# Small business loans in Buford, GA

**Short answer:** The most active SBA lenders in Buford, GA since FY2024 are Newtek Bank (10 loans) and Northeast Bank (6). The median loan was $325,000, and half fell between $150,000 and $541,500. For free help, see the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/buford/
Data as of: 2026-06-30

## Lenders making SBA loans in Buford

No lender made more than 12% of the loans in Buford, and Newtek Bank made the most. The three largest lenders together made 24%.

**Lenders with five or more SBA loans in Buford, GA, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Lender | Loans | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Newtek Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/newtek-bank/) | 10 | 11.6% |
| [Northeast Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/northeast-bank/) | 6 | 7.0% |
| [The Huntington National Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/the-huntington-national-bank/georgia/) | 5 | 5.8% |

Share is the percent of all Buford loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Georgia where one exists.

Buford has three lenders with five or more loans since FY2024. Others had fewer, and the Georgia page counts 223 lenders with at least one approved loan statewide.

## Local help near Buford

Buford borrowers can start with SBA's district office for Georgia, an SBDC or SCORE.

30% of Buford borrowers since FY2024 were startups or businesses two years old or younger. SBDCs provide counseling and training, and SCORE mentors give advice at no cost, according to SBA.

SBA has one district office for Georgia. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center gives free counseling across Georgia.

- [SBA Georgia District Office (Atlanta): SBA district office](https://www.sba.gov/district/georgia)
- [University of Georgia Small Business Development Center: Small Business Development Center](https://georgiasbdc.org/)
- [SCORE mentors in Georgia: Business mentoring](https://www.score.org/ga/)

Alongside SBA loans, Georgia runs two loan programs. The [Georgia page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/#loan-programs-in-georgia) describes each, and the official pages are linked here.

- [Georgia Loan Participation Program](https://dca.georgia.gov/financing-tools/small-business/state-small-business-credit-initiative-ssbci/georgia-loan)
- [Georgia Small Business Credit Guaranty](https://dca.georgia.gov/financing-tools/small-business/state-small-business-credit-initiative-ssbci/georgia-small-business)

## Loan counts and sizes in Buford

Buford ranks 9th by loans since FY2024 among the 21 Georgia cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 258th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.

The 86 loans, 1.9% of the 4,607 in Georgia, were approved for $51.8 million in all. The median loan was $325,000, 2.2 times the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $150,000 and $541,500. The Buford median is 7% above the Georgia median of $303,000.

**Buford, GA compared with Georgia and the nation, loans from FY2024 to June 2026**

| Measure | Buford | Georgia | U.S. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Loans | 86 | 4,607 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $325,000 | $303,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $150,000 | $120,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $541,500 | $714,500 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 10.5% | 14.6% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 8.1% | 12.7% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 19.8% | 23.1% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 11.6% | 11.9% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | Fewer than 5 | 3.0% | 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.

73% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 10.5% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 8.1% of loans, below the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Buford, GA by size, FY2024 to June 2026

- $50,000 or less (10%): 9
- $50,001 to $150,000 (21%): 18
- $150,001 to $350,000 (27%): 23
- $350,001 to $500,000 (15%): 13
- $500,001 to $1,000,000 (8%): 7
- $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (12%): 10
- Over $2,000,000 (7%): 6

Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.

By business age, 58.1% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 10.5% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 19.8% and changes of ownership 11.6%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Buford, GA by fiscal year

- FY2020: 17
- FY2021: 23
- FY2022: 23
- FY2023: 12
- FY2024: 28
- FY2025: 40
- FY2026 (through June 30): 18

Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.

Volume rose 43% from FY2024 (28 loans) to FY2025 (40), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 40 loans. FY2026 already shows 18 loans through June 30.

Of the 63 loans Buford borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, fewer than 5 were charged off by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 926 jobs supported across the 86 loans since FY2024, about 10.8 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

## What businesses in Buford borrow for

Residential Remodelers was the largest borrower group in Buford, with 6 loans or 7.0% of the total.

