# Our data method

**Short answer:** Every loan figure on our data pages is computed from SBA's public 7(a) and 504 loan files, as of June 30, 2026. We drop cancelled loans, publish no cell under 5 loans, and never estimate approval odds.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/method/
Data as of: 2026-06-30
Last checked: 2026-11-09

Every loan figure on our data pages is computed by software from SBA's public loan files, as of June 30, 2026. Those figures are never typed by hand.

This page explains each program: which file it reads, what is counted, when the data ends, and what it cannot tell you.

## Data programs

Jump to a program.

- [Industry pages](#industries)
- [Industry-by-state pages](#industries-by-state)
- [Lender pages](#lenders)
- [Lender-by-state pages](#lenders-by-state)
- [State pages](#states)
- [City pages](#cities)
- [Loan amount pages](#amounts)
- [Franchise pages](#franchises)
- [Find Loans Like Yours and the Lender Finder](#tools-data)
- [SBA Express statistics and data files](#statistics)
- [Quarterly SBA lending reports](#reports)
- [Lender badges](#badges)
- [Rates and the maximum rate board](#rates)
- [SBA rule pages (answers, programs, forms and guides)](#rules)

## Rules for every number

These rules apply to every data page. The sections below add what is specific to each program.

- **Source.** Loan figures come from SBA's public 7(a) and 504 loan-level files, as of June 30, 2026. Files are on SBA's [open data site](https://data.sba.gov/dataset/7a-504-foia).
- **Cancelled loans.** We remove every loan SBA marks as cancelled: 50,104 of the 388,338 rows in the 7(a) file, leaving 338,234 loans.
- **Periods.** SBA's fiscal year runs October 1 to September 30. The whole file covers FY2020 through the as-of date. The recent window is FY2024 through the as-of date. The current fiscal year is partial.
- **Approved loans only.** The file has no applications and no denials, so it cannot show approval odds, and we never estimate them.
- **Five-loan minimum.** No published cell is built on fewer than 5 loans. A count of 1 to 4 is shown as fewer than 5, or left blank in data files. So is a share that stands for 1 to 4 loans, such as 2.7% of 37 loans, because the share times the group gives the count back.
- **No borrower names.** The program that reads the file never touches the borrower name or street columns. So no page and no download can contain them.
- **Express.** "SBA Express" means the processing method SBA calls the SBA Express Program. Where a table says "through Express" it adds Export Express, which is a small number of loans a year.
- **Lines of credit.** A loan counts as a line of credit when SBA's revolver field is marked yes.
- **Rates.** The rate in the file is the rate at approval. It moved with Prime over the years, so we never present it as today's rate.
- **Spread.** Spread is the rate at approval minus Prime on the approval date, for variable-rate loans.
- **Charge-offs.** We use only loans approved in FY2020 through FY2022, because newer loans have not had time to go bad. A rate needs a group of at least 5 loans. Every page also withholds the rate when 1 to 4 loans were charged off, because the rate beside the group size would give the count back.
- **Jobs.** Jobs are lender estimates in the file. SBA does not audit them.

## Industry pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, and SBA's 504 loan file, `FOIA_504_FY2010_Present_asof_260630.csv` for the 504 line.

**What is counted.** One page for each NAICS code with 100 or more loans since FY2020, which is 402 industries. Figures are given for the whole file and for the recent window.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A lender records one NAICS code per loan, and many businesses could fit more than one code.

[See the industry pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/)

## Industry-by-state pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, joined to the industry and state pages.

**What is counted.** One candidate page for each industry and state with 50 or more loans, 1,348 in all. State is the project state in the file, which is where the business is. A combination is published only when it differs clearly from its national industry figure. Chance alone would have to produce the gap less than about 3 times in 1,000, and the gap must be big enough to matter.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A combination with no clear gap has no page. A published gap shows a difference in the file. It does not explain the difference.

[See the industry pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/)

## Lender pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`. Headquarters and websites come from FDIC and NCUA records.

**What is counted.** 807 lenders: every lender with 25 or more loans in the file and all 94 lender pages that predate this build. A lender is identified by the FDIC certificate or NCUA charter on the loan. So one institution has one page, however its name is printed.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A lender's past loans do not describe its current credit policy. Inclusion on a lender page is not an endorsement. This site is not any of these lenders. The FDIC acting as receiver for a failed bank is excluded from the lender list.

[See the lender pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/)

## Lender-by-state pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, joined to the lender and state pages.

**What is counted.** One candidate page for each lender and state with 50 or more loans, 1,198 in all. State is the project state. As with industries by state, a combination is published only when it differs clearly from the lender's national figure.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A combination with no clear gap has no page. The state is where the business is, not where the lender is.

[See the lender pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/)

## State pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv` and SBA's 504 loan file, `FOIA_504_FY2010_Present_asof_260630.csv`.

**What is counted.** All 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. State is the project state in the file. 127 loans are outside those 52 places, such as U.S. territories. Those loans count in national totals and are on no state page.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** State programs named on a page come from official state or federal pages, and we only list programs confirmed there.

