From 1 October 2023 to 30 June 2026, SBA lenders approved 12,702 7(a) loans in Texas worth $8.59 billion. The median loan was $275,000, well above the national median of $150,300, and the median rate at approval was 10.25%, the same as nationally. Acquisitions made up 11.7% of loans, at a median of $876,000. A Texas business should use SBA where the guaranty buys something it needs, such as a lower down payment, a longer term or credit for goodwill, and go conventional where collateral and cash flow already carry the deal.
| Measure | Texas | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 12,702 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $275,000 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $111,000 – $702,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 18.6% | 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) | 1,491 (11.7%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $876,000 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 350 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 823 | 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
- 12,702 (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $275,000 (national: $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.25%, middle half 9.25% to 11.25%
- Acquisition loans
- 1,491 (11.7%), median $876,000 at 9.5%
- Lenders that approved a Texas loan
- 350
- SBA 504 loans
- 823, median $1,249,000
What the Texas numbers say
The headline is size. Half of all Texas 7(a) approvals were for more than $275,000, and the middle half of loans ran from $111,000 to $702,000. One loan in ten was larger than $1,935,900, and 2,366 loans, or 18.6% of the total, were for $1 million or more. Texas borrowers are using SBA for real projects, such as buying companies, buildings and fully built-out franchise units, not only for small working-capital loans.
The second thing to notice is how few of those loans went through SBA Express. Express loans, capped at $500,000, made up 20.7% of Texas approvals. That means roughly four in five Texas borrowers went through the standard 7(a) process, where the lender writes a full credit memo, tests eligibility against SBA's rules and, for the larger loans, carries a guaranty of 75% of the balance. A standard 7(a) file is judged on its documents, so how it is prepared matters.
| Measure | Texas | All states | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median 7(a) loan | $275,000 | $150,300 | Texas borrowers finance larger projects: acquisitions, real estate, franchise build-outs. |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% | 10.25% | Larger loans did not make the typical Texas loan cheaper; the rate band is the national one. |
| Acquisitions as a share of loans | 11.7% | 10.4% | Buying an existing company is a bigger part of the Texas market than the national one. |
Pricing sat in a band of 9.25% to 11.25% for the middle half of loans, and only 11.4% were fixed-rate. Most Texas SBA borrowers carry a variable rate that moves with the base rate. SBA caps the spread a lender may charge by loan size: the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less, plus 6% up to $250,000, plus 4.5% up to $350,000, and plus 3% above $350,000. A median loan of $275,000 sits in the plus-4.5% tier, which is one reason the typical Texas rate is higher than the rate on the state's larger acquisition loans. Our SBA loan rates page shows how the caps work across sizes.
Franchises, restaurants and start-ups lead the count
By loan count, the five biggest Texas industries were full-service restaurants (564 loans), limited-service restaurants (426), fitness and recreational sports centers (313), snack and nonalcoholic beverage bars (303) and child care services (285). Four of the five are consumer concepts that are often franchised, and the numbers agree: franchises took 18.3% of Texas loans, and start-ups took 23.8%. Nearly one Texas SBA loan in four financed a start-up.
That matters even if you are not opening a franchise, because it shapes the lenders. Some SBA lenders build their programs around franchise units and new locations, and their credit boxes reflect it: they are comfortable with a projection, a brand's system-wide performance and an experienced operator, and less comfortable with an established company whose earnings need explaining. An owner of a manufacturing, distribution or services company with ten years of returns may find that the lender who is best at restaurant build-outs is the wrong reader for the file.
For a start-up or franchise loan, lenders decide on three things: the equity injection (SBA requires at least 10% of total project costs), the operator's relevant experience, and a projection they believe. The franchise brand must be eligible under SBA's rules, and lenders check that first. Child care, the fifth-largest industry, adds licensing and enrollment to the list: a lender will want to see how the state license is obtained or reissued for the new owner and that enrollment supports the payments. Industry pages for full-service restaurants and fitness centers go further on those two.
Transparent works with established businesses, roughly one to fifty million dollars in revenue. The rest of this page is written for owners and buyers of companies with a track record.
Buying a business in Texas with SBA
Texas lenders approved 1,491 acquisition loans, 11.7% of the state's total, at a median of $876,000, more than three times the state's overall median loan. The median acquisition loan also priced lower, at 9.5%. Both follow from what an acquisition is: a larger loan, above the $350,000 line where the cap drops to the base rate plus 3%, secured by a business with a history of cash flow the lender can measure.
The rules are the same as anywhere in the country. A complete change of ownership requires equity of at least 10% of total project costs. A seller note can count for up to half of that injection only if it is on full standby for the life of the SBA loan, meaning no payments of principal or interest until the SBA loan is repaid; see seller notes and SBA's full-standby rule. A seller note that is not on standby is allowed, but it is debt and counts in debt service. SBA prohibits an earnout to the seller, and the seller may not stay on as an owner, officer or employee, only as a consultant for up to 12 months (24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026). Where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, or buyer and seller are related, SBA requires an independent business valuation, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed it. From 1 October 2026, financial due diligence is required on every change of ownership, and a quality of earnings report on acquisitions of $3 million or more excluding real estate. The loan can run up to 10 years for the business and up to 25 years for any real estate in the deal; from 1 October 2026, a change-of-ownership loan amortizes over no more than 10 years except the real estate share. Every owner of 20% or more of the buyer signs a personal guarantee.
What decides the loan is coverage. SBA requires debt service coverage of at least 1.15x (1.0x globally, including the owners), and from 1 October 2026 a change of ownership must show 1.25x on historical results; conventional bank lenders commonly look for at least 1.25x too. The target's earnings, after the buyer's reasonable salary and after credible add-backs, should cover the new payments with room to spare. A target earning 1,250 against new payments of 1,000 is at that line. Lenders also want the target's latest full year of figures, never an older year, and the letter of intent before they will commit. How SBA 7(a) loans finance a business acquisition covers the mechanics end to end.
