STATE GUIDE
Independent third-party feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 projects across Michigan, prepared to SOP 50 10 8 standards for lenders, CDCs, and SBA review.
$981.9M
Michigan 7(a) dollars, calendar 2025
2,481
7(a) loans, calendar 2025
-0.47%
Average rate vs national, calendar 2025
23,212
Jobs supported, calendar 2025
$55.8M
Hotel SBA lending, calendar 2025
1,067
Huntington loans in Michigan, calendar 2025
82+
Public Great Lakes harbors
$10M
Combined 7(a) and 504 cap from July 4, 2026
Michigan ran $981.9 million in 7(a) lending across 2,481 loans in calendar 2025 at an average near $396,000, supporting 23,212 jobs through 149 active lenders, and it did so at the cheapest money in its peer group: a 9.85 percent average rate, 0.47 points below the national figure. The volume profile is unique in this build: hotels and motels are Michigan's top-funded SBA category outright, $55.8 million across just 22 loans at roughly $2.5 million each, ahead of full-service restaurants at $45.7 million.
Grand Rapids leads the state with 130 calendar 2025 loans for $59.6 million, ahead of Detroit at 110 for $51.8 million, with Troy, Livonia, and Ann Arbor filling the metro table. Columbus-based Huntington dominates the lender field with $202.4 million across 1,067 Michigan loans, the Michigan Certified Development Corporation anchors the 504 market from seven offices reaching roughly 90 percent of counties, and the hotel and marina classes carry the state's most distinctive feasibility demand.
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 Michigan through the Michigan District Office in Detroit, supported by an SBDC network hosted at Grand Valley State University.
Across FY2010–FY2026, Michigan generated 33,232 SBA-disbursed 7(a) and 504 loans across all industries — $11.84 billion in approved financing at an average of $356,000 per deal. The 7(a) share of the count stands at 92.2%, with 504 covering the remainder. Since FY2024, 4,760 loans have been approved.
Among the 24,213 seasoned loans in Michigan (approvals FY2010–FY2021), 5.6% 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 trucking and logistics, manufacturing, and restaurant.
| Asset class | Loans FY2010–FY2026 | Approved volume | Average loan | Seasoned adverse rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trucking and logistics | 4,159 | $466.4 million | $112,000 | 5.9% |
| Manufacturing | 3,041 | $1.63 billion | $535,000 | 5.5% |
| Restaurant | 3,004 | $1.06 billion | $352,000 | 6.1% |
| Medical or dental practice | 874 | $431.8 million | $494,000 | 2.9% |
| Liquor store | 495 | $253.0 million | $511,000 | 6.3% |
| Hotel | 481 | $823.3 million | $1.7 million | 3.3% |
| Gas station and c-store | 434 | $229.4 million | $529,000 | 5.1% |
| Fitness center | 421 | $150.9 million | $358,000 | 9.7% |
| Childcare center | 304 | $156.1 million | $514,000 | 2.3% |
| Brewery, distillery, or winery | 235 | $108.8 million | $463,000 | 7.8% |
| Event venue | 223 | $56.3 million | $252,000 | – |
| Veterinary clinic | 198 | $115.0 million | $581,000 | 1.8% |
| Car wash | 196 | $135.8 million | $693,000 | 3.5% |
| Assisted living | 148 | $118.5 million | $801,000 | 3.7% |
| Self-storage | 125 | $128.1 million | $1.0 million | 0.0% |
| Laundromat | 46 | $9.7 million | $210,000 | – |
| RV park | 46 | $34.3 million | $745,000 | 3.1% |
| Marina or boat storage | 36 | $25.8 million | $716,000 | – |
– 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.
Michigan's 33,232 disbursed SBA loans and $11.84 billion in approved capital give lenders here a deep track record to underwrite against — which means projections in a feasibility study are read against a real local comp set, not a national average alone. For structuring, most owner-occupied real estate deals will map to 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 Michigan charged off at 4.73 percent by count and 2.29 percent by dollar, against national baselines of 6.44 and 2.92 percent. See the full 50-state analysis.
SBA 7(a) and 504 lending data for the five largest SBA-lending metropolitan areas in Michigan.
