Small business loans in Lake Forest, CA
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Lake Forest, CA since FY2024 are U.S. Bank (14 loans) and Wells Fargo Bank (5). The median loan was $147,000, and half fell between $50,000 and $628,900. For free help, see the California SBDC. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 54
- approved since FY2024
- $25.95M
- median loan
- $147,000
- through SBA Express
- 37.0%
Lenders making SBA loans in Lake Forest
U.S. Bank made the most loans in Lake Forest, 26% of the total.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Bank | 14 | 25.9% |
| Wells Fargo Bank | 5 | 9.3% |
Share is the percent of all Lake Forest loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for California where one exists.
Lake Forest has two lenders with five or more loans since FY2024. Others had fewer, and the California page counts 251 lenders with at least one approved loan statewide.
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Local help near Lake Forest
Lake Forest borrowers can start with SBA's district offices for California, an SBDC or SCORE.
SBA runs six district offices that cover California. Each page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in its area. The California SBDC gives free counseling across California.
- SBA Fresno District Office (San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast)SBA district office
- SBA Los Angeles District Office (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties)SBA district office
- SBA Orange County / Inland Empire District Office (Santa Ana and Palm Desert)SBA district office
- SBA Sacramento District Office (northeastern California)SBA district office
- SBA San Diego District Office (San Diego and Imperial counties)SBA district office
- SBA San Francisco District Office (northern California)SBA district office
- California SBDCSmall Business Development Center
- SCORE mentors in CaliforniaBusiness mentoring
Alongside SBA loans, California runs three loan programs. The California page describes each, and the official pages are linked here.
Loan counts and sizes in Lake Forest
Lake Forest ranks 82nd by loans since FY2024 among the 92 California cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 498th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 54 loans, 0.3% of the 19,508 in California, were approved for $25.9 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $147,000, close to the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $50,000 and $628,900. The Lake Forest median is 26% below the California median of $200,000.
| Measure | Lake Forest | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 54 | 19,508 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $147,000 | $200,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $50,000 | $65,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $628,900 | $500,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 37.0% | 29.0% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 20.4% | 18.8% | 28.1% |
| Startups | n/a | 8.9% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | n/a | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | Fewer than 5 | 3.5% | 3.6% |
A quarter of loans were smaller than the 25th percentile loan and a quarter were larger than the 75th. Median spread is in percentage points over Prime. Charged off is the share of FY2020 to FY2022 loans a lender wrote off as a loss. It is shown only for groups of 30 loans or more. Fewer than 5 marks a share that would stand for 1 to 4 loans, which we do not publish. U.S. covers every loan in the file.
37.0% of all loans went through SBA Express, close to the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 20.4% of loans, below the national 28.1%.
Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume rose 10% from FY2024 (20 loans) to FY2025 (22), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 22 loans. FY2026 already shows 12 loans through June 30.
Of the 35 loans Lake Forest borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, fewer than 5 were charged offThe lender wrote the loan off as a loss because it was not being repaid. by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 265 jobs supported across the 54 loans since FY2024, about 4.9 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Lake Forest borrow for
Limited-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Lake Forest since FY2020, with 5 loans or 4.9% of the total.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 5 | 4.9% | 3.3% |
Share is the percent of all Lake Forest loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the California page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Lake Forest
The median Lake Forest loan was $147,000 with a median term of 10 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Lake Forest was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $147,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $1,922 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $50,000 | $654 |
| Median loan | $147,000 | $1,922 |
| 75th percentile loan | $628,900 | $8,224 |
Principal and interest only. Fees, a different term or a fixed rate change the payment. This is an illustration from SBA's file, not an offer.
SBA's rate ceiling for this loan size
SBA's maximum for a loan of $147,000 is Prime plus 6.0 percentage points, or 13.00% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 3.2 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).
Lake Forest loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 10.5% at approval, against 10.25% nationally. Prime changed during those years, so use the spread above, not that rate, as the guide to today's cost.
Run your own numbers: payments on a $150,000 loan and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Lake Forest
Lake Forest has 6 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $15.1 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Lake Forest was $2,728,500 in SBA and CDC dollars, 55% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
Business Finance Capital is the Certified Development CompanyA nonprofit that SBA certifies and regulates to arrange 504 loans together with a bank. (CDC) named on the most loans since FY2020, with 9. Mortgage Capital Development Corporation follows with 5. The two CDCs listed are named on 14 loans between them.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| Business Finance Capital | 9 |
| Mortgage Capital Development Corporation | 5 |
How a 504 loan is split
A standard 504 project is 50% third party lender, 40% CDC debenture, 10% borrower. 504 money pays for major fixed assets such as land, buildings and long-term machinery and equipment, not working capitalMoney for day-to-day costs such as payroll, rent and inventory. Full definition or inventory. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221). SBA keeps a list of Certified Development Companies.
California cities near Lake Forest
Lake Forest made up 0.3% of California's SBA loans since FY2024.
Lake Forest is one of 92 California cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The California page covers all 19,508 loans in California. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Lake Forest
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Lake Forest?
U.S. Bank leads with 14 loans in Lake Forest since FY2024. Wells Fargo Bank (5) follows. Only lenders with five or more Lake Forest loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Lake Forest?
Limited-Service Restaurants leads with 5 loans in Lake Forest since FY2020.
How to read this
Counts come from SBA's 7(a) loan-level data release, as of June 30, 2026. The file lists loans SBA approved. It does not list declined applications, so it cannot show approval odds. We do not publish any figure built on fewer than 5 loans. Location is the borrower's address in the file, and city names are as SBA recorded them. Recent means FY2024 through June 30, 2026. Charge-off rates use FY2020 to FY2022 loans, the only years old enough to have had time to go bad. Jobs supported are lender-reported estimates. How we build these pages.
Sources
- SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026
- SBA, 504 loans
- SBA, resource partners: SBDCs and SCORE
- SBA Fresno District Office (San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast)
- SBA Los Angeles District Office (Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties)
- SBA Orange County / Inland Empire District Office (Santa Ana and Palm Desert)
- SBA Sacramento District Office (northeastern California)
- SBA San Diego District Office (San Diego and Imperial counties)
- SBA San Francisco District Office (northern California)
- California SBDC
- SCORE, California
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. D.1 (p. 241); 13 CFR § 120.931
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221)
- sba.gov/loans/504-loans; SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 3, Para. A (p. 51)
- SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. B.1 (p. 126)
- 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)
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Cite this page: Small business loans in Lake Forest, CA. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/california-small-business-loans/lake-forest/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Lake Forest
Tell us what you need and we refer your request to lending partners.
Janover Capital LLC is not a lender and is not the SBA. The lender makes the credit decision. A lender or marketplace may pay us a referral fee if we connect you, at no cost to you. Advertiser disclosure.