# Small business loans in Winston-Salem, NC

**Short answer:** The most active SBA lenders in Winston-Salem, NC since FY2024 are Newtek Bank (8 loans) and The Huntington National Bank (8). The median loan was $315,000, and half fell between $102,250 and $702,500. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/winston-salem/
Data as of: 2026-06-30

## Lenders making SBA loans in Winston-Salem

No lender made more than 10% of the loans in Winston-Salem, and Newtek Bank made the most. The five largest lenders together made 40%.

**Lenders with five or more SBA loans in Winston-Salem, NC, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Lender | Loans | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [Newtek Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/newtek-bank/) | 8 | 9.6% |
| [The Huntington National Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/the-huntington-national-bank/north-carolina/) | 8 | 9.6% |
| [Live Oak Banking Company](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/live-oak-banking-company/) | 7 | 8.4% |
| [Pinnacle Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/pinnacle-bank/north-carolina/) | 5 | 6.0% |
| [Wells Fargo Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/wells-fargo-bank/) | 5 | 6.0% |

Share is the percent of all Winston-Salem loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for North Carolina where one exists.

## Local help near Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem borrowers can start with SBA's district office for North Carolina, an SBDC or SCORE.

42% of Winston-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 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.

- [SBA North Carolina District Office (Charlotte, with a Wilmington branch): SBA district office](https://www.sba.gov/district/north-carolina)
- [North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center: Small Business Development Center](https://sbtdc.org/)
- [SCORE mentors in North Carolina: Business mentoring](https://www.score.org/nc/)

## Loan counts and sizes in Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem ranks 8th by loans since FY2024 among the 12 North Carolina cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 275th busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.

The 83 loans, 2.1% of the 3,871 in North Carolina, were approved for $62.3 million in all. The median loan was $315,000, 2.1 times the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $102,250 and $702,500. The Winston-Salem median is 5% above the North Carolina median of $300,000.

**Winston-Salem, NC compared with North Carolina and the nation, loans from FY2024 to June 2026**

| Measure | Winston-Salem | North Carolina | U.S. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Loans | 83 | 3,871 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $315,000 | $300,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $102,250 | $102,500 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $702,500 | $710,500 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 21.7% | 22.3% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 16.9% | 18.0% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 21.7% | 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. 21.7% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 16.9% of loans, below the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Winston-Salem, NC by size, FY2024 to June 2026

- $50,000 or less (16%): 13
- $50,001 to $150,000 (22%): 18
- $150,001 to $350,000 (18%): 15
- $350,001 to $500,000 (13%): 11
- $500,001 to $1,000,000 (11%): 9
- $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (8%): 7
- Over $2,000,000 (12%): 10

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

By business age, 43.4% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 20.5% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 21.7% and changes of ownership 14.5%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Winston-Salem, NC by fiscal year

- FY2020: 24
- FY2021: 17
- FY2022: 14
- FY2023: 21
- FY2024: 29
- FY2025: 36
- FY2026 (through June 30): 18

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

Volume rose 24% from FY2024 (29 loans) to FY2025 (36), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 36 loans. FY2026 already shows 18 loans through June 30.

Of the 55 loans Winston-Salem borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, fewer than 5 were charged off by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 1,220 jobs supported across the 83 loans since FY2024, about 14.7 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

## What businesses in Winston-Salem borrow for

Full-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Winston-Salem, with 6 loans or 7.2% of the total.

**Industries with the most SBA loans in Winston-Salem, NC, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Full-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/full-service-restaurants/north-carolina/) | 6 | 7.2% | 4.6% |
| [Residential Remodelers](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/residential-remodelers/north-carolina/) | 5 | 6.0% | 2.3% |

Share is the percent of all Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem

The median Winston-Salem loan was $315,000 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Winston-Salem was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $315,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $4,119 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

**Payment at today's rate on three Winston-Salem loan sizes over 10 years**

| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 25th percentile loan | $102,250 | $1,337 |
| Median loan | $315,000 | $4,119 |
| 75th percentile loan | $702,500 | $9,187 |

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 $315,000 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).

Winston-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 $300,000 loan](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/loan-amounts/300000-business-loan/) and [SBA Express payment calculator](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-payment-calculator/).

## SBA 504 loans near Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem has 6 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $3.5 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Winston-Salem was $373,000 in SBA and CDC dollars, 7% 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 Company (CDC) named on five or more loans, 9 since FY2020.

**CDCs named on five or more 504 loans in Winston-Salem, FY2020 to June 2026**

| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
| --- | --- |
| Business Expansion Funding Corporation | 9 |

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/).

## North Carolina cities near Winston-Salem

Winston-Salem made up 2.1% of North Carolina's SBA loans since FY2024.

Winston-Salem is one of 12 North Carolina cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The [North Carolina page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/) covers all 3,871 loans in North Carolina. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.

- [Greensboro: 116 loans, median $350,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/greensboro/)
- [Apex: 59 loans, median $306,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/apex/)
- [Cary: 98 loans, median $309,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/cary/)
- [Raleigh: 287 loans, median $343,800](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/raleigh/)
- [Durham: 131 loans, median $325,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/durham/)
- [Concord: 70 loans, median $250,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/concord/)
- [Mooresville: 69 loans, median $350,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/mooresville/)
- [Charlotte: 560 loans, median $260,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/north-carolina-small-business-loans/charlotte/)

## Common questions about SBA loans in Winston-Salem

### Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Winston-Salem?

Newtek Bank leads with 8 loans in Winston-Salem since FY2024. The Huntington National Bank (8) and Live Oak Banking Company (7) follow. Only lenders with five or more Winston-Salem loans are counted.

### Which industries get SBA loans in Winston-Salem?

Full-Service Restaurants leads with 6 loans in Winston-Salem since FY2024. Residential Remodelers (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 North Carolina District Office (Charlotte, with a Wilmington branch)](https://www.sba.gov/district/north-carolina)
- [North Carolina Small Business and Technology Development Center](https://sbtdc.org/)
- [SCORE, North Carolina](https://www.score.org/nc/)
- [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)