What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Canton-Massillon, OH Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Canton-Massillon records 1,348 loans and $345.4 million across FY2017 to FY2026, ranking 75 of 928. What marks it is scale: a median of $60,000 is only 0.29x the national median, with loans in the central half starting at $30,000 and ending at $200,000. For a lender, this is a market where a request of several hundred thousand dollars is already far out in the distribution. Franchise brands account for 6.8% of loans, and the programme split is 1,295 under 7(a) against 53 under 504, so real estate-backed financing is scarce.
Stark County, OH holds 1,262 loans and Carroll County, OH 86. Of the total, 1,095 loans fall in none of the tracked classes. Full-service restaurant leads the named ones with 57, then limited-service restaurant with 36, automotive mechanical repair with 23 and dental office with 21. Hotel and motel has 16 loans, beauty salon 14 and veterinary clinic 8. There is no entry for most institutional classes, so a use such as a hospital or data center would have no local record at all.
SBA's holder records show who has held each loan; they say nothing about a lender's standards. The Huntington National Bank holds 860 7(a) loans worth $101.2 million, far ahead of Consumers National Bank at 109, KeyBank National Association at 45, First Commonwealth Bank at 23 and Peoples Bank (OH) at 19. Few 504 loans exist: Cascade Capital Corporation holds 18, Growth Capital Corp. 15 and Alloy Development Co., Inc. 13.
Of approvals through FY2024, 9.7% or more were cancelled afterwards; the figure is 11.3% once undisbursed loans are also counted. Of the 543 funded loans from FY2017 to FY2021 approvals, charge-offs are 3.5% to date and 2.4% within five years, both floors. Annual volume peaked at 188 loans in FY2022, then fell to 58 loans and $25.0 million in FY2026.
A feasibility study for a Canton or Massillon project should test whether the project can be built and operated at a cost that fits a loan market of small tickets, since a very large request has little local precedent. Demand in Stark County, debt service coverage under the floors above and appraisal support round out the work. Loans whose county falls outside the 2023 delineation are not counted. The page serves lenders and borrowers, and nothing on it guarantees a result.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 1,348 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $345.4 million |
| Median loan | $60,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $30,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $200,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 1,295 |
| SBA 504 loans | 53 |
| Franchise share of loans | 6.8% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 75 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.29x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 11.3% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 3.5% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.4% |
| Loans in that cohort | 543 |
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 Canton-Massillon, OH Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 132 | $25.9 million |
| FY2018 | 148 | $31.2 million |
| FY2019 | 106 | $23.5 million |
| FY2020 | 104 | $23.9 million |
| FY2021 | 121 | $33.9 million |
| FY2022 | 188 | $39.2 million |
| FY2023 | 185 | $47.7 million |
| FY2024 | 151 | $41.9 million |
| FY2025 | 155 | $53.2 million |
| FY2026 | 58 | $25.0 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 1,095 |
| Full-service restaurant | 57 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 36 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 23 |
| Dental office | 21 |
| Hotel and motel | 16 |
| Beauty salon | 14 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 13 |
| Fitness center | 11 |
| Veterinary clinic | 8 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 7 |
| Child care center | 7 |
| Car wash | 6 |
| Liquor store | 5 |
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 | 18 | $14.1 million |
| Growth Capital Corp. | 15 | $5.8 million |
| Alloy Development Co., Inc. | 13 | $14.0 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 860 | $101.2 million |
| Consumers National Bank | 109 | $23.7 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 45 | $17.4 million |
| First Commonwealth Bank | 23 | $19.0 million |
| Peoples Bank (OH) | 19 | $12.5 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 |
|---|---|
| Stark County, OH | 1,262 |
| Carroll County, OH | 86 |
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-15940.
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 Canton-Massillon, 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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