Small business loans in Houston, TX
Short answer
The most active SBA lenders in Houston, TX since FY2024 are Zions Bank (129 loans) and The Huntington National Bank (114). The median loan was $250,000, and half fell between $109,500 and $641,150. For free help, see the Texas Small Business Development Center Network. Source: SBA 7(a) loan data.
- SBA loans since FY2024
- 1,411
- approved since FY2024
- $949.16M
- median loan
- $250,000
- through SBA Express
- 25.4%
Lenders making SBA loans in Houston
No lender made more than 9% of the loans in Houston, and Zions Bank made the most. The five largest lenders together made 34%.
| Lender | Loans | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Zions Bank | 129 | 9.1% |
| The Huntington National Bank | 114 | 8.1% |
| JPMorgan Chase Bank | 90 | 6.4% |
| Newtek Bank | 82 | 5.8% |
| Readycap Lending, LLCNon-bank lender | 67 | 4.7% |
Share is the percent of all Houston loans in that period. Each name links to that lender's page for Texas where one exists.
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Local help near Houston
Houston borrowers can start with SBA's district offices for Texas, an SBDC or SCORE.
31% of Houston 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 runs six district offices that cover Texas. Each page points to state and federal resources and to lenders in its area. The Texas Small Business Development Center Network gives free counseling across Texas. The SBA Houston District Office comes first below because its name matches Houston.
- SBA Houston District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA Dallas / Fort Worth District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA El Paso District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA Lower Rio Grande Valley District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA San Antonio District OfficeSBA district office
- SBA West Texas District OfficeSBA district office
- Texas Small Business Development Center NetworkSmall Business Development Center
- SCORE mentors in TexasBusiness mentoring
Alongside SBA loans, Texas runs a loan program. The Texas page describes it, and the official page is linked here.
Loan counts and sizes in Houston
Houston ranks 1st by loans since FY2024 among the 50 Texas cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. Nationally it is the 3rd busiest of the 580 cities that reach 100 loans.
The 1,411 loans, 11.1% of the 12,702 in Texas, were approved for $949.2 million in all. The medianThe middle figure. Half the loans were larger and half were smaller. loan was $250,000, 66% above the national median of $150,300. Half of the loans fell between $109,500 and $641,150. The Houston median is 9% below the Texas median of $275,000.
| Measure | Houston | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loans | 1,411 | 12,702 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $275,000 | $150,300 |
| 25th percentile | $109,500 | $111,000 | $50,000 |
| 75th percentile | $641,150 | $702,000 | $500,000 |
| Via SBA Express | 25.4% | 20.7% | 35.8% |
| Lines of credit | 21.6% | 17.7% | 28.1% |
| Startups | 17.5% | 23.8% | 16.1% |
| Ownership changes | 10.1% | 11.7% | 10.4% |
| Median term | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Median spread | 2.75 | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Charged off | 4.6% | 4.3% | 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.
72% of the loans were $500,000 or less, the size SBA Express covers. 25.4% of all loans went through SBA Express, below the national 35.8%. Lines of credit were 21.6% 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, 59.0% of loans went to businesses more than two years old and 13.2% to businesses two years old or younger. Startups received 17.5% and changes of ownership 10.1%.
Fiscal years run October to September. The last bar covers nine of its twelve months.
Volume rose 12% from FY2024 (524 loans) to FY2025 (588), the two latest full years. The busiest full year in the file was FY2025, with 588 loans. FY2026 already shows 299 loans through June 30.
Of the 1,088 loans Houston borrowers received in FY2020 to FY2022, 4.6% 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 19,124 jobs supported across the 1,411 loans since FY2024, about 13.6 per loan. SBA does not audit these estimates.
What businesses in Houston borrow for
Full-Service Restaurants was the largest borrower group in Houston, with 63 loans or 4.5% of the total.
The five largest industries made up 13% of all Houston loans. Offices of Lawyers stands out: its 31 loans are 2.2% of Houston loans, against 0.9% nationally, 2.5 times its national share.
| Industry | Loans | Share | U.S. share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-Service Restaurants | 63 | 4.5% | 4.6% |
| Child Care Services | 31 | 2.2% | 1.5% |
| Offices of Lawyers | 31 | 2.2% | 0.9% |
| Limited-Service Restaurants | 28 | 2.0% | 3.3% |
| Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 26 | 1.8% | 1.9% |
Share is the percent of all Houston loans in that period. Industry is the NAICS code on each loan. A name links to the Texas page for that industry where one exists.
A typical loan payment in Houston
The median Houston loan was $250,000 with a median term of 10 years.
The median variable-rate loan in Houston was priced at Prime plus 2.75 percentage points at approval. At today's Prime that spread works out to 9.75%. On $250,000 over 10 years, principal and interest would come to about $3,269 a month. That is arithmetic on past loans, not a rate a lender is offering.
| Loan | Amount | Monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile loan | $109,500 | $1,432 |
| Median loan | $250,000 | $3,269 |
| 75th percentile loan | $641,150 | $8,384 |
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 $250,000 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).
Houston 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 and SBA Express payment calculator.
SBA 504 loans near Houston
Houston has 66 SBA 504 loans since FY2024, with $111.2 million in SBA and CDC dollars.
The median 504 loan in Houston was $1,522,500 in SBA and CDC dollars, 30% of the $5,000,000 program maximum. The bank's share of each project is separate and is not counted in these figures.
Capital Certified 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 FY2024, with 20. Community Certified Development Corporation follows with 12. The five CDCs listed are named on 56 loans between them.
| Certified Development Company | 504 loans |
|---|---|
| Capital Certified Development Corporation | 20 |
| Community Certified Development Corporation | 12 |
| Lone Star State Capital Corporation | 9 |
| LiftFund, Inc. | 8 |
| North Texas Certified Development Corporation | 7 |
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.
Texas cities near Houston
Houston made up 11.1% of Texas's SBA loans since FY2024.
Houston is one of 50 Texas cities with 100 or more SBA loans since FY2020. The Texas page covers all 12,702 loans in Texas. The closest come first, ranked by county and ZIP code on their loans.
Common questions about SBA loans in Houston
Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Houston?
Zions Bank leads with 129 loans in Houston since FY2024. The Huntington National Bank (114) and JPMorgan Chase Bank (90) follow. Only lenders with five or more Houston loans are counted.
Which industries get SBA loans in Houston?
Full-Service Restaurants leads with 63 loans in Houston since FY2024. Child Care Services (31) and Offices of Lawyers (31) 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.
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 Dallas / Fort Worth District Office
- SBA El Paso District Office
- SBA Houston District Office
- SBA Lower Rio Grande Valley District Office
- SBA San Antonio District Office
- SBA West Texas District Office
- Texas Small Business Development Center Network
- SCORE, Texas
- 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 Houston, TX. SBA Express Loans, Janover Capital LLC (data as of June 30, 2026). https://www.sbaexpress.loans/texas-small-business-loans/houston/
Ask lending partners about a loan in Houston
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.