What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Fargo straddles North Dakota and Minnesota, and the SBA record for FY2017 to FY2026 shows 997 loans and $445.1 million gross, 96 of 928. The program mix is unusual: 726 loans under 7(a) and 271 under 504, so 504 is a large share of local lending. Fargo loans center on $200,000. Fargo sits at 0.96x of the national figure. Fargo: half of loans span $75,000 to $488,700. Franchises account for 8.1% of loans.
Named classes in Fargo run full-service restaurant 28, automotive mechanical repair 24, limited-service restaurant 22, beauty salon 21 and dental office 16, while 778 loans lie outside them. Cass County, North Dakota, has 816 loans and Clay County, Minnesota, 181, so most of the record sits on the North Dakota side. A project's state therefore matters: licensing, tax and law differ across the river, and a Fargo study must say which side the site is on. Count opened at 100 loans and $25.6 million in FY2017, peaked at 138 loans and $71.3 million in FY2021, and closed at 63 loans and $47.6 million in FY2026.
Bravera Bank holds 142 loans and $14.2 million under 7(a), Aspire Bank 80 loans and $19.0 million, and Town and Country CU 46 loans and $7.2 million. For 504, Dakota Business Lending holds 124 loans and $114.4 million and Lake Agassiz Certified Development Company 87 loans and $61.0 million. Fargo lists come from SBA's holder records. Fargo names hold or held the loans shown. Fargo volume is no lender's verdict. Fargo counts state no requirement.
In Fargo, cancellations ran at least 9.0%. That covers Fargo approvals FY2017 to FY2024. Fargo reaches 10.4% with undisbursed loans included. Fargo charge-offs reached at least 2.0% across 492 funded loans. Fargo withholds its five-year rate. Too few Fargo loans support it. Fargo floors rise if open Fargo loans go bad. Fargo counts by county. Fargo's members follow the July 2023 delineation. Fargo matches counties by name, Fargo drops those that fail to place, and Fargo keeps approvals outside named classes. For Fargo, a study must test demand at the site and its cost, then debt service in a weak year, then value from Fargo-area comparables; for the many 504 projects here, it must also separate real estate from equipment and operating risk. Loan Analytics prepares Fargo studies. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs each Fargo study.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 997 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $445.1 million |
| Median loan | $200,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $75,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $488,700 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 726 |
| SBA 504 loans | 271 |
| Franchise share of loans | 8.1% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 96 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.96x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 9.0% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 10.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 2.0% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | withheld |
| Loans in that cohort | 492 |
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 Fargo, ND-MN Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 100 | $25.6 million |
| FY2018 | 110 | $33.2 million |
| FY2019 | 86 | $29.7 million |
| FY2020 | 108 | $40.0 million |
| FY2021 | 138 | $71.3 million |
| FY2022 | 129 | $62.7 million |
| FY2023 | 84 | $36.1 million |
| FY2024 | 85 | $33.4 million |
| FY2025 | 94 | $65.5 million |
| FY2026 | 63 | $47.6 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 778 |
| Full-service restaurant | 28 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 24 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 22 |
| Beauty salon | 21 |
| Dental office | 16 |
| Fitness center | 16 |
| Child care center | 16 |
| Hotel and motel | 8 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 8 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 8 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 7 |
| Liquor store | 6 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 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 | 124 | $114.4 million |
| Lake Agassiz Certified Development Company | 87 | $61.0 million |
| Midwest Business Finance Corporation | 53 | $37.0 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Bravera Bank | 142 | $14.2 million |
| Aspire Bank | 80 | $19.0 million |
| Town and Country CU | 46 | $7.2 million |
| Old National Bank | 45 | $20.7 million |
| Choice Financial Group | 38 | $15.9 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 |
|---|---|
| Cass County, ND | 816 |
| Clay County, MN | 181 |
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-22020.
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 Fargo, ND-MN 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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