Feasibility Study Data for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area
What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton lending, in outline
$4.63 billion over 15,096 loans is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton total, FY2017 through FY2026. Boston-Cambridge-Newton sits at 6 of 928 among areas ranked by loans. Boston-Cambridge-Newton loans center on $100,000, the median. $50,000 to $300,000 spans the Boston-Cambridge-Newton middle half. Against the national median, Boston-Cambridge-Newton comes to 0.48x. Boston-Cambridge-Newton splits into 13,166 loans under 7(a) and 1,930 under 504. Boston-Cambridge-Newton shows a franchise share of 5.6%. $4.63 billion is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton dollar total.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton: where the loans land
Full-service restaurant (885) tops Boston-Cambridge-Newton; limited-service restaurant (452) and beauty salon (342) follow. Next in Boston-Cambridge-Newton comes fitness center at 315 loans. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton record also holds 11,239 loans in no tracked class. SBA assigns Boston-Cambridge-Newton loans mostly to Middlesex County, MA (4,353), Essex County, MA (2,910), and Norfolk County, MA (2,101). Strafford County, NH is the smallest listed Boston-Cambridge-Newton county, with 498 loans, so the area is uneven.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton: lenders in the record
The lenders named for Boston-Cambridge-Newton are today's holders of each loan. Boston-Cambridge-Newton 7(a) holders include Eastern Bank with 3,815 loans ($425.9 million), TD Bank, National Association with 1,335 loans ($156.7 million), and Rockland Trust Company with 618 loans ($184.4 million). Boston-Cambridge-Newton lists, for 504, Bay Colony Development Corporation with 719 loans ($456.8 million) and South Eastern Economic Development Corporation with 73 loans ($52.3 million). For a Boston-Cambridge-Newton borrower, these rows give background only. Nothing in Boston-Cambridge-Newton rows states what a holder requires.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton: outcome rates and data limits
Boston-Cambridge-Newton approvals of FY2017 to FY2024 end in cancellation at 11.8%, a floor. Boston-Cambridge-Newton reaches 13.2% if undisbursed loans count as cancelled; that is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton ceiling. 6,913 Boston-Cambridge-Newton loans make the FY2017 to FY2021 cohort; 5.6% are charged off, a floor. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton five-year figure is 3.9%. Boston-Cambridge-Newton rates are floors. Loans season, and Boston-Cambridge-Newton events can still raise them. Boston-Cambridge-Newton is built from county names. Boston-Cambridge-Newton applies the July 2023 delineation, and loans with no county match are omitted from it. Boston-Cambridge-Newton totals hold untracked-class loans too.
Boston-Cambridge-Newton: testing a project
By year, FY2017 was busiest for Boston-Cambridge-Newton, at 2,128 loans and $366.6 million, and FY2020 quietest, at 1,162 loans and $357.0 million. FY2026 closes the Boston-Cambridge-Newton series at 1,325 loans, $502.5 million. In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, demand testing starts with Middlesex County, MA and the businesses already serving it. Boston-Cambridge-Newton costs sit beside a $100,000 median. Boston-Cambridge-Newton stands at 0.48x nationally. In Boston-Cambridge-Newton, debt service is tested against a slow case. Any Boston-Cambridge-Newton reviewer sees the floors. Appraisal in Boston-Cambridge-Newton needs area comparables. Value and cost must agree in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton study. Absorption near Middlesex County, MA is tested for Boston-Cambridge-Newton on a slow case. The Boston-Cambridge-Newton study states its limits beside Middlesex County, MA findings.
SBA loans in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 15,096 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $4.63 billion |
| Median loan | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $300,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 13,166 |
| SBA 504 loans | 1,930 |
| Franchise share of loans | 5.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 6 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.48x |
Cancellation and charge-off
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 11.8% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 13.2% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 5.6% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 3.9% |
| Loans in that cohort | 6,913 |
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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 2,128 | $366.6 million |
| FY2018 | 1,935 | $417.7 million |
| FY2019 | 1,478 | $414.7 million |
| FY2020 | 1,162 | $357.0 million |
| FY2021 | 1,167 | $549.1 million |
| FY2022 | 1,171 | $426.7 million |
| FY2023 | 1,267 | $463.8 million |
| FY2024 | 1,714 | $525.7 million |
| FY2025 | 1,749 | $602.4 million |
| FY2026 | 1,325 | $502.5 million |
Loans by asset class
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 11,239 |
| Full-service restaurant | 885 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 452 |
| Beauty salon | 342 |
| Fitness center | 315 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 277 |
| Child care center | 256 |
| Dental office | 164 |
| Liquor store | 152 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 129 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 118 |
| Grocery store | 116 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 97 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 84 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 70 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 65 |
| Car wash | 47 |
| Veterinary clinic | 45 |
| Hotel and motel | 34 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 27 |
| School (elementary and secondary, including charter) | 25 |
| Self storage | 23 |
| Warehouse and distribution | 22 |
| Data center | 22 |
| Life science lab (research and development) | 20 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 17 |
| Skilled nursing | 12 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 11 |
| Multifamily (lessors of residential buildings) | 6 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
Most active SBA lenders
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Granite State Economic Development Corporation | 756 | $453.7 million |
| Bay Colony Development Corporation | 719 | $456.8 million |
| New England Certified Development Corporation | 335 | $279.7 million |
| South Eastern Economic Development Corporation | 73 | $52.3 million |
| Cape & Islands Community Development, Inc. | 23 | $19.3 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Bank | 3,815 | $425.9 million |
| TD Bank, National Association | 1,335 | $156.7 million |
| Rockland Trust Company | 618 | $184.4 million |
| Santander Bank, National Association | 547 | $120.1 million |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 489 | $95.0 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.
Where the loans are, by county
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Middlesex County, MA | 4,353 |
| Essex County, MA | 2,910 |
| Norfolk County, MA | 2,101 |
| Suffolk County, MA | 1,792 |
| Plymouth County, MA | 1,742 |
| Rockingham County, NH | 1,700 |
| Strafford County, NH | 498 |
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-14460.
Related feasibility study pages
- Feasibility study data and consultants for Massachusetts
- Feasibility study data and consultants for New Hampshire
- Feasibility Study Data by Metro Area
- Feasibility studies for SBA 7(a) and 504 loans
- Feasibility Study Data for the Worcester, MA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Barnstable Town, MA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Springfield, MA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Pittsfield, MA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Amherst Town-Northampton, MA Metro Area
- Feasibility Study Data for the Greenfield, MA Micro Area
Feasibility study data by asset class in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metro Area
- Full-service restaurant
- Limited-service restaurant
- Beauty salon
- Fitness center
- Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)
- Child care center
- Dental office
- Liquor store
- Coffee shop and snack bar
- Medical office (physicians)
- Grocery store
- Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries)
- Rehabilitation and therapy clinic
- Gas station and truck stop
- Car wash
- Veterinary clinic
- Hotel and motel
- Behavioral health and addiction treatment
- School (elementary and secondary, including charter)
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH 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.
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