rate, while Huntington leads by count at 291 loans for $113.9 million, with Newtek, Hanmi, Northeast Bank at 204 loans, JPMorgan Chase, U.S. Bank at 164, and Zions at 100 filling the table. The oversight climate applies: ReadyCap, tenth in the state at $25.8 million across 78 loans and carrying the highest average rate among major Colorado lenders at 12.21 percent, and Byline Bank at thirteenth were among the ten lenders USDA revoked from its own guaranteed programs in May 2026, and a June 2026 Senate letter asked the SBA to review the revoked lenders' records; no SBA action has been announced, and the practical step is to confirm any lender's current preferred status and recent program activity before committing a deal to it.
B:Side Capital, formerly Colorado Lending Source and headquartered on Brighton Boulevard in Denver, anchors Colorado's 504 field as a Premier Certified Lender serving four states; together with its sister organization it has approved more than 5,500 small business loans creating over 45,300 jobs and injecting $6.05 billion into the economy across three decades, and it also holds a small-business lending company license to make 7(a) loans up to $350,000. Pikes Peak Regional Development Corporation adds 504 capacity in the south. The CDC underwrites the debenture, addresses special-purpose status in its credit memorandum, and carries the package through SBA processing.
For loans in fiscal 2026 under SOP 50 10 8, effective June 1, 2025 and amended March 1, 2026: 7(a) loans run to $5 million with an 85 percent guaranty up to $150,000 and 75 percent above, statutory fees restored, and a 0.55 percent annual service fee, with fees waived for small manufacturers on loans up to $950,000. 504 debentures run to $5 million, or $5.5 million for manufacturers and energy projects, on the 50/40/10 structure, with manufacturer fees waived and other 504 loans at a 0.50 percent upfront fee and 0.209 percent annual fee. Equity injection follows the 10/15/20 ladder, and from July 4, 2026 eligible borrowers can combine programs for up to $10 million under Policy Notice 5000-879058, with sequencing that matters: a 7(a) balance no longer reduces 504 capacity, but 504 balances still count against 7(a) room. Colorado stacking: the state's SSBCI suite through OEDIT includes Cash Collateral Support administered by CHFA, the Colorado Credit Reserve loan-loss program, and the Colorado Startup Loan Fund lending to $150,000 through eight participating lenders including B:Side, with the Venture Capital Authority on the equity side and C-PACE available statewide for energy components.
Lenders and Certified Development Companies in Colorado do not need a business plan writer, they need an independent SBA feasibility study consultant whose conclusions survive credit committee. Our feasibility study company prepares signed, sourced studies to SOP 50 10 8 standards, with the analyst and reviewer named on the report.
Every Colorado engagement is calibrated to the program the file routes through: 7(a), 504 or Express. See when SBA requires a feasibility study, cost and turnaround, projections and DSCR testing and the methodology behind each Colorado study. Lenders and CDCs can start at for lenders or the CDC compliance guide.
About the firm and the analyst signing Colorado work: David Jones, MAI, CCIM, over 4,300 feasibility studies completed.
Fifteen-minute scoping call, written proposal inside one business day, firm fixed fee before you sign.
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