STATE GUIDE
Independent third-party feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and SBA 504 projects across Texas, prepared to SOP 50 10 8 standards for lenders, CDCs, and SBA review.
$1.5B
Dallas-Fort Worth district SBA lending, FY2025
22,000+
Jobs supported by DFW district lending, FY2025
30%+
Top-three states' share of national 7(a) volume
99%+
Texas small businesses as share of all state businesses
20
Capital CDC years leading its five-state region in 504 count
#10
Capital CDC national 504 volume rank
$477,642
National average 7(a) loan, FY2025
$10M
Combined 7(a) and 504 cap from July 4, 2026
Texas is one of the three largest SBA markets in the country, with California, Texas, and Florida together carrying more than 30 percent of national 7(a) volume. The Dallas-Fort Worth district alone delivered $1.5 billion in SBA-backed loans in fiscal 2025, leading the South Central region and supporting more than 22,000 jobs, in a state where small businesses make up over 99 percent of all businesses.
The named program record runs across the asset classes: a veteran-owned childcare academy in The Woodlands financed through Capital CDC with 29 jobs retained, a lakefront resort and marina acquisition on Lake LBJ through PeopleFund, Deep Ellum Brewing in Dallas, and a manufacturing and logistics corridor where 504 financing moves whole companies, including 50 jobs relocated into a new Hutto facility.
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 Texas through district offices in Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, which covers 32 southeast counties, San Antonio, and Lubbock, with additional branch locations.
Between FY2010 and FY2026, SBA lenders approved and disbursed 64,488 7(a) and 504 loans across all industries in Texas, totaling $39.72 billion at an average of $616,000 per loan. 93.2% were 7(a) loans, the remainder 504. 10,595 loans have been approved since FY2024.
Among the 46,671 seasoned loans in Texas (approvals FY2010–FY2021), 9.7% 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 medical or dental practice.
| Asset class | Loans FY2010–FY2026 | Approved volume | Average loan | Seasoned adverse rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 6,449 | $3.39 billion | $526,000 | 13.4% |
| Manufacturing | 3,688 | $2.56 billion | $693,000 | 9.1% |
| Medical or dental practice | 2,871 | $1.87 billion | $650,000 | 5.3% |
| Gas station and c-store | 2,051 | $2.54 billion | $1.2 million | 3.7% |
| Trucking and logistics | 2,046 | $652.6 million | $319,000 | 14.4% |
| Hotel | 1,876 | $4.44 billion | $2.4 million | 6.7% |
| Childcare center | 1,475 | $1.90 billion | $1.3 million | 4.1% |
| Fitness center | 1,321 | $630.9 million | $478,000 | 17.2% |
| Car wash | 612 | $1.00 billion | $1.6 million | 6.9% |
| Event venue | 510 | $218.8 million | $429,000 | – |
| Veterinary clinic | 465 | $499.0 million | $1.1 million | 1.5% |
| Liquor store | 366 | $219.0 million | $598,000 | 6.9% |
| Self-storage | 269 | $384.5 million | $1.4 million | 2.1% |
| Laundromat | 267 | $187.3 million | $701,000 | 3.6% |
| Brewery, distillery, or winery | 219 | $167.6 million | $765,000 | 11.6% |
| Assisted living | 193 | $268.3 million | $1.4 million | 5.8% |
| RV park | 139 | $204.7 million | $1.5 million | 4.9% |
| Marina or boat storage | 14 | $18.6 million | $1.3 million | – |
– 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 64,488 disbursed SBA loans and $39.72 billion in approved financing, Texas 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 Texas charged off at 8.47 percent by count and 3.50 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 Texas.
21,660 loans · $13.68 billion approved
17,259 loans · $11.00 billion approved
6,935 loans · $4.08 billion approved
4,992 loans · $2.72 billion approved
1,505 loans · $532.7 million approved
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
Texas 504 lending is institutionally deep: Capital CDC has led its five-state region of Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana in 504 loan count for 20 consecutive years, ranks tenth nationally by volume, and consistently closes the most 504 loans in the Lubbock, San Antonio, and Houston districts, while Texas Certified Development Company describes itself as the largest SBA 504 lender in the state, partnering on projects from $175,000 to above $5.5 million. PeopleFund and LiftFund add CDFI depth beneath the CDC layer.
The signature Texas pattern is the growth corridor relocation: AEND Industries used a Capital CDC 504 to finance land and a 19,200 square foot facility in Hutto, relocating 50 jobs from California, while KoMiCo Technology expanded in Round Rock and Kids R Kids grew in The Woodlands. For feasibility work the implication is distinct: Texas studies model fast-growth suburban trade areas where demand data lags construction, which makes site-level demand and labor analysis the decisive section, and from July 4, 2026 the $10 million combined 7(a) and 504 cap opens larger corridor projects to the programs.
$1.5B
DFW district lending, FY2025
22,000+
Jobs supported, FY2025
50
Jobs relocated in the AEND Hutto project
20
Capital CDC years leading the five-state region
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 Texas through four district offices: Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston covering 32 southeast Texas counties, San Antonio, and Lubbock, supplemented by branch locations across the state and one of the largest Small Business Development Center networks in the country.
SBA lending has no geographic eligibility test, so Texas feasibility work follows the market: the Texas Triangle of Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin carries the deepest volume, while the I-35 growth corridor through Round Rock, Hutto, and New Braunfels offers the fastest demand growth with construction outpacing published market data, a condition that rewards independent trade-area analysis.
National 7(a) leaders are active statewide, including Live Oak Bank, the largest 7(a) lender by dollars, alongside Huntington, Newtek, and the major national banks, joined by Texas-headquartered institutions across the Triangle. Borrowers should note the oversight climate: in May 2026 USDA revoked ten lenders from its own guaranteed programs, including Celtic Bank and ReadyCap, both top-tier SBA 7(a) lenders, and a June 2026 Senate letter asked the SBA to review their records; no SBA action has been announced, and the practical takeaway is to confirm any lender's current preferred status and recent program activity before committing a deal to it.
Capital CDC leads the five-state region in 504 loan count and ranks tenth nationally, Texas Certified Development Company describes itself as the state's largest 504 lender, and PeopleFund operates as a Texas CDFI and SBA lender. CDC selection matters: 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. Texas stacking: the Texas Small Business Credit Initiative supports underserved borrowers, state programs including the Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund and Enterprise Zone designations layer onto qualifying projects, PeopleFund and LiftFund provide CDFI gap capital, and C-PACE is available for energy components.
Lenders and Certified Development Companies in Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas study. Lenders and CDCs can start at for lenders or the CDC compliance guide.
About the firm and the analyst signing Texas 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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