Small business loans in Wilmington, NC
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Wilmington, NC since FY2024 are Live Oak Banking Company (22 loans) and First Bank (8). The median loan was $346,300, and half fell between $135,000 and $687,500. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 138
- approved since FY2024
- $91.09M
- median loan
- $346,300
- through SBA Express
- 23.2%
Lenders making SBA loans in Wilmington
No lender made more than 16% of the loans in Wilmington, and Live Oak Banking Company made the most. The five largest lenders together made 38%.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Live Oak Banking Company | 22 | 15.9% |
| First Bank | 8 | 5.8% |
| Readycap Lending, LLCNon-bank lender | 8 | 5.8% |
| Northeast Bank | 7 | 5.1% |
| Wells Fargo Bank | 7 | 5.1% |
Share is the percent of all Wilmington loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for North Carolina where one exists.
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Local help near Wilmington
Wilmington borrowers can start with SBA's district office for North Carolina, an SBDC or SCORE.
35% of Wilmington 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 North Carolina. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center gives free counseling across North Carolina.
Loan counts and sizes in Wilmington
Wilmington ranks 3rd by loans since FY2024 among the 12 North Carolina cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 128th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 138 loans, 3.6% of the 3,871 in North Carolina, were approved for $91.1 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $346,300, 2.3 times the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $135,000 and $687,500. The Wilmington median is 15% above the North Carolina median of $300,000.
| Measure | Wilmington | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 138 | 3,871 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $346,300 | $300,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $135,000 | $102,500 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $687,500 | $710,500 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 23.2% | 22.3% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 15.9% | 18.0% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 18.1% | 22.7% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 14.5% | 13.7% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | Fewer than 5 | 2.1% | 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.
69% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 23.2% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 15.9% 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.
By business age, 50.7% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 16.7% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 18.1% and changes of ownership 14.5%. The national startup share is 16.1%.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume rose 20% from FY2024 (50 loans) to FY2025 (60), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 60 loans. FY2026 already shows 28 loans through June 30.
Of the 116 loans Wilmington 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 1,330 jobs supported across the 138 loans since FY2024, about 9.6 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Wilmington borrow for
Full-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Wilmington, with 6 loans or 4.3% of the total.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurants | 6 | 4.3% | 4.6% |
| Roofing Contractors | 5 | 3.6% | 0.5% |
Share is the percent of all Wilmington loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the North Carolina page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Wilmington
The median Wilmington loan was $346,300 with a median term of 10 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Wilmington was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $346,300 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $4,529 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $135,000 | $1,765 |
| Median loan | $346,300 | $4,529 |
| 75th percentile loan | $687,500 | $8,990 |
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 $346,300 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).
Wilmington 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 and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Wilmington
Wilmington has 11 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $20.7 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Wilmington was $1,168,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 23% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
Business Expansion Funding Corporation is the one Certified Development CompanyA nonprofit that SBA certifies and regulates to arrange 504 loans together with a bank. (CDC) named on five or more loans, 13 since FY2020.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 13 |
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.
North Carolina cities near Wilmington
Wilmington made up 3.6% of North Carolina's SBA loans since FY2024.
Wilmington is one of 12 North Carolina cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The North Carolina page covers all 3,871 loans in North Carolina. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Wilmington
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Wilmington?
Live Oak Banking Company leads with 22 loans in Wilmington since FY2024. First Bank (8) and Readycap Lending, LLC (8) follow. Only lenders with five or more Wilmington loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Wilmington?
Full-Service Restaurants leads with 6 loans in Wilmington since FY2024. Roofing Contractors (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.
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 North Carolina District Office (Charlotte, with a Wilmington branch)
- North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center
- SCORE, North Carolina
- 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)(3); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)
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Cite this page: Small business loans in Wilmington, NC. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/wilmington/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Wilmington
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.