STATE GUIDE
Independent third-party feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 projects across Pennsylvania, prepared to SOP 50 10 8 standards for lenders, CDCs, and SBA review.
#9
National rank, SBA dollar volume
$1.19B
Pennsylvania 7(a) dollars, calendar 2025
2,701
7(a) loans, calendar 2025
27,579
Jobs supported, calendar 2025
142
Active SBA lenders in the state
$48M
Seedcopa project financing, FY2024
$25.1M
Veterinary SBA lending, calendar 2025
$10M
Combined 7(a) and 504 cap from July 4, 2026
Pennsylvania is the ninth-largest SBA market in the country, with roughly $26 million in weekly loan proceeds per the SBA's own late 2025 analysis. Calendar 2025 brought $1.19 billion in 7(a) lending across 2,701 loans at an average near $440,000, supporting 27,579 jobs through 142 active lenders. Restaurants lead by count, but the ticket sizes concentrate in the care economy: childcare drew $42.7 million, veterinary practices $25.1 million across just 16 loans, and home health $20.2 million.
Few states document their deals as precisely as Pennsylvania. Seedcopa, the number one SBA 504 lender in eastern Pennsylvania for four consecutive years, published a fiscal 2024 book of 20 loans and roughly $48 million in total project value at a $951,000 average, including a $3 million veterinary practice project in Fleetwood with Mid Penn Bank, an $11.9 million third-party logistics project in Wilkes-Barre with Cross River Bank, a $15.3 million medical and aerospace device manufacturer in Hatboro, and a $3.7 million dental surgery center in New Hope.
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 Pennsylvania through two districts: the Eastern Pennsylvania office at 660 American Avenue in King of Prussia covering 40 eastern counties, and the Pittsburgh office at 3 Parkway Center Drive South covering the 27 western counties.
Across FY2010–FY2026, Pennsylvania generated 26,903 SBA-disbursed 7(a) and 504 loans across all industries — $11.26 billion in approved financing at an average of $419,000 per deal. The 7(a) share of the count stands at 94.3%, with 504 covering the remainder. Since FY2024, 4,612 loans have been approved.
Among the 18,747 seasoned loans in Pennsylvania (approvals FY2010–FY2021), 8.3% reached adverse resolution — purchased, liquidated, or charged off — compared with 7.3% nationally. That performance runs above the national all-industry benchmark, which lenders weigh in underwriting. The state's most active SBA asset classes by loan count are restaurant, manufacturing, and trucking and logistics.
| Asset class | Loans FY2010–FY2026 | Approved volume | Average loan | Seasoned adverse rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 2,906 | $1.08 billion | $372,000 | 10.7% |
| Manufacturing | 2,050 | $1.35 billion | $657,000 | 8.7% |
| Trucking and logistics | 1,021 | $211.7 million | $207,000 | 12.1% |
| Medical or dental practice | 547 | $280.4 million | $513,000 | 4.7% |
| Childcare center | 493 | $318.2 million | $645,000 | 3.7% |
| Fitness center | 476 | $220.5 million | $463,000 | 12.9% |
| Hotel | 426 | $952.4 million | $2.2 million | 10.3% |
| Brewery, distillery, or winery | 243 | $123.2 million | $507,000 | 10.5% |
| Liquor store | 242 | $129.9 million | $537,000 | 3.4% |
| Gas station and c-store | 239 | $102.7 million | $430,000 | 4.0% |
| Veterinary clinic | 202 | $193.6 million | $959,000 | 2.6% |
| Event venue | 156 | $41.7 million | $267,000 | – |
| Car wash | 125 | $125.1 million | $1.0 million | 6.0% |
| Laundromat | 76 | $31.4 million | $414,000 | 6.2% |
| Assisted living | 72 | $67.1 million | $931,000 | 24.1% |
| Self-storage | 55 | $44.3 million | $805,000 | 0.0% |
| RV park | 21 | $18.9 million | $900,000 | – |
| Marina or boat storage | 3 | $259,000 | $86,000 | – |
– 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.
Pennsylvania's 26,903 disbursed SBA loans and $11.26 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 Pennsylvania charged off at 6.02 percent by count and 3.02 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 Pennsylvania.
