What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Akron, OH Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
The Akron metropolitan area logged 2,657 approved loans and $842.3 million in FY2017 to FY2026. By loan count, Akron stands 46 of 928 among all areas. The Akron median loan is $76,700. Akron loans in the middle half run $34,000 to $258,000. 0.37x is the Akron median set beside the national one. Program mix for Akron: 2,547 7(a), 110 504. Franchise brands account for 9.0% of Akron loans. $842.3 million is the Akron dollar total.
In Akron, full-service restaurant leads at 128 loans. Limited-service restaurant follows with 59. Fitness center follows with 43. That is the Akron class lead. Fourth in Akron is beauty salon, with 42 loans. 2,096 loans in Akron fit no class, so Akron class patterns say less. SBA assigns Akron loans mostly to Summit County, OH (2,087) and Portage County, OH (570).
SBA lists the current holder of each Akron loan; the originator may differ. Akron holders under 7(a) include The Huntington National Bank (1,686 loans, $271.0 million) and U.S. Bank, National Association (78 loans, $19.5 million). Akron holders under 504 include Cascade Capital Corporation with 50 loans ($46.4 million), Growth Capital Corp. with 39 loans ($26.3 million), and Alloy Development Co., Inc. with 10 loans ($18.5 million). In Akron, a borrower treats the rows as context. Nothing in Akron rows states what a holder requires.
A floor of 10.6% describes Akron cancellations on FY2017 to FY2024 approvals. Treating undisbursed Akron loans as cancelled gives 12.7%, the ceiling. Charged off to date in Akron: 5.3%, a floor, across the 1,173 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021. The Akron five-year figure is 3.1%. Akron rates are floors. Loans season, and Akron events can still raise them. Each Akron loan is placed by county name. For Akron, the July 2023 list governs. If a county fails to match, Akron omits it. The Akron total includes loans outside the classes.
Akron volume ranged from 135 loans in FY2026 to 313 in FY2021, the latter for $105.2 million. FY2017 opened the Akron series with 274 loans ($57.9 million). FY2026 closes the Akron series at 135 loans, $80.6 million. An Akron study weighs local demand against Summit County, OH competitors, not national patterns. Cost follows in Akron: site, build and equipment priced against a $76,700 median. Akron is 0.37x of the national one. Akron debt service gets a rate shock. The Akron floors above explain the caution. The Akron appraisal uses area sales and income evidence. Absorption near Summit County, OH is tested for Akron on a slow case. The Akron study states its limits beside Summit County, OH findings.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 2,657 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $842.3 million |
| Median loan | $76,700 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $34,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $258,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 2,547 |
| SBA 504 loans | 110 |
| Franchise share of loans | 9.0% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 46 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.37x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 12.7% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.3% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 3.1% |
| Loans in that cohort | 1,173 |
Both rates are floors. SBA withholds the status of open loans, so a loan counts as charged off only once SBA reports it; a rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort and is otherwise not reported.
SBA loans approved in the Akron, OH Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 274 | $57.9 million |
| FY2018 | 309 | $84.0 million |
| FY2019 | 226 | $48.0 million |
| FY2020 | 218 | $76.3 million |
| FY2021 | 313 | $105.2 million |
| FY2022 | 301 | $89.8 million |
| FY2023 | 301 | $79.3 million |
| FY2024 | 308 | $101.6 million |
| FY2025 | 272 | $119.6 million |
| FY2026 | 135 | $80.6 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 2,096 |
| Full-service restaurant | 128 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 59 |
| Fitness center | 43 |
| Beauty salon | 42 |
| Child care center | 40 |
| Hotel and motel | 37 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 30 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 28 |
| Dental office | 23 |
| Car wash | 20 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 14 |
| Grocery store | 13 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 12 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 12 |
| Self storage | 11 |
| Veterinary clinic | 8 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 7 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 6 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 6 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 6 |
| Liquor store | 6 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Cascade Capital Corporation | 50 | $46.4 million |
| Growth Capital Corp. | 39 | $26.3 million |
| Alloy Development Co., Inc. | 10 | $18.5 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 1,686 | $271.0 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 110 | $43.6 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 78 | $19.5 million |
| Consumers National Bank | 51 | $13.3 million |
| PNC Bank, National Association | 47 | $8.2 million |
Lenders with 5 or more loans here; a lender with fewer is not listed, and loans SBA or a receiver holds are counted but never listed as a lender.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Summit County, OH | 2,087 |
| Portage County, OH | 570 |
Counties with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are not listed.
Metro is the CBSA (metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area) of the loan's project county, July 2023 delineation (OMB Bulletin 23-01). The county is matched by name (manifests/ld2/county-cbsa-map.csv); a loan whose county cannot be placed in a 2023 CBSA is left out of every metro.
All assets: every 7(a) and 504 approval in the metro, including those outside the 39 asset classes.
A value marked withheld rests on fewer than 5 loans, or is withheld so that such a figure cannot be derived from other published figures.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30; areas from the U.S. Census Bureau CBSA delineation, July 2023 (OMB Bulletin 23-01); Loan Analytics metro cell MT-10420.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a glamping resort project in Ohio, financed with a USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Akron, OH Metro Area, financed under SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry or a conventional bank loan. Tell us the project and the lender's deadline, and we reply with scope, timeline and fee.
Start with the data.
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