Texas issues that change the underwriting
SBA rules are federal, but a few Texas realities shape how a file is read.
- The homestead. When business assets do not fully secure a loan, SBA expects lenders to take available equity in the owners' personal real estate. Texas's constitutional homestead protections generally keep a lender from taking a lien on an owner's primary residence for a business loan, so in Texas the collateral conversation leans harder on business assets, other real estate and cash flow.
- Community property. Texas is a community property state. Lenders commonly ask a guarantor's spouse to sign documents that let them reach community assets, even when the spouse owns no part of the business. Raise it at the start, not at closing.
- Customer and sector concentration. Many Texas companies sell into energy, construction or a handful of large customers. A lender will read the customer list and ask what happens to cash flow if the biggest account slows. Answer it in the file before it is asked.
- Multiple locations. Texas businesses often run sites in several metros. Lenders want the earnings by location, especially in an acquisition, so they can see whether one strong site is carrying weaker ones.
SBA or conventional: how a Texas business should choose
SBA is not automatically the better loan. It buys a lower down payment, a longer amortization and a lender's willingness to finance goodwill. It costs a guaranty fee, paperwork and personal guarantees from every 20% owner. On loans with a term of 15 years or more, usually those carrying real estate, prepaying more than 25% in any of the first three years costs 5% of the prepaid amount in year one, 3% in year two and 1% in year three; a 10-year acquisition loan carries no SBA prepayment charge. For an established Texas company, the question is whether those benefits are worth the cost on this particular deal.
| Situation | Usually fits | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buying a company whose value is mostly goodwill | SBA 7(a) | 10-year amortization and a 10% minimum injection; conventional lenders will want more equity against intangible value. |
| Buying or building an owner-occupied property | SBA 504, or 7(a) up to 25 years | 504 splits the project roughly 50% bank, 40% CDC, 10% borrower (15% for a new business or special-purpose property, 20% for both), and the business must occupy at least 51% of an existing building or 60% of new construction; Texas 504 loans had a median of $1,249,000. |
| A project larger than $5 million | Conventional, or SBA alongside a conventional piece | 7(a) stops at $5 million; senior cash-flow lenders commonly lend 2x to 3.5x EBITDA. |
| Working capital that rises with receivables | Conventional line or asset-based line | A revolver sized to a borrowing base grows with the business; a term loan does not. |
| Strong earnings and hard assets that already secure the loan | Conventional term loan | No SBA guaranty fee or eligibility review; compare the conventional lender's own prepayment terms. |
The Texas 504 figures are worth a second look: 823 loans at a median of $1,249,000, far larger than the typical 7(a) loan. Owners who occupy their building should compare the two programs before choosing, and since July 2026 the 504 and 7(a) limits are counted separately, so a business can use both; SBA 7(a) vs SBA 504 sets them side by side, and SBA 7(a) vs a conventional acquisition loan does the same for a purchase.
Finding the right lender among 350
The 350 lenders that approved Texas 7(a) loans are not interchangeable. Some are built for franchise units, some for acquisitions above $1 million, some for real estate, some for small Express loans. A file sent to the wrong one is not declined because the business is weak; it is declined because it sits outside that lender's box, and the owner rarely learns the difference.
Transparent's lender book holds 1,800+ lenders, of which 278 write SBA 7(a) and 504 and 1,148 write conventional term and private credit, so an SBA request and its conventional alternative can be compared on the same file. The core SBA documents are the same in every state: two to three years of business and personal tax returns, a P&L, balance sheet and debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and a personal financial statement for each 20%+ owner. A Texas file is stronger when it also answers the state's questions up front:
- Which owners are married, so spousal signatures for community property are planned rather than discovered at closing
- What real estate each guarantor owns besides the homestead, since that is the personal collateral a lender can actually reach
- Revenue by customer and, for multi-site businesses, earnings by location
- For an acquisition: the target's latest full year of figures and the letter of intent
Once those documents are in, Transparent builds the full lender package, a financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo, in a day; built by hand, the same package takes at least a week. Transparent charges nothing before a loan closes, and on SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. The package and how we underwrite explain what lenders see.
Common questions
- What is the typical SBA loan size in Texas?
- The median Texas 7(a) loan approved from October 2023 to June 2026 was $275,000, and the middle half ran from $111,000 to $702,000. That is well above the national median of $150,300. Acquisition loans were larger still, at a median of $876,000.
- What interest rate do SBA loans in Texas carry?
- The median rate at approval was 10.25%, with the middle half between 9.25% and 11.25%. Only 11.4% of loans were fixed-rate. SBA caps the spread over the base rate by loan size, from plus 6.5% on the smallest loans to plus 3% above $350,000, so larger loans tend to price lower.
- Can I pledge my Texas home as collateral for an SBA loan?
- Generally not. Texas's homestead protections limit the liens that can be placed on a primary residence, and a business loan is not among the permitted purposes. Lenders will look instead to business assets, other real estate and the strength of cash flow. Other personal real estate may still be taken.
- Does my spouse have to sign for an SBA loan in Texas?
- Often, yes, even if your spouse owns none of the business. Because Texas is a community property state, lenders commonly ask a guarantor's spouse to sign documents that give them access to community assets.
- Do I need a Texas lender for a Texas SBA loan?
- No. A lender does not need a branch in Texas to make an SBA loan there. What matters is whether its credit box fits your industry, loan size and collateral, which is why the choice of lender matters more than its address.