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Pennsylvania's SBA book skews toward the businesses that care for people and animals, and the tickets are large: childcare centers drew $42.7 million across 53 calendar 2025 loans, veterinary practices $25.1 million across only 16, home health operators $20.2 million across 36, and dental offices $15.4 million across 20. These are exactly the classes where SOP 50 10 8 bites hardest, combining goodwill-driven going-concern appraisal triggers on acquisitions, licensure and staffing analysis, and projection-based underwriting for startups and expansions. Seedcopa's documented book shows the pattern at deal level: a $3 million Fleetwood veterinary project carrying a $1.237 million debenture with Mid Penn Bank, the $3.7 million New Hope dental surgery center with Penn Community Bank, and a Berks County childcare financing.
The state's second engine is movement and making: the I-78 and I-81 warehouse belt anchors one of the largest distribution corridors in the country, documented by the $11.9 million Wilkes-Barre logistics project financed with Cross River Bank, while the manufacturing base from Hatboro's $15.3 million device plant to Berks and Lehigh fabrication shops captures fiscal 2026's strongest program economics, fee waivers and the $5.5 million debenture, with the state's PIDA loans proven to stack directly behind the 504.
$42.7M
Childcare SBA lending, calendar 2025
$25.1M
Veterinary SBA lending, calendar 2025
$11.9M
Wilkes-Barre logistics project
$15.3M
Hatboro manufacturing project
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 Pennsylvania through two district offices: Eastern Pennsylvania at 660 American Avenue, Suite 301, in King of Prussia, covering 40 eastern counties, and Pittsburgh at 3 Parkway Center Drive South, Suite 375, covering the 27 western counties. Seedcopa, EDC Finance in Lancaster with its statewide 504 charter, Altoona-based ABCD Corp serving 19 counties and administering state and SSBCI funds, Berks-based PCDfc, and multi-state lender Pursuit anchor the CDC field, supported by a statewide SBDC network.
SBA lending has no geographic eligibility test, so Pennsylvania feasibility work follows the corridor map: metro Philadelphia leads with 310 calendar 2025 loans for $126 million, Pittsburgh follows at 150 loans for $64.8 million, and the mid-state markets of Reading, Lancaster, West Chester, Allentown, and Bethlehem fill the Lehigh Valley and south-central belts. The I-78 and I-81 warehouse corridor carries the freight economy, the Poconos carry resort lodging seasonality, and the Wawa and Sheetz home market makes Pennsylvania the most competitive convenience corridor in the country.
Live Oak leads Pennsylvania by dollars at $94.1 million across 80 calendar 2025 loans, while M&T leads by count at 324, with TD at 288, Northeast Bank at 253, and Huntington at 241 behind it. The state-headquartered bench runs deep: Mid Penn Bank and Phoenixville-based Customers Bank appear as 504 partner lenders in Seedcopa's documented book, joined by Univest, Meridian, First Commonwealth, Fulton, and WSFS. The oversight climate applies: ReadyCap, fourteenth in the state at $24 million across 88 loans, was 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.
Seedcopa, with its SeedcoDE affiliate under the Chester County Economic Development Council, has been the number one SBA 504 lender in eastern Pennsylvania for four consecutive years, funding 20 loans in fiscal 2024 for roughly $48 million in total project value at a $951,000 average alongside 17 bank partners, after supporting 29 borrowers across 13 counties the year before. EDC Finance in Lancaster holds a statewide 504 charter, ABCD Corp serves 19 counties from Altoona, and PCDfc and Pursuit round out the field. 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. Pennsylvania stacking: PIDA provides low-interest second-mortgage loans through certified economic development organizations at fixed real estate rates near 5.00 to 5.25 percent with one job required per $75,000, eligible for hospitality, childcare, manufacturing, and recycling projects, and proven to stack behind the 504, as a 2023 frozen pretzel manufacturer demonstrated with a $400,000 PIDA loan inside a $3.4 million project alongside an SBA 504; Pennsylvania SSBCI runs through DCED, Ben Franklin Technology Partners supports technology businesses, and C-PACE is available statewide.
Lenders and Certified Development Companies in Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania study. Lenders and CDCs can start at for lenders or the CDC compliance guide.
About the firm and the analyst signing Pennsylvania 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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