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Michigan's SBA market leads with lodging: hotels and motels drew $55.8 million in calendar 2025, the state's largest category by dollars, across only 22 loans averaging roughly $2.5 million, exactly the special-purpose, big-ticket profile where SOP 50 10 8 makes the third-party feasibility study and the industry-experienced going-concern appraisal standard equipment. The demand map explains it: Grand Rapids and Detroit business travel on one side, and a resort economy running from Mackinac through Traverse City and the northwest lower peninsula on the other, two comp-set worlds with opposite seasonality that a credible study must model separately.
The second engine is the water. Michigan's boating industry association reports the state's boat registrations have risen to second in the nation, on 3,300 miles of Great Lakes shoreline, 11,000 inland lakes, more than 82 public harbors, and over 1,000 public access sites, which makes marina and boat storage a structurally deep Michigan class where winterized rack and indoor storage carries the model through the off season. Both engines run on the same analytical discipline: monthly demand curves, not annual averages, decide Michigan projections.
$55.8M
Hotel SBA lending, calendar 2025
$2.5M
Average Michigan hotel SBA loan
3,300
Great Lakes shoreline miles
11,000
Inland lakes
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 Michigan through the Michigan District Office in Detroit. The Michigan Certified Development Corporation, established in 1982 and the first Michigan CDC designated an SBA Premier lender, operates from seven offices with projects in roughly 90 percent of the state's counties, and per its Form 990 assisted 74 businesses through the 504 program creating or retaining 2,416 jobs alongside 27 through 7(a). The Oakland County Business Finance Corporation, also established in 1982, and Growth Corp add 504 capacity, with the SBDC network hosted at Grand Valley State University.
SBA lending has no geographic eligibility test, so Michigan feasibility work follows three economies: West Michigan led by Grand Rapids, the state's largest SBA market at 130 calendar 2025 loans for $59.6 million; the Detroit metro from the city through Troy, Livonia, and Madison Heights, anchored by automotive logistics and supplier manufacturing; and the resort north, where Mackinac, Traverse City, and the inland lake counties run on compressed seasonal curves. Ann Arbor adds a technology and medical base, and the Upper Peninsula carries rural and HUBZone geography.
Huntington dominates Michigan with $202.4 million across 1,067 calendar 2025 loans, the deepest in-state position of any lender in this build, followed by Live Oak at $70.5 million across 48, Newtek, Comerica with its deep Michigan roots, Grand Rapids-based Independent Bank, and a strong credit union bench including Lake Michigan Credit Union, the fiscal 2024 Credit Union Lender of the Year, United Federal, and Community Choice. The oversight climate has a local dimension: Auburn Hills-based Genisys Credit Union, a $6.4 billion institution, was among the ten lenders USDA revoked from its own guaranteed programs in May 2026; its chief executive stated publicly that Genisys strongly disagrees with the allegations and had already sought an informal review, and the credit union does not appear among Michigan's top fifteen 7(a) lenders. ReadyCap at tenth and Celtic Bank at fifteenth in the state were also among the revoked, a June 2026 Senate letter asked the SBA to review the revoked lenders' records, and no SBA action has been announced against any of them; the practical step is to confirm any lender's current preferred status and recent program activity before committing a deal to it.
The Michigan Certified Development Corporation anchors the state's 504 market from seven offices reaching roughly 90 percent of counties, the first Michigan CDC designated an SBA Premier lender, with the Oakland County Business Finance Corporation and Growth Corp adding capacity. 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. Michigan stacking: the state's SSBCI allocation of $236,990,950 runs through MEDC and the Michigan Strategic Fund across a Capital Access loan-loss reserve, a Collateral Support Program covering up to 40 percent of a loan, 50 percent in severely affected communities, with a $2.5 million per-loan maximum, plus loan participation and guarantee tracks; MEDC reports deploying more than $180 million over ten years assisting over 250 businesses; and C-PACE is available statewide through Lean and Green Michigan.
Lenders and Certified Development Companies in Michigan 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 Michigan 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 Michigan study. Lenders and CDCs can start at for lenders or the CDC compliance guide.
About the firm and the analyst signing Michigan 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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