What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Rochester, NY Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Project sites in Rochester drew 3,010 SBA approvals for Rochester projects over FY2017 to FY2026, worth $735.4 million in gross dollars. Rochester holds rank 42 of 928 against every other statistical area, Rochester among them. Loan size centers on $75,000, and the central half fall from $25,225 up to $225,000. On loan size the picture is clear: at 0.36x of the national median. Smaller loans are the first thing that sets Rochester apart.
The program split in Rochester is 2,826 under 7(a) and 184 under 504. Rochester is a 7(a) market first. The franchise share of Rochester loans is 5.6%. ESL FCU tops the 7(a) table at 727 loans and $76.1 million. 686 loans and $99.7 million belong to Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, in second place. Also in the 7(a) table: Five Star Bank (NY) at 273 loans; Genesee Regional Bank has 267. The 504 table is headed by Empire State Certified Development Corporation, at 109 loans and $71.2 million. Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation trails with 67. SBA's holder records are the only source for these lender rows. The line for ESL FCU appears as the holder SBA reports; that says nothing about how Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company underwrites.
The larger share of the Rochester record falls outside the class table: 2,238 loans that carry codes outside the table. In Rochester, the class lines therefore describe a minority of Rochester lending. The Rochester class table opens with full-service restaurant, 153 loans, then limited-service restaurant with 89 and beauty salon with 60. Further down sit automotive mechanical repair (car and truck), 58 loans and fitness center at 47. Monroe County, NY is the largest source of loans, with 2,172, followed by Ontario County, NY with 327, with Wayne County, NY third at 202. Demand differs between these counties, so the Rochester figure hides some spread.
Of FY2017 to FY2024 approvals in Rochester, no fewer than 10.6% were cancelled before the loan closed out, and up to 13.2% if undisbursed loans are added to the cancelled. 4.7% of the 1,440 loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021 are known charge-offs, and the share is a floor, and 2.4% were charged off within five years of credit approval. Loans keep aging, so these rates are floors that can climb and cannot fall. Volume crested in FY2018, at 454 loans and $84.9 million. FY2023, with 215 loans and $71.8 million, was the weakest year before FY2026. Monroe County, NY and Ontario County, NY count here because each loan is placed by its project county, county membership follows the 2023 Rochester delineation, so a loan from an unmatched Rochester county appears nowhere.
In Rochester, a study should be built for the particular county, because the metro area total blends different markets. Full-service restaurant is the lead class in Rochester, so it has to examine the lunch and dinner balance and liquor licence timing and cost, then how Rochester diners split by daypart. A Rochester request in limited-service restaurant the questions are build-out cost for a small box and how a brand holds up in Rochester. A Rochester operator's coverage should be run against a downturn; comparable sales near the site must support the value. With smaller tickets the norm in Rochester, a request above the middle half must be defended with project facts.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 3,010 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $735.4 million |
| Median loan | $75,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $25,225 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $225,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 2,826 |
| SBA 504 loans | 184 |
| Franchise share of loans | 5.6% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 42 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.36x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.6% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 13.2% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 4.7% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 2.4% |
| Loans in that cohort | 1,440 |
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 Rochester, NY Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 450 | $63.4 million |
| FY2018 | 454 | $84.9 million |
| FY2019 | 270 | $73.9 million |
| FY2020 | 237 | $83.3 million |
| FY2021 | 222 | $74.8 million |
| FY2022 | 242 | $71.0 million |
| FY2023 | 215 | $71.8 million |
| FY2024 | 308 | $75.8 million |
| FY2025 | 355 | $76.4 million |
| FY2026 | 257 | $60.1 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 2,238 |
| Full-service restaurant | 153 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 89 |
| Beauty salon | 60 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 58 |
| Fitness center | 47 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 45 |
| Child care center | 44 |
| Liquor store | 42 |
| Dental office | 37 |
| Hotel and motel | 22 |
| Veterinary clinic | 22 |
| Grocery store | 21 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 18 |
| Rehabilitation and therapy clinic | 15 |
| RV park and campground | 13 |
| Self storage | 13 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 10 |
| Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) | 9 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 9 |
| Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) | 8 |
| Data center | 8 |
| Car wash | 5 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Empire State Certified Development Corporation | 109 | $71.2 million |
| Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation | 67 | $42.1 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| ESL FCU | 727 | $76.1 million |
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 686 | $99.7 million |
| Five Star Bank (NY) | 273 | $26.5 million |
| Genesee Regional Bank | 267 | $101.6 million |
| The Canandaigua National Bank and Trust Company | 167 | $42.4 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 |
|---|---|
| Monroe County, NY | 2,172 |
| Ontario County, NY | 327 |
| Wayne County, NY | 202 |
| Livingston County, NY | 197 |
| Orleans County, NY | 112 |
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-40380.
A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for a short-term rental project in New York, financed with a conventional bank loan.
Loan Analytics prepares the feasibility study a lender reads before it commits: for a commercial project in the Rochester, NY 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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