What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Pittsburgh's SBA record for FY2017 to FY2026 shows 4,621 approved loans worth $1.91 billion, a rank of 32 of 928 on loan count. Program mix is 4,339 loans under 7(a) and 282 under 504. Pittsburgh's median loan is $150,000, merely 0.72x the national figure, while the Pittsburgh band that holds half of all loans runs $50,000 to $424,000: modest tickets. Franchises account for 11.8% of loans. Pittsburgh's charge-off record is the metric that departs from the national figure by a wider gap than Loan Analytics requires, so the loss record deserves more attention than the other totals.
Among named classes the order is full-service restaurant at 332 loans, limited-service restaurant at 180, fitness center at 90, automotive mechanical repair at 84 and coffee shop and snack bar at 83. A large block of 3,284 loans sits outside every named class. Allegheny County alone carries 2,523 loans, with Westmoreland County at 493 and Butler County at 483, which makes Pittsburgh a one-county core with smaller counties around it. Volume was 447 loans in FY2017, peaked at 642 loans and $233.7 million in FY2024, and fell to 350 loans in FY2026, the lowest count in the span, although dollars that year reached $200.8 million.
The Huntington National Bank leads 7(a) in Pittsburgh with 1,848 loans and $351.1 million, followed by First Commonwealth Bank at 329 loans and $219.1 million and PNC Bank, National Association at 304 loans and $87.5 million. Regional Development Funding Corporation leads 504 with 177 loans and $128.9 million, with Empire State Certified Development Corporation behind at 99 loans and $92.3 million. In Pittsburgh as elsewhere, each count reflects what SBA records as loans a lender holds or held. Nothing in that record says how a lender decides, so a borrower should treat it as a map of local activity and nothing more.
Pittsburgh cancellations after approval reached 12.1% at minimum, taking approvals from FY2017 to FY2024, and 14.4% when Pittsburgh loans left undisbursed are counted too. Pittsburgh's funded loans from FY2017 to FY2021 number 1,753, and at least 3.8% of them have been charged off, 2.1% inside five years. Open Pittsburgh loans may raise both. Pittsburgh membership comes from each project's county in the July 2023 delineation, joined by name; a Pittsburgh loan lacking a placeable county is excluded. A study of a Pittsburgh restaurant should test sales per seat and the real cost of occupancy; one for a repair shop should test bay count and technician supply. In every case it should run coverage on a soft year and rest value on nearby comparables. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs the Loan Analytics study.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 4,621 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $1.91 billion |
| Median loan | $150,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $424,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 4,339 |
| SBA 504 loans | 282 |
| Franchise share of loans | 11.8% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 32 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.72x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 12.1% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 14.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 3.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.1% |
| Loans in that cohort | 1,753 |
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 Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 447 | $135.2 million |
| FY2018 | 446 | $168.6 million |
| FY2019 | 371 | $137.2 million |
| FY2020 | 354 | $150.2 million |
| FY2021 | 442 | $228.4 million |
| FY2022 | 496 | $244.9 million |
| FY2023 | 524 | $175.2 million |
| FY2024 | 642 | $233.7 million |
| FY2025 | 549 | $239.7 million |
| FY2026 | 350 | $200.8 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 3,284 |
| Full-service restaurant | 332 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 180 |
| Fitness center | 90 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 84 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 83 |
| Beauty salon | 80 |
| Child care center | 62 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 49 |
| Hotel and motel | 47 |
| Dental office | 39 |
| Liquor store | 36 |
| Veterinary clinic | 32 |
| Grocery store | 32 |
| Car wash | 27 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 25 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 23 |
| Assisted living (without nursing care) | 22 |
| Self storage | 13 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 13 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 12 |
| Skilled nursing | 9 |
| Behavioral health and addiction treatment | 9 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 7 |
| Continuing care retirement community | 6 |
| School (elementary and secondary, including charter) | 6 |
| Multifamily (lessors of residential buildings) | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Regional Development Funding Corporation | 177 | $128.9 million |
| Empire State Certified Development Corporation | 99 | $92.3 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 1,848 | $351.1 million |
| First Commonwealth Bank | 329 | $219.1 million |
| PNC Bank, National Association | 304 | $87.5 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 243 | $95.2 million |
| Northwest Bank (PA) | 177 | $37.5 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 |
|---|---|
| Allegheny County, PA | 2,523 |
| Westmoreland County, PA | 493 |
| Butler County, PA | 483 |
| Washington County, PA | 410 |
| Beaver County, PA | 344 |
| Lawrence County, PA | 219 |
| Fayette County, PA | 110 |
| Armstrong County, PA | 39 |
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-38300.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a gas station project in Pennsylvania, 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 Pittsburgh, PA 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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