From 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2026, 189 SBA lenders approved 4,448 7(a) loans in Colorado worth $2.49 billion. The median loan was $227,300, well above the national median of $150,300, at a median rate of 10.25%, the national figure. Acquisitions were 15.2% of loans against 10.4% nationally, at a median of $699,250. SBA suits Colorado buyers of goodwill-heavy businesses best. It cannot finance anything touching the cannabis trade, and a conventional lender may serve a company whose hard assets already secure the loan.
| Measure | Colorado | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 4,448 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $227,300 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $77,500 – $600,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 16% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.25% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 676 (15.2%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $699,250 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 189 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 424 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- 7(a) loans approved
- 4,448, worth $2.49 billion (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $227,300 (national: $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.25%, middle half 9.25% to 11.25%
- Acquisition loans
- 676 (15.2%, national 10.4%), median $699,250 at 9.5%
- Fixed-rate share
- 15.1%
- SBA 504 loans
- 424, median $600,500
Colorado against the national figures
Colorado's SBA loans run larger than the country's. The median 7(a) loan was $227,300, and the middle half ran from $77,500 to $600,000. One loan in ten was larger than $1,523,000, and 712 loans, 16% of the total, were for $1 million or more. Only 28% of loans went through SBA Express, so most Colorado borrowers faced a standard 7(a) underwrite with a full credit memo.
| Measure | Colorado | National | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median 7(a) loan | $227,300 | $150,300 | Larger loans, with acquisitions a bigger share of the market. |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% | 10.25% | Priced at the national level. |
| Acquisitions share | 15.2% | 10.4% | Buying a business is a much bigger share of SBA use here. |
| Start-ups | 17.8% | n/a | Fewer than one loan in five funded a new business. |
| Fixed-rate share | 15.1% | n/a | Roughly one borrower in seven locked a rate. |
The rate band, 9.25% to 11.25% across the middle half, partly reflects SBA's caps by size: the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6% to $250,000, plus 4.5% to $350,000 and plus 3% above. Colorado's median loan sits just below the $250,000 line, and its median acquisition loan, well above $350,000, priced at 9.5%. See SBA loan rates.
A buyer's SBA market
Colorado lenders approved 676 acquisition loans at a median of $699,250, about three times the state's median loan. At that size, SBA requires an independent business valuation wherever the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it. The floor of an SBA purchase structure is set by fixed rules, which the example below lays out in plain numbers.
| Sources and uses | Amount | The rule behind it |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | 900 | Supported by the valuation; the loan cannot exceed it |
| Working capital and closing costs | 100 | Part of total project costs |
| Total project costs | 1,000 | The base for the equity requirement |
| Buyer's cash | 50 | Equity must be at least 10% of total project costs |
| Seller note on full standby | 50 | Counts for up to half the equity only with no payments for the life of the SBA loan |
| SBA 7(a) loan | 900 | Goodwill and working capital amortize over up to 10 years |
If the seller wants to be paid on the note from the start, the note is allowed but becomes debt: it counts in debt service, and the buyer must find the full equity from other sources. SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller. From 1 October 2026, under SOP 50 10 8.1, every change of ownership needs financial due diligence, acquisitions of $3 million or more excluding real estate need a quality of earnings report, and the deal must show 1.25x debt service coverage on historical results. The seller may then consult for up to 24 months, up from 12. See sources and uses for an acquisition and seller notes and the full-standby rule.
Liquor stores: Colorado's second-largest SBA borrower
By loan count, Colorado's top five SBA industries were full-service restaurants (208 loans), beer, wine and liquor retailers (180), limited-service restaurants (117), fitness and recreational sports centers (109) and residential remodelers (106). A liquor retailer in second place, ahead of limited-service restaurants and every trade, is the most Colorado thing in the data.
Lenders reading a liquor store file ask about competition first. Colorado has widened what grocery and convenience stores may sell: full-strength beer from 2019, wine from 2023. A store's results from before those changes say less about its future than its results since, so lenders will want the most recent full year and year-to-date figures, and will ask where the nearest grocery stores are. They also look at inventory, which is most of the balance sheet, and at gross margin by category.
The license is the other gate. A liquor license transfer to a new owner needs approval from both state and local licensing authorities, and lenders treat it as a closing condition. See SBA loans for liquor retailers and financing a liquor store acquisition.
