Small business loans in Salem, MA
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Salem, MA since FY2024 are Eastern Bank (36 loans) and Salem Five Cents Savings Bank (12). The median loan was $60,000, and half fell between $40,950 and $100,000. For free help, see the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 67
- approved since FY2024
- $8.02M
- median loan
- $60,000
- through SBA Express
- 77.6%
Lenders making SBA loans in Salem
Eastern Bank alone made 54% of the loans in Salem.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Bank | 36 | 53.7% |
| Salem Five Cents Savings Bank | 12 | 17.9% |
Share is the percent of all Salem loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Massachusetts where one exists.
Salem has two lenders with five or more loans since FY2024. Others had fewer, and the Massachusetts page counts 180 lenders with at least one approved loan statewide.
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Local help near Salem
Salem borrowers can start with SBA's district office for Massachusetts, an SBDC or SCORE.
18% of Salem 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 Massachusetts. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network gives free counseling across Massachusetts.
- SBA Massachusetts District Office (Boston)SBA district office
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center NetworkSmall Business Development Center
- SCORE mentors in MassachusettsBusiness mentoring
Alongside SBA loans, Massachusetts runs three loan programs. The Massachusetts page describes each, and the official pages are linked here.
Loan counts and sizes in Salem
Salem ranks 3rd by loans since FY2024 among the 10 Massachusetts cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 387th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 67 loans, 1.5% of the 4,396 in Massachusetts, were approved for $8.0 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $60,000, 60% below the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $40,950 and $100,000. The Salem median is 40% below the Massachusetts median of $100,000.
| Measure | Salem | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 67 | 4,396 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $60,000 | $100,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $40,950 | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $100,000 | $255,125 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 77.6% | 59.2% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 35.8% | 38.1% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 0.0% | 10.1% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 7.5% | 7.9% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 7 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | Fewer than 5 | 2.5% | 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.
77.6% of all loans went through SBA Express, above the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 35.8% of loans, above the national 28.1%.
Labels show each size's share of all loans. The highlighted bar is the size band that contains the median.
By business age, 74.6% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 17.9% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 0.0% and changes of ownership 7.5%. The national startup share is 16.1%.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume rose 11% from FY2024 (27 loans) to FY2025 (30), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 30 loans. FY2026 already shows 10 loans through June 30.
Of the 32 loans Salem 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 521 jobs supported across the 67 loans since FY2024, about 7.8 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Salem borrow for
Offices of Lawyers was the largest borrower group in Salem, with 6 loans or 9.0% of the total.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offices of Lawyers | 6 | 9.0% | 0.9% |
Share is the percent of all Salem loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Massachusetts page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Salem
The median Salem loan was $60,000 with a median term of 7 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Salem was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $60,000 over 7 years, principal and interest would come to about $988 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $40,950 | $675 |
| Median loan | $60,000 | $988 |
| 75th percentile loan | $100,000 | $1,647 |
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 $60,000 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).
Salem 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 $60,000 loan and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Salem
Salem has 6 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $8.3 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Salem was $702,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 14% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
Bay Colony Development Corporation 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 13. Granite State Economic Development Corporation follows with 5. The two CDCs listed are named on 18 loans between them.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| Bay Colony Development Corporation | 13 |
| Granite State Economic 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.
Massachusetts cities near Salem
Salem made up 1.5% of Massachusetts's SBA loans since FY2024.
Salem is one of 10 Massachusetts cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The Massachusetts page covers all 4,396 loans in Massachusetts. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Salem
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Salem?
Eastern Bank leads with 36 loans in Salem since FY2024. Salem Five Cents Savings Bank (12) follows. Only lenders with five or more Salem loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Salem?
Offices of Lawyers leads with 6 loans in Salem since FY2024.
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 Massachusetts District Office (Boston)
- Massachusetts Small Business Development Center Network
- SCORE, Massachusetts
- 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 Salem, MA. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/massachusetts-small-business-loans/salem/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Salem
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.