# Small business loans in Knoxville, TN

**Short answer:** The most active SBA lenders in Knoxville, TN since FY2024 are The Huntington National Bank (21 loans) and Newtek Bank (19). The median loan was $243,000, and half fell between $75,000 and $503,125. For free help, see the Tennessee Small Business Development Center. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.

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

## Lenders making SBA loans in Knoxville

No lender made more than 11% of the loans in Knoxville, and The Huntington National Bank made the most. The five largest lenders together made 46%.

**Lenders with five or more SBA loans in Knoxville, TN, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Lender | Loans | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [The Huntington National Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/the-huntington-national-bank/tennessee/) | 21 | 11.4% |
| [Newtek Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/newtek-bank/) | 19 | 10.3% |
| [U.S. Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/u-s-bank/) | 19 | 10.3% |
| [Northeast Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/northeast-bank/) | 15 | 8.2% |
| [Pinnacle Bank](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-lenders/pinnacle-bank/) | 11 | 6.0% |

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

## Local help near Knoxville

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

38% of Knoxville 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 Tennessee. Its page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in the area. The Tennessee Small Business Development Center gives free counseling across Tennessee.

- [SBA Tennessee District Office: SBA district office](https://www.sba.gov/district/tennessee)
- [Tennessee Small Business Development Center: Small Business Development Center](https://tsbdc.org/)
- [SCORE mentors in Tennessee: Business mentoring](https://www.score.org/tn/)

Alongside SBA loans, Tennessee runs a loan program. The [Tennessee page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/#loan-programs-in-tennessee) describes it, and the official page is linked here.

- [LendTN (Fund Tennessee)](https://fundtennessee.org/lendtn/)

## Loan counts and sizes in Knoxville

Knoxville ranks 2nd by loans since FY2024 among the 7 Tennessee cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 92nd busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.

The 184 loans, 9.0% of the 2,049 in Tennessee, were approved for $87.5 million in all. The median loan was $243,000, 62% above the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $75,000 and $503,125. The Knoxville median is 6% above the Tennessee median of $230,000.

**Knoxville, TN compared with Tennessee and the nation, loans from FY2024 to June 2026**

| Measure | Knoxville | Tennessee | U.S. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Loans | 184 | 2,049 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $243,000 | $230,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $75,000 | $75,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $503,125 | $558,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 22.8% | 23.2% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 17.4% | 15.7% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 21.7% | 23.9% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 10.9% | 10.8% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | Fewer than 5 | 3.5% | 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.

75% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 22.8% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 17.4% of loans, below the national 28.1%.

SBA loans in Knoxville, TN by size, FY2024 to June 2026

- $50,000 or less (21%): 38
- $50,001 to $150,000 (22%): 41
- $150,001 to $350,000 (22%): 40
- $350,001 to $500,000 (10%): 19
- $500,001 to $1,000,000 (12%): 22
- $1,000,001 to $2,000,000 (9%): 16
- Over $2,000,000 (4%): 8

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

By business age, 51.1% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 16.3% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 21.7% and changes of ownership 10.9%. The national startup share is 16.1%.

SBA loans in Knoxville, TN by fiscal year

- FY2020: 33
- FY2021: 54
- FY2022: 49
- FY2023: 41
- FY2024: 54
- FY2025: 88
- FY2026 (through June 30): 42

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

Volume rose 63% from FY2024 (54 loans) to FY2025 (88), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 88 loans. FY2026 already shows 42 loans through June 30.

Of the 136 loans Knoxville borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, fewer than 5 were charged off by June 30, 2026, against 3.6% nationally. Lenders reported 1,990 jobs supported across the 184 loans since FY2024, about 10.8 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.

## What businesses in Knoxville borrow for

Other Personal Care Services was the largest borrower group in Knoxville, with 12 loans or 6.5% of the total.

The five largest industries made up 26% of all Knoxville loans. Other Personal Care Services stands out: its 12 loans are 6.5% of Knoxville loans, against 1.2% nationally, 5.4 times its national share.

**Industries with the most SBA loans in Knoxville, TN, FY2024 to June 2026**

| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Other Personal Care Services](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/other-personal-care-services/tennessee/) | 12 | 6.5% | 1.2% |
| [Full-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/full-service-restaurants/tennessee/) | 11 | 6.0% | 4.6% |
| [Limited-Service Restaurants](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/limited-service-restaurants/tennessee/) | 10 | 5.4% | 3.3% |
| [Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/snack-nonalcoholic-beverage-bars/) | 8 | 4.3% | 1.6% |
| [Janitorial Services](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/industries/janitorial-services/) | 6 | 3.3% | 1.0% |

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

## A typical loan payment in Knoxville

The median Knoxville loan was $243,000 with a median term of 10 years.

The median variable-rate loan in Knoxville was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $243,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $3,178 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.

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

| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 25th percentile loan | $75,000 | $981 |
| Median loan | $243,000 | $3,178 |
| 75th percentile loan | $503,125 | $6,579 |

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 $243,000 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).

Knoxville 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 $250,000 loan](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/loan-amounts/250000-business-loan/) and [SBA Express payment calculator](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/sba-express-payment-calculator/).

## SBA 504 loans near Knoxville

Knoxville has 5 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $5.3 million in SBA and CDC dollars.

The median 504 loan in Knoxville was $678,000 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.

Brightbridge, Inc. is the one Certified Development Company (CDC) named on five or more loans, 10 since FY2020.

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

| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
| --- | --- |
| Brightbridge, Inc. | 10 |

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/).

## Tennessee cities near Knoxville

Knoxville made up 9.0% of Tennessee's SBA loans since FY2024.

Knoxville is one of 7 Tennessee cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The [Tennessee page](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/) covers all 2,049 loans in Tennessee. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.

- [Memphis: 129 loans, median $276,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/memphis/)
- [Chattanooga: 80 loans, median $300,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/chattanooga/)
- [Nashville: 315 loans, median $280,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/nashville/)
- [Murfreesboro: 81 loans, median $163,200](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/murfreesboro/)
- [Franklin: 117 loans, median $243,500](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/franklin/)
- [Clarksville: 88 loans, median $150,000](https://www.sbaexpress.loans/tennessee-small-business-loans/clarksville/)

## Common questions about SBA loans in Knoxville

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

The Huntington National Bank leads with 21 loans in Knoxville since FY2024. Newtek Bank (19) and U.S. Bank (19) follow. Only lenders with five or more Knoxville loans are counted.

### Which industries get SBA loans in Knoxville?

Other Personal Care Services leads with 12 loans in Knoxville since FY2024. Full-Service Restaurants (11) and Limited-Service Restaurants (10) follow.

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 Tennessee District Office](https://www.sba.gov/district/tennessee)
- [Tennessee Small Business Development Center](https://tsbdc.org/)
- [SCORE, Tennessee](https://www.score.org/tn/)
- [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)(2); SOP 50 10 8.1, App. 18, Para. A.2 (p. 395)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-120.214)