What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Salem, OH Micro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Salem, Ohio, is a micropolitan area in Columbiana County with a median loan of $50,000, only 0.24x the national figure. Against the national figure, the one metric that sets Salem apart is the size of the median loan. SBA approved 319 loans there across FY2017 to FY2026, $74.0 million gross, rank 232 of 928; 311 are 7(a) and only 8 are 504. Brands hold just 3.4% of the count.
Median loan in Salem: $50,000. Salem reads 0.24x against the national figure. Within Salem, half of loans are $25,000 to $150,000. Only three named classes appear in Salem's record: automotive mechanical repair at 10 loans, full-service restaurant at 8 and limited-service restaurant at 6, against 267 loans outside the named classes. Count was 31 loans and $4.0 million in FY2017, 21 loans and $5.6 million in FY2019, a peak of 47 loans and $7.0 million in FY2024 and 21 loans and $10.8 million in FY2026, with dollars per loan climbing from a very low base.
The Huntington National Bank holds 229 loans and $24.9 million under 7(a), Consumers National Bank 21 loans and $4.2 million and First Commonwealth Bank 11 loans and $3.8 million. Valley Economic Development Partners, Inc. holds 8 loans and $2.8 million on 504. Salem lists name holders from SBA's records. Salem holders hold or held those loans. Salem volume is no verdict on lender practice. Salem counts promise no requirement.
Salem: cancelled after approval at least 7.7% of Salem's approvals. The Salem window is FY2017 to FY2024. Salem omits its ceiling; too few Salem loans back it. Salem charge-offs are withheld. The Salem cohort is too thin; Salem is not a zero. Open Salem loans may raise every Salem floor. The July 2023 delineation shapes Salem. Salem reads each project's county by name. Salem loses a loan with no placeable county. Salem counts every approval, named or not. Salem work should be proportionate to a very small ticket: site demand, honest cost, debt service on lean revenue and value from Columbiana County sales; a repair shop adds bay count and technician supply. Daniel Smith, MAI, signs every Salem study. Loan Analytics prepares each Salem study.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 319 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $74.0 million |
| Median loan | $50,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $25,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $150,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 311 |
| SBA 504 loans | 8 |
| Franchise share of loans | 3.4% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 232 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.24x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 7.7% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | withheld |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | withheld |
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 Salem, OH Micro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 31 | $4.0 million |
| FY2018 | 30 | $5.8 million |
| FY2019 | 21 | $5.6 million |
| FY2020 | 24 | $6.4 million |
| FY2021 | 33 | $7.6 million |
| FY2022 | 33 | $7.3 million |
| FY2023 | 40 | $9.2 million |
| FY2024 | 47 | $7.0 million |
| FY2025 | 39 | $10.3 million |
| FY2026 | 21 | $10.8 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 267 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 10 |
| Full-service restaurant | 8 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 6 |
Classes with 5 or more loans; smaller ones are withheld, and more where a small one could be derived.
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Valley Economic Development Partners, Inc. | 8 | $2.8 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| The Huntington National Bank | 229 | $24.9 million |
| Consumers National Bank | 21 | $4.2 million |
| First Commonwealth Bank | 11 | $3.8 million |
| Live Oak Banking Company | 8 | $6.2 million |
| Byline Bank | 5 | $7.4 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 |
|---|---|
| Columbiana County, OH | 319 |
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-41400.
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 Salem, OH Micro 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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