Utah Feasibility Study Consultants & Market Data

Lenders approved 1,343 ^Corrected Utah SBA 7(a) loans worth $610.80 million in FY2025, along with 247 SBA 504 loans worth $303.1 million, a 504 share twice the national rate. The state has grown past 3.55 million residents inside an economy with 3.5 percent unemployment that has ranked first in ALEC’s Economic Outlook for nineteen straight years. Loan Analytics publishes the lending tables, county demographics and CRE market metrics behind numbers like these. We prepare independent feasibility studies for SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and USDA projects across Utah when lenders require the full report.

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Daniel Smith, MAI

Utah feasibility study consultant

As the feasibility study consultant in Utah for lenders on SBA and USDA B&I loans, Loan Analytics opens each study on the Utah record printed on this page. SBA approved 12,361 loans for $7.22 billion in Utah from FY2017 to FY2026; 2,972 of them, worth $2.34 billion, sit in the asset classes this page follows, 2,169 under 7(a) for $1.47 billion and 803 under 504 for $862.9 million. The study places the subject inside that record: its class, its metro or micro area, the lenders that write such loans here, and the cancellation and charge-off floors that show how those loans have fared.

The class decides how much weight the study carries. Hotels and motels hold the most Utah dollars, $357.2 million on 165 loans at a $1.9 million median, split almost evenly between 83 SBA 7(a) and 82 SBA 504 loans; assisted living ($1.2 million median), self storage ($1.0 million) and RV parks ($998,000) follow on loan size. Full-service restaurants lead on count with 357 loans, ahead of limited-service restaurants (299) and dental offices (256), at medians from $341,000 to $480,900. For a large-ticket class the study backs one big loan on one property; for a crowded class it shows why one more operator works where many already compete. Either way the lender gets the trade area and its households, the operators already open, how long revenue takes to stabilize, the cash flow that services the debt, and a stress case that shows where coverage breaks.

The floors set the order of the study's proof. Across the tracked classes Utah prints floors of 9.3% cancelled (approvals of FY2017 to FY2024) and 2.6% charged off (loans disbursed in FY2017 to FY2021), the latter below Colorado's 3.9% and Arizona's 3.0%. Within those totals the classes sit far apart: self storage prints 20.4% cancelled, assisted living 16.2% cancelled and 6.0% charged off, fitness centers 8.0% charged off and coffee shops 7.1%, while hotels, medical offices, self storage, gas stations and car washes print 0.00% charged off. A Utah self storage study must show that the project will close as approved; a Utah fitness center study must show that the business carries its debt through the early years. Each scope from Loan Analytics follows the risk printed in the subject's own row, and Daniel Smith, MAI signs the report the lender files.

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SBA Lending in Utah: The Current Numbers

Utah lenders approved 1,343 ^Corrected SBA 7(a) loans worth $610.80 million in FY2025, up from 1,153 ^Corrected loans and $540.49 million ^Corrected the year before. The average 7(a) loan of about $457,000 ran slightly below the national figure. The standout is the 504 program. Utah borrowers took 247 504 loans worth $303.1 million in FY2025, and 504 accounts for 15.7 percent ^Corrected of the state’s SBA loans against 8.0 percent ^Corrected nationally. That is a clear signal of owner-occupied real estate demand along the Wasatch Front. Since fiscal 2010, Utah borrowers have closed SBA loans worth $9.47 billion ^Corrected. Accommodation and food services and health care lead by dollar volume, and construction leads by count.

The lending base is concentrated. Zions Bank, Mountain America Credit Union and Central Bank lead Utah 7(a) lending, and the top ten lenders made more than 60 percent of the state’s 7(a) loans between fiscal 2020 and 2025. About three in five Utah 7(a) loans move through lenders’ delegated Preferred Lender authority. On the 504 side, Mountain West Small Business Finance handled about three-quarters of the state’s projects, followed by Intermountain Business Lending. Salt Lake City leads all Utah cities in SBA volume, followed by Orem, Ogden, Sandy, St. George and Lehi.

The national picture has shifted. After a record FY2025, SBA approvals fell in FY2026 to 56,130 7(a) loans worth $32.4 billion and 6,075 504 loans worth $7.1 billion. Utah is following the same curve: its 7(a) count through June 2026 was pacing 25.4 percent ^Corrected below FY2025, while the average loan rose to about $505,000, meaning fewer, larger deals. SOP 50 10 8.1, effective 1 October 2026, tightens acquisition lending further. Outside the Wasatch Front, USDA Rural Development invested $164 million in Utah in fiscal 2026. That included a $25 million Business and Industry guarantee commitment for a copper mining project in Beaver County expected to create about 100 jobs. Fewer, larger and more closely scrutinized deals are precisely where independent market data and third-party feasibility studies earn their place in the file.