**Industries with the most SBA loans in Buford, GA, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Residential Remodelers](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/residential-remodelers/georgia/) | 6 | 7.0% | 2.3% |
| [Limited-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/limited-service-restaurants/georgia/) | 5 | 5.8% | 3.3% |

Share is the percent of all Buford loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Georgia page for that industry where one exists.

## A typical loan payment in Buford

The median Buford loan was $325,000 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Buford was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $325,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $4,250 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

**Payment at today's rate on three Buford loan sizes over 10 years**

| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 25th percentile loan | $150,000 | $1,962 |
| Median loan | $325,000 | $4,250 |
| 75th percentile loan | $541,500 | $7,081 |

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 $325,000 is Prime plus 4.5 percentage points, or 11.50% today. The median variable-rate loan here was priced 1.8 points under that ceiling. Source: 13 CFR § 120.214(d)(3); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395).

Buford loans approved since FY2024 had a median starting rate of 10.25% at approval, matching the national median. 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 $350,000 loan](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/loan-amounts/350000-business-loan/) and [SBA Express payment calculator](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-payment-calculator/).

## SBA 504 loans near Buford

Buford has 10 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $18.5 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Buford was $1,747,500 in SBA and CDC dollars, 35% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.

Small Business Access Partners, Inc. is the Certified Development Company (CDC) named on the most loans since FY2020, with 12. Florida Business Development Corporation follows with 8. The three CDCs listed are named on 26 loans between them.

**CDCs named on five or more 504 loans in Buford, FY2020 to June 2026**

| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
| --- | --- |
| Small Business Access Partners, Inc. | 12 |
| Florida Business Development Corporation | 8 |
| Capital Partners Certified Development Company | 6 |

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 capital or inventory. Source: SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221). SBA keeps a [list of Certified Development Companies](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/list-of-certified-development-companies/).

## Georgia cities near Buford

Buford made up 1.9% of Georgia's SBA loans since FY2024.

Buford is one of 21 Georgia cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The [Georgia page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/) covers all 4,607 loans in Georgia. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.

- [Duluth: 117 loans, median $370,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/duluth/)
- [Norcross: 78 loans, median $295,900](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/norcross/)
- [Snellville: 53 loans, median $201,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/snellville/)
- [Lawrenceville: 105 loans, median $200,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/lawrenceville/)
- [Suwanee: 89 loans, median $265,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/suwanee/)
- [Gainesville: 48 loans, median $466,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/gainesville/)
- [Atlanta: 596 loans, median $325,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/atlanta/)
- [McDonough: 75 loans, median $300,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/georgia-small-business-loans/mcdonough/)

## Common questions about SBA loans in Buford

### Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Buford?

Newtek Bank leads with 10 loans in Buford since FY2024. Northeast Bank (6) and The Huntington National Bank (5) follow. Only lenders with five or more Buford loans are counted.

### Which industries get SBA loans in Buford?

Residential Remodelers leads with 6 loans in Buford since FY2024. Limited-Service Restaurants (5) follows.

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](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/method/).

## Sources

- [SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026](https://data.sba.gov/dataset/7a-504-foia)
- [SBA, 504 loans](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/)
- [SBA, resource partners: SBDCs and SCORE](https://www.sba.gov/counseling/local-assistance/resource-partners/)
- [SBA Georgia District Office (Atlanta)](https://www.sba.gov/district/georgia)
- [University of Georgia Small Business Development Center](https://georgiasbdc.org/)
- [SCORE, Georgia](https://www.score.org/ga/)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. D.1 (p. 241); 13 CFR § 120.931](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. C, Ch. 1, Para. B (p. 221)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [sba.gov/loans/504-loans; SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. A, Ch. 3, Para. A (p. 51)](https://www.sba.gov/loans/504-loans/)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. B.1 (p. 126)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [13 CFR § 120.214(d)(3); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-120.214)