Accommodation and Food Services takes the largest SBA loans, averaging $665K, about 2 times the average in Transportation and Warehousing ($294K). Average loan size says a lot about what each industry borrows for.
By Mario Bailey·
Source: SBA FOIA data, as of 2026-03-31
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What we measured. Average funded SBA loan size by
industry sector, for sectors with at least 2,000 loans. Bigger averages usually mean loans that
fund real estate and equipment; smaller averages mean working-capital-style borrowing.
Average SBA loan size by industry
Accommodation and Food Services $665K avg · 135,354 loans
Professional and Technical Services $364K avg · 99,514 loans
Construction $309K avg · 113,705 loans
Administrative and Support $302K avg · 49,366 loans
Transportation and Warehousing $294K avg · 53,302 loans
What it means
Industries that buy buildings and heavy equipment, like Accommodation and Food Services, naturally borrow more per
loan, and lean on the 504 program. Service and food businesses borrow smaller amounts for working
capital. If you are sizing up a loan, see typical amounts and lenders in your line of work under
SBA lending by industry and the
Lender Match tool.
Method, sources, and disclaimer. Computed from the public
SBA FOIA 7(a) and 504 data (as of 2026-03-31); see our
methodology. SBA Loan Index is
not affiliated with the SBA and is not a lender, broker, or financial advisor.
Cite this analysis
Mario Bailey. (2026). Which industries take the biggest SBA loans?. SBA Loan Index. https://sbaloanindex.com/studies/biggest-sba-loans-by-industry/
Free to cite and quote with attribution and a link. Members of the press can reach us via our
press page.
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