Feasibility Study Data for the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area

What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.

How big the Milwaukee-Waukesha record is

For Milwaukee-Waukesha, SBA's own files hold 3,857 loans over FY2017 to FY2026, worth $2.19 billion in gross dollars. Milwaukee-Waukesha sits against the full set of areas, on volume, number 37 of 928. The core of Milwaukee-Waukesha lending sits between $100,000 and $675,800, beside a median of $268,000; and the median sits at 1.29x the national median. Split by program, Milwaukee-Waukesha shows 3,262 loans in 7(a) against 595 under 504. Franchised units took 12.8% of the loans.

Milwaukee-Waukesha: classes and counties

Beyond that, across the classes we list for Milwaukee-Waukesha, full-service restaurant is largest with 196 loans, ahead of limited-service restaurant with 122 and child care center with 102. Also 2,767 loans in Milwaukee-Waukesha sit outside every class. By county, Milwaukee County, WI holds 1,753 loans, followed by Waukesha County, WI (1,441), Washington County, WI (363) and Ozaukee County, WI (300).

Milwaukee-Waukesha: institutions behind approvals

Holders named for Milwaukee-Waukesha stem from SBA's archived Milwaukee-Waukesha records of the 3,857 business loans in Milwaukee-Waukesha, whoever holds or held them; such records tie every entry yet say nothing of lender appetite. Notably, in the 7(a) program near Milwaukee County, WI, the largest holders are U.S. Bank, National Association at 359 loans and $64.3 million; next, The Huntington National Bank, holding 246 loans worth $99.9 million. Also, on 504 in Milwaukee-Waukesha, the list reads WBD, Inc. at 551 loans and $458.2 million; after it, Racine County Economic Development Corporation ($28.9 million across 35 loans). An applicant in Milwaukee-Waukesha may ask the Milwaukee-Waukesha lender U.S. Bank, National Association or other Milwaukee-Waukesha holders near Milwaukee County, WI what paperwork it requires, then write the Milwaukee-Waukesha study to meet that.

Milwaukee-Waukesha: loss floors and years

Looking at Milwaukee-Waukesha approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, not below 12.7% were cancelled after approval in Milwaukee-Waukesha, and that is a floor; the full Milwaukee-Waukesha figure is no lower. Further, among disbursed Milwaukee-Waukesha loans approved from FY2017 to FY2021, 2.8% are charged off so far, a second floor; 1.8% ended in charge-off inside the first five years, from a cohort of 1,768 loans. Year by year, Milwaukee-Waukesha topped out in FY2017 at 473 loans and $209.1 million, and bottomed out in FY2026 at 313 loans and $223.5 million.

Milwaukee-Waukesha: what a study tests

In Milwaukee-Waukesha, demand comes first: who works in Milwaukee County, WI, who travels in Waukesha County, WI, how that compares with the rest of Milwaukee-Waukesha, and how much room 196 full-service restaurant loans leave. Cost: $268,000 is the Milwaukee-Waukesha median and $100,000 to $675,800 the middle band, so a Milwaukee County, WI site should cost itself against this $268,000 benchmark. Then coverage: Milwaukee-Waukesha coverage withstands a slow year against the 12.7% floor for cancellation plus the 2.8% rate of charge-off. The Milwaukee-Waukesha appraisal must support the value financed. Milwaukee-Waukesha relies on the July 2023 map; a loan whose project county finds no place is absent from every area, Milwaukee-Waukesha too, and the totals keep loans outside the named classes.

SBA loans in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area

Loans approved, FY2017 to FY20263,857
Gross dollars approved$2.19 billion
Median loan$268,000
Middle half of loans, from$100,000
Middle half of loans, to$675,800
SBA 7(a) loans3,262
SBA 504 loans595
Franchise share of loans12.8%
Rank among metro and micro areas by loans37 of 928
Median loan against the national median1.29x

Cancellation and charge-off

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)12.7%
The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling)13.8%
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)2.8%
Charged off within five years of approval1.8%
Loans in that cohort1,768

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 Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI Metro Area, by fiscal year

0100200300400500FY2017FY2018FY2019FY2020FY2021FY2022FY2023FY2024FY2025FY2026Loans, FY2017: 473Loans, FY2018: 407Loans, FY2019: 384Loans, FY2020: 345Loans, FY2021: 452Loans, FY2022: 315Loans, FY2023: 349Loans, FY2024: 402Loans, FY2025: 417Loans, FY2026: 313
Fiscal yearLoansDollars
FY2017473$209.1 million
FY2018407$192.6 million
FY2019384$200.9 million
FY2020345$190.6 million
FY2021452$296.8 million
FY2022315$209.7 million
FY2023349$212.4 million
FY2024402$224.9 million
FY2025417$226.5 million
FY2026313$223.5 million

Loans by asset class

Asset classLoans
Not in any of the 39 asset classes2,767
Full-service restaurant196
Limited-service restaurant122
Child care center102
Gas station and truck stop72
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)72
Fitness center71
Beauty salon66
Assisted living (without nursing care)45
Liquor store36
Dental office34
Coffee shop and snack bar34
Grocery store32
Hotel and motel31
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries)29
Self storage24
Veterinary clinic22
Medical office (physicians)20
Car wash16
Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff)15
Rehabilitation and therapy clinic11
Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings)9
Skilled nursing7
Behavioral health and addiction treatment7
Data center5

Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.

Most active SBA lenders

SBA 504: lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
LenderLoansDollars
WBD, Inc.551$458.2 million
Racine County Economic Development Corporation35$28.9 million
SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved (the current holder of each loan, as SBA reports it)
LenderLoansDollars
U.S. Bank, National Association359$64.3 million
The Huntington National Bank246$99.9 million
Bank Five Nine236$106.8 million
Waukesha State Bank227$133.4 million
Byline Bank215$246.2 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.

Where the loans are, by county

CountyLoans
Milwaukee County, WI1,753
Waukesha County, WI1,441
Washington County, WI363
Ozaukee County, WI300

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-33340.

Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI 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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