Utah SBA lending, at a glance:

FY2025 7(a) approvals: 1,343 ^Corrected loans for $610.80 million ^Corrected.
FY2025 504 approvals: 247 loans for $303.1 million; 504 is 15.7% ^Corrected of Utah SBA loans, against 8.0% ^Corrected nationally.
Average 7(a) loan: about $457,000 in FY2025, rising to about $505,000 in FY2026.
FY2026 pace: 25.4% ^Corrected fewer 7(a) loans than FY2025, through June.
Cumulative since FY2010: more than 21,000 loans, with $9.47 billion ^Corrected approved through fiscal 2025.
USDA Rural Development, FY2026: $164 million invested in rural Utah.

Sources: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan-level data (FOIA), as tabulated by Precise SBA and SBA Loan Index; U.S. Small Business Administration; USDA Rural Development.

Where Utah Is Growing: County Demographics

Utah reached 3,551,150 residents as of July 2025, adding 44,351 people for a 1.3 percent gain, according to the Utah Population Committee and the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute. The Census Bureau’s own estimate is somewhat lower at 3,538,904, a 1.0 percent gain that still ranked fifth among the states. Utah County led all counties, adding 15,914 residents, roughly 36 percent of the state’s growth. Salt Lake County added 8,281, Washington County 4,751 and Tooele County 2,466. Tooele and Iron counties grew fastest in percentage terms at 3.0 percent each, while five small rural counties lost population. For the first time this decade, natural increase rather than net migration drove the majority of growth, 57 percent. That points to steady household formation rather than migration-driven spikes.

The longer arc matters as much as the single year. State projections carry Utah from about 3.6 million residents today to 5.6 million by 2065, while average household size falls from about 3.0 to 2.3. That combination means household counts, and housing demand, grow faster than population itself. The labor market supports it: Utah added 25,200 jobs in the year to September 2026, growth of 1.4 percent against 0.3 percent nationally, and unemployment stood at 3.5 percent against 4.2 percent nationally. For a feasibility study, these trajectories are the raw material of demand: trade-area population, household formation and absorption assumptions all stand or fall on county-level growth, and lenders increasingly test borrower projections against independent figures.

Utah county growth, July 2024 to July 2025:

Utah statewide: +44,351 to 3,551,150, up 1.3% (Census series: 3,538,904, up 1.0%).
Utah County: +15,914, about 36% of statewide growth.
Salt Lake County: +8,281.
Washington County: +4,751.
Tooele and Iron counties: fastest growth at 3.0% each.
Projection: 5.6 million residents by 2065.

Sources: Utah Population Committee and Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute; U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025; Utah Department of Workforce Services.

Utah Commercial Real Estate: The Five Major Markets

Industrial is the swing story, and it is past its peak. Salt Lake industrial vacancy topped out near 8.2 percent in late 2025. By the third quarter of 2026 it had eased to 7.6 percent including sublease space, according to Cushman & Wakefield, or 7.3 percent by CBRE’s measure. Net absorption was positive and asking rents rose to $0.85 per square foot monthly, up from $0.80 a year earlier. The market is really two markets. Small-bay buildings between 10,000 and 100,000 square feet are only 1.5 percent vacant and manufacturing space 2.3 percent, while warehouse and distribution space sits at 9.5 percent. About four million square feet remains under construction with only 15 percent preleased, which is exactly the distinction a lender wants tested. Multifamily is working through the end of a supply wave: Salt Lake completed 9,430 apartments in 2025, a decade high equal to 6.7 percent of its stock. Wasatch Front vacancy stands near 6.8 percent with rents up about 2 percent, and concessions are concentrated downtown.

The other three sectors complete the spread. Retail remains the tightest market in the state, with direct vacancy of 2.85 percent in Salt Lake County and 2.22 percent in Utah County, where more than 700,000 square feet of new retail is underway around Lehi. Office has turned a corner. CBRE reports eight straight quarters of positive absorption across Salt Lake and Utah counties, with 2026 absorption already above all of 2025, prime downtown vacancy at 6.5 percent, and no new office construction underway, although overall vacancy remains above 20 percent. Hospitality rests on record visitor spending of $13.7 billion in 2025, supporting 167,200 jobs. National park visits slipped 4.5 percent, so growth is coming from spending rather than visitor counts. That divergence between sectors is precisely the question a lender asks a feasibility study to resolve.

Utah commercial real estate, third quarter 2026:

Industrial (Salt Lake): vacancy 7.3–7.6%, down from an 8.2% peak; small-bay vacancy 1.5%; rents up to $0.85 per square foot monthly.
Multifamily (Wasatch Front): vacancy about 6.8% after a record 2025 delivery year, with rents up about 2%.
Retail: direct vacancy 2.85% in Salt Lake County and 2.22% in Utah County.
Office (Salt Lake–Provo): eight straight quarters of positive absorption; prime downtown vacancy 6.5%.
Tourism (statewide): record $13.7 billion in visitor spending and 167,200 jobs in 2025.