Cannabis and the businesses around it
Colorado's legal marijuana industry is not an SBA borrower. Because marijuana remains illegal under federal law, SBA will not lend to a business that grows, processes or sells it, whatever the state license says. The reach goes further: SBA generally treats businesses that sell goods or services to marijuana businesses, including landlords, suppliers and some service firms, as ineligible too.
That catches Colorado owners who never think of themselves as cannabis companies: a building owner with a dispensary tenant, an HVAC or electrical contractor with grow-facility customers, a packaging supplier. Raise it before applying. A lender that finds dispensary revenue in the bank statements late in the process will stop the loan, and a conventional or private credit lender with its own policy on the sector may be the only route.
If any revenue, rent or customer relationship touches the cannabis trade, say so at the start: it decides which lenders can read the file at all.
Resort towns, seasons and the trades
Outside the Front Range, many Colorado businesses live on a tourist calendar: a winter season, a summer season and quiet months between. Restaurants, gyms and retailers in resort towns can earn most of the year's cash in a few months. Lenders want monthly revenue for at least the last full year so they can see whether payments are covered through the slow months, and they notice when staff housing or high rents squeeze margins. A seasonal line of credit can carry the gap more cheaply than a larger term loan.
Remodelers, fifth on the list, bring different questions: backlog, customer deposits, and how a slowdown in home sales would reach their pipeline. See residential remodelers and fitness centers.
SBA, 504 or conventional in Colorado
- Goodwill-heavy acquisition: SBA 7(a), for the 10% minimum equity and 10-year term.
- Owner-occupied building: SBA 504, typically 50% bank, 40% CDC and 10% borrower (15% for a new business or special-purpose property, 20% for both). Colorado's 424 504 loans had a median of $600,500. The borrower must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. See SBA 7(a) vs SBA 504.
- Established company with hard assets and strong coverage: a conventional lender, which commonly looks for at least 1.25x, without SBA's guaranty fee.
- Above $5 million: senior cash-flow lenders commonly lend 2x to 3.5x EBITDA; see acquisitions above the SBA limit.
- Cannabis-adjacent: not SBA; a lender with its own policy on the sector.
What a Colorado file needs
The SBA core is two to three years of business and personal tax returns, a P&L and balance sheet, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and a personal financial statement for each 20%+ owner, each of whom guarantees the loan. For Colorado, add:
- Monthly revenue for any seasonal or resort-area business
- For a liquor store, results since the grocery changes, inventory and margin by category, and the license transfer status
- A plain statement of any revenue, tenant or customer connected to cannabis
- For an acquisition, the target's latest full year of figures and the letter of intent
Transparent's lender book holds 1,800+ lenders: 278 write SBA 7(a) and 504, and 1,148 write conventional term and private credit, which matters for Colorado files SBA cannot take. Once the documents are in, Transparent builds the financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo in a day; by hand it takes at least a week. Nothing is charged before closing, and on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent. Our lenders describes the book.
Common questions
- What is the typical SBA loan size in Colorado?
- The median 7(a) loan approved from October 2023 to June 2026 was $227,300, against a national median of $150,300. The middle half ran from $77,500 to $600,000, and acquisition loans had a median of $699,250.
- Can a Colorado cannabis business get an SBA loan?
- No. Marijuana is illegal under federal law, so SBA will not lend to businesses that grow, process or sell it, and it generally treats businesses that serve them, such as landlords and suppliers, as ineligible too. Other lenders set their own policies.
- Can I buy a Colorado liquor store with an SBA loan?
- Yes; liquor retailers were Colorado's second-largest SBA industry, with 180 loans. Expect questions on competition from grocery and convenience stores since they gained beer and wine sales, on inventory, and on the state and local license transfer.
- How much do I need to put down to buy a business with SBA in Colorado?
- SBA requires at least 10% of total project costs in a change of ownership. A seller note on full standby for the life of the loan can supply up to half of it. Many lenders ask for more than the minimum.
- Are Colorado SBA loans fixed or variable?
- Mostly variable: 15.1% of Colorado 7(a) loans were fixed-rate. The median rate at approval was 10.25%, with the middle half between 9.25% and 11.25%.