What SBA's own loan files show about lending in the Syracuse, NY Metro Area, every asset class together, and what a feasibility study for a project there has to test.
Syracuse, NY is a metropolitan area, and its 1,111 SBA approvals in FY2017 to FY2026 carried $433.8 million in gross dollars. Syracuse ranks as an upper-tier area, 89 of 928 by loan count. In Syracuse, NY, every asset class is pooled for Syracuse. That view of Syracuse is missing from NY and national tables.
$100,000 is the Syracuse median loan, and the middle half runs $30,000 to $300,000. Outside data makes Syracuse requests look heavy; at 0.48x, Syracuse is well below the national level. In Syracuse, NY the 7(a) count is 999 and the 504 count is 112, which puts 7(a) ahead. Franchised businesses took 8.2% of loans, so a branded concept in Syracuse needs a brand-cost check in Syracuse.
Syracuse's tracked classes, largest first: 75 loans in full-service restaurant; 40 loans in limited-service restaurant; 28 loans in hotel and motel; 28 loans in fitness center. Another 796 Syracuse loans sit in no tracked class, so Syracuse totals describe operating businesses, not only property. Syracuse's top counties by loans: 920 loans in Onondaga County, NY, 118 loans in Oswego County, NY, and 73 loans in Madison County, NY. Syracuse 7(a) record, longest first: Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company with 426 loans, $59.8 million; KeyBank National Association with 104 loans, $15.7 million; Beacon Bank and Trust with 48 loans, $5.6 million. Syracuse 504 record, longest first: Empire State Certified Development Corporation with 59 loans, $63.1 million; Greater Syracuse Business Development Corporation with 40 loans, $16.8 million. Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, with 426 loans, tops the Syracuse rows, each an SBA record of Syracuse loans held or once held; none judges Syracuse lenders.
Syracuse approvals peaked in FY2025 at 139 loans and $42.7 million, bottomed at 77 in FY2020, and ended FY2026 at 119, lower than the 125 of FY2017. Of Syracuse approvals in FY2017 to FY2024, Syracuse saw at least 10.8% cancelled, and at most 12.4% if Syracuse loans still undisbursed count as cancelled in Syracuse. Of 468 Syracuse loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021, 3.8% are charged off, a floor. 1.5% of the Syracuse cohort was charged off in five years. Syracuse faces a geography limit: Syracuse, NY uses the July 2023 definition; 1,111 loans are matched by county, and unplaceable Syracuse loans are omitted, so Syracuse counts and rates are floors.
A Syracuse feasibility study begins with Syracuse demand from the right counties: Onondaga County, NY leads the loan counts, though Syracuse is wider. If a Syracuse concept resembles full-service restaurant, Syracuse offers size and lender precedent; other Syracuse concepts must rest on their own Syracuse evidence. Test Syracuse coverage of debt service on a $100,000 loan, and on a $300,000 loan, after pricing Syracuse costs from bids. Syracuse is metropolitan, so submarkets differ, and a Syracuse appraisal should use the site's own Syracuse submarket comparables. The Syracuse record frames questions, and each lender in Syracuse decides on its own.
| Loans approved, FY2017 to FY2026 | 1,111 |
|---|---|
| Gross dollars approved | $433.8 million |
| Median loan | $100,000 |
| Middle half of loans, from | $30,000 |
| Middle half of loans, to | $300,000 |
| SBA 7(a) loans | 999 |
| SBA 504 loans | 112 |
| Franchise share of loans | 8.2% |
| Rank among metro and micro areas by loans | 89 of 928 |
| Median loan against the national median | 0.48x |
| Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor) | 10.8% |
|---|---|
| The same, counting loans still undisbursed as cancelled (a ceiling) | 12.4% |
| Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor) | 3.8% |
| Charged off within five years of approval | 1.5% |
| Loans in that cohort | 468 |
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 Syracuse, NY Metro Area, by fiscal year
| Fiscal year | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| FY2017 | 125 | $30.1 million |
| FY2018 | 130 | $38.3 million |
| FY2019 | 110 | $39.5 million |
| FY2020 | 77 | $34.8 million |
| FY2021 | 84 | $32.0 million |
| FY2022 | 108 | $62.4 million |
| FY2023 | 97 | $37.3 million |
| FY2024 | 122 | $50.1 million |
| FY2025 | 139 | $42.7 million |
| FY2026 | 119 | $66.7 million |
| Asset class | Loans |
|---|---|
| Not in any of the 39 asset classes | 796 |
| Full-service restaurant | 75 |
| Limited-service restaurant | 40 |
| Hotel and motel | 28 |
| Fitness center | 28 |
| Beauty salon | 16 |
| Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) | 15 |
| Liquor store | 15 |
| Dental office | 13 |
| Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) | 12 |
| Medical office (physicians) | 12 |
| Gas station and truck stop | 8 |
| Coffee shop and snack bar | 8 |
| Veterinary clinic | 7 |
| Self storage | 6 |
| Child care center | 6 |
| Warehouse and distribution | 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 | 59 | $63.1 million |
| Greater Syracuse Business Development Corporation | 40 | $16.8 million |
| Lender | Loans | Dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company | 426 | $59.8 million |
| KeyBank National Association | 104 | $15.7 million |
| Beacon Bank and Trust | 48 | $5.6 million |
| NBT Bank, National Association | 34 | $9.3 million |
| Community Bank, National Association | 32 | $10.2 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.
| County | Loans |
|---|---|
| Onondaga County, NY | 920 |
| Oswego County, NY | 118 |
| Madison County, NY | 73 |
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-45060.
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 Syracuse, 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.
Start with the data.
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