[See the state pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-loans-by-state/)

## City pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv` and SBA's 504 loan file, `FOIA_504_FY2010_Present_asof_260630.csv`.

**What is counted.** 580 cities with 100 or more loans. City comes from the borrower's address in the file. City names are cleaned for capitalization, punctuation, St. and Saint and similar, and a short reviewed list of misspellings.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** City names are as lenders typed them, so a neighborhood or nearby town can appear under its own name.

[See the state pages, which link to each city](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-loans-by-state/)

## Loan amount pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`.

**What is counted.** 32 loan amounts from $5,000 to $5,000,000. "Near" an amount means the loan falls in that amount's range. We split the range between two neighboring amounts at their geometric mean, so every loan counts once. "Exact" means exactly that amount.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** Lenders round to round numbers, so exact amounts cluster. A page says whether an amount is within the SBA Express limit of $500,000.

[See the loan amount pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/loan-amounts/)

## Franchise pages

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, with brand names matched to SBA's franchise codes.

**What is counted.** 411 brands with 25 or more loans, including fuel supply and dealer agreements. Brand comes from the franchise fields a lender filled in. Loans with a code but no name join the brand that code carries elsewhere in the file.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A loan is counted for a brand only when the lender recorded the franchise, so true counts can be higher. A charge-off rate describes past loans, not the brand today.

[See the franchise pages](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/franchises/)

## Find Loans Like Yours and the Lender Finder

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, in the recent window (FY2024 through June 30, 2026).

**What is counted.** Each result is a cell of loans that share an industry, state, loan size and business age. A cell needs 5 or more loans, or it does not appear. If a cell is empty, the tool falls back to a broader one and says which it used.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A result shows loans that were approved. It cannot show how a lender treats a new application.

[Try the tools](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tools/)

## SBA Express statistics and data files

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`.

**What is counted.** Program totals by fiscal year, lender and state. Loans SBA coded as SBA Express Program only. Export Express is excluded. Cancelled loans are excluded. FY2025 has 21,346 SBA Express loans in this file.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** These are SBA's codes as recorded. Fees and limits changed over the years, so a past fiscal year reflects the rules of its time.

[See the statistics page and its data files](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-loan-statistics/)

## Quarterly SBA lending reports

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`, and SBA's 504 loan file, `FOIA_504_FY2010_Present_asof_260630.csv` for the 504 table.

**What is counted.** Each report counts loans by the calendar quarter of the approval date and charge-offs by the date recorded in the file. Industry and franchise charge-off tables use the FY2020 to FY2022 loans, and every table is free to download as CSV.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** The file is a snapshot. SBA can revise earlier quarters in a later file, so a past report describes the file of its date.

[See the reports](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/reports/)

## Lender badges

**File.** SBA's 7(a) loan file, `FOIA_7a_FY2020_Present_asof_260630.csv`.

**What is counted.** A badge goes to the top 10 lenders in a state by SBA Express loans from FY2024 to the file date. A lender needs at least 10 of those loans in the state. Rank is computed only from SBA's file. Badges are free and are never for sale.

**As-of date.** June 30, 2026, the date of SBA's file. FY2026 is partial.

**Limits.** A badge describes loan volume. It does not say a lender is the best choice, and it cannot show approval odds.

[See the badge rules](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/badges/)

## Rates and the maximum rate board

**File.** WSJ Prime from the Federal Reserve series DPRIME (FRED), read live by our feed. SBA's maximum spreads come from 13 CFR 120.214(d).

**What is counted.** Today's maximum rate by loan size is Prime plus the spread SBA sets for that size. Prime is 7.00% as of Nov 10, 2026. The board and rate tables refresh in your browser from the feed.

**As-of date.** Live. The page shows the date of the Prime figure it is using.

**Limits.** Maximums are ceilings. A lender can charge less. A rate in the loan file is the rate at approval and is never shown as today's rate.

[See today's rates](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/rates/)

## SBA rule pages (answers, programs, forms and guides)

**File.** The facts registry: 172 SBA rules and figures, each with its source, effective date and next check date. Sources are SBA's Standard Operating Procedure, 13 CFR parts 120 and 121, SBA notices and the Federal Register.

**What is counted.** A page reads each rule from the registry, so one correction lands everywhere. The build fails when an entry is past its next check date. It also fails when a page repeats a banned claim, such as a fixed approval time.

**As-of date.** Each page shows the date it was checked. Registry entries were checked against primary sources on November 8, 2026. The earliest next check date is February 1, 2027.

**Limits.** Rules change. A lender can add its own requirements on top of SBA's. Each lender makes its own credit decisions.

[See the answers](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/answers/)

Found a mistake?

Write to [hello@sbaexpress.loans](mailto:hello@sbaexpress.loans). We publish every correction on the [corrections log](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/corrections/), and our [editorial standards](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/editorial-standards/) say how we decide.

## Sources

- [SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan-level data, as of June 30, 2026](https://data.sba.gov/dataset/7a-504-foia)
- [Bank Prime Loan Rate, FRED series DPRIME](https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/DPRIME)
- [13 CFR 120.214, Interest rates](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-120/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFRf4d4d2a7ca19a10/section-120.214)