What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Bismarck, ND Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Bismarck stands 223 of 928 by loans, drawing 335 SBA approvals over FY2017 to FY2026, $162.9 million gross. In Bismarck, $248,700 is the median loan, 1.20x the national median. Half of Bismarck loans sit between $67,100 and $499,450, larger tickets than the national norm in Bismarck. Lenders working Bismarck see tickets from $67,100 to $499,450 most often. A Bismarck study should place its project inside that $67,100 to $499,450 range in Bismarck.
In Bismarck, SBA 7(a) carries 243 loans and SBA 504 carries 92. In Bismarck, franchise brands account for 11.0% of the loans. In Bismarck, leading classes: full-service restaurant with 20, beauty salon with 12 and limited-service restaurant with 11. Another 239 approvals fall in no named class, so Bismarck totals 335 loans, more than its classes combined. In Bismarck, the counties carrying most volume are Burleigh County, ND with 237, Morton County, ND with 90 and Oliver County, ND with 8 in Bismarck.
In Bismarck, these tables draw on agency records of loans a lender holds or once held, per holder field, so they measure books in Bismarck, not rules. Bismarck holders should be read that way in Bismarck. Heading the Bismarck SBA 7(a) list: Capital Credit Union (ND) with 52 loans worth $4.4 million; First Western Bank & Trust with 50 loans worth $9.4 million; The Union Bank with 21 loans worth $6.3 million. The Bismarck SBA 504 side shows Dakota Business Lending with 47 loans worth $37.2 million; Lewis & Clark Certified Development Company with 40 loans worth $33.9 million. In Bismarck, the top holder leads the rest. A Bismarck borrower may still approach any lender in Bismarck.
Among Bismarck approvals of FY2017 to FY2024, 5.7% were cancelled after approval, a floor. A Bismarck ceiling, counting undisbursed loans as cancelled, is 7.4%. Among 210 Bismarck loans disbursed FY2017 to FY2021, SBA shows 3.3% charged off so far in Bismarck, a floor in Bismarck, and withholds the five-year rate. Bismarck trend: the busiest year is FY2017, at 56 loans. Loans count toward Bismarck via each project's county name, matched under the July 2023 delineation, which means every loan lacking a usable county is left out of every area in Bismarck. The 335 loans in Bismarck, ND include those in no named class in Bismarck.
Demand ranks first for Bismarck. Test the pull of one site in Bismarck, not the metropolitan area average, with a cautious ramp shown in Bismarck. Bismarck cost comes next. Borrowers see a $248,700 median, still quotes and in Bismarck comps must drive it, plus working capital and reserves in Bismarck. The Bismarck loan has to be serviceable. Report coverage on the proposed loan as well as under a downside case, since approval is no guarantee in Bismarck. Expect a Bismarck appraiser to test values, so every income assumption ought to trace to evidence in Bismarck. In Bismarck, 335 loans spread over many neighbourhoods, and a Bismarck study must say which it targets in Bismarck. With the median at 1.20x the national level, a smaller Bismarck project may look unusual in Bismarck. The study should explain its sizing for Bismarck against $248,700.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 335 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $162.9 million |
| Median loan | $248,700 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $67,100 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $499,450 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 243 |
| SBA 504 loans | 92 |
| Franchise share of loans | 11.0% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 223 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 1.20x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 5.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 7.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 3.3% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 210 |
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 Bismarck, ND Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 56 | $12.1 million |
| FY2018 | 49 | $15.0 million |
| FY2019 | 27 | $12.4 million |
| FY2020 | 39 | $16.4 million |
| FY2021 | 50 | $17.4 million |
| FY2022 | 30 | $30.9 million |
| FY2023 | 22 | $10.8 million |
| FY2024 | 26 | $10.3 million |
| FY2025 | 23 | $25.7 million |
| FY2026 | 13 | $11.9 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 239 |
| Full-service restaurant | 20 |
| Beauty salon | 12 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 11 |
| Fitness center | 8 |
| Hotel and motel | 7 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 6 |
| Child care center | 6 |
| Dental office | 5 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Dakota Business Lending | 47 | $37.2 million |
| Lewis & Clark Certified Development Company | 40 | $33.9 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Capital Credit Union (ND) | 52 | $4.4 million |
| First Western Bank & Trust | 50 | $9.4 million |
| The Union Bank | 21 | $6.3 million |
| Choice Financial Group | 18 | $7.1 million |
| U.S. Bank, National Association | 17 | $1.1 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 |
|---|---|
| Burleigh County, ND | 237 |
| Morton County, ND | 90 |
| Oliver County, ND | 8 |
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-13900.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for an RV park project in North Dakota, 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 Bismarck, ND 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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