Sources: Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE, Colliers, Northmarq and Yardi Matrix market reports; Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute and Utah Office of Tourism.

Construction Costs: Salt Lake City Against the National Index

Mortenson’s Construction Cost Index release for the third quarter of 2026 put Salt Lake City costs up 1.47 percent for the quarter and 7.87 percent year over year, the steepest annual increase of the eight metros Mortenson tracks, against 1.58 and 5.60 percent nationally. Salt Lake City has led the index for three straight releases, peaking at 9.75 percent year over year earlier in 2026, and Mortenson cites labor competition as a driver there more than in almost any other market. Construction employment in the Salt Lake area actually dipped in 2026 even as data center, grid and advanced-manufacturing work competed for the same electricians and steel. For a project budget, that differential is not an abstraction. Hard-cost assumptions flow straight into total project cost, loan sizing and the debt-service coverage a lender stress-tests. With escalation running two to four points above the national pace, a Wasatch Front budget assembled last year is already stale, and steel- and electrical-heavy scopes deserve extra contingency.

Construction costs, third quarter 2026 release:

Salt Lake City: +1.47%
Construction costs, third quarter 2026 release:
Salt Lake City: +1.47% for the quarter and +7.87% year over year, the highest of eight markets.
United States: +1.58% for the quarter and +5.60% year over year.
Denver (comparison): +6.84% year over year.
Salt Lake City, early 2026: +9.75% year over year.
Source: Mortenson Construction Cost Index.
the quarter and +7.87% year over year, the highest of eight markets.
United States: +1.58% for the quarter and +5.60% year over year.
Denver (comparison): +6.84% year over year.
Salt Lake City, early 2026: +9.75% year over year.

Source: Mortenson Construction Cost Index.

What This Means for a Feasibility Study in Utah

Read the datasets together and the assignment becomes concrete. Strong 504 demand and fewer, larger SBA deals mean more Utah projects reach credit committees at dollar figures that draw closer review. Growth concentrated in Utah County and the Wasatch Front means a demand case that works in Provo can look different in Tooele or St. George. Five CRE sectors pointing in different directions, from a two-speed industrial market to a sub-3 percent retail market to a recovering office sector, mean asset selection, not the Utah label, drives the outcome. And the fastest construction inflation of any market Mortenson tracks means a budget assembled last year is already stale.

Water has moved from background to underwriting variable. Salt Lake City’s public utilities director told legislators in January 2026 that, under planning through 2060, the city does not “have excess water for growth.” The Great Salt Lake ended the 2025 water year at its third-lowest level on record. The 2026 legislature passed a law requiring large data centers to notify water providers of their projected demand, and reformed water leasing. For projects that need new water connections or significant supply, availability now belongs in the feasibility analysis alongside demand.

The state’s investment story sharpens all of it. The Gardner Institute measures Utah’s defense sector at $22.2 billion, 7.8 percent of state GDP, supporting more than 173,000 jobs, with Hill Air Force Base holding more than half the state’s federal defense jobs. Industry groups using a broader aerospace definition put the figure near a fifth of GDP. Technology’s full economic impact reached 18 percent of state GDP in Gardner’s analysis, and data center campuses continue to expand around Salt Lake. Each of those anchors reshapes trade-area demand, labor demand and absorption in the markets around it, and none of them shows up in a generic template.

Loan Analytics prepares independent feasibility studies for SBA 7(a), SBA 504 and USDA-financed projects across Utah, built on the same data published on this page and extended to the subject property. Each study covers trade-area demographics, competitive supply, demand and absorption, water and utility capacity where relevant, financial projections, and sensitivity testing organized around what credit committees actually review. The study arrives as a third-party document, written for the lender’s file. To scope one, use the form below or write to Info@analytics.loan. Include the property type, the county and the loan program, and we come back with scope and timeline.

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Utah Feasibility Study FAQ

How much does a feasibility study cost in Utah?

There is no single number. Scope depends on the asset type, the loan program, and how much of the market work already exists. Each study is quoted individually after a short scoping conversation: send the property type, county, and program through the form above, and the quote comes back with a defined scope and timeline.

Who requires the study, the SBA or the lender?

Program rules set the trigger, the lender executes it. SBA and USDA guidelines call for an independent feasibility study on many startup, expansion, and new-construction projects, and the document must come from a party independent of both borrower and lender. In practice the lender orders the study, and it is written for the credit file.

Which Utah counties does the coverage include?

All twenty-nine. The published tables concentrate on the highest-growth counties, Utah, Salt Lake, Washington, Davis, and Tooele, while county-level lending and demographic detail for the rest of the state is maintained in the underlying dataset and appears in individual studies.

How current are the figures on this page?

Each table is labeled with its period. Federal lending figures run through FY2024 and FY2025, market indicators through the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, and population estimates reflect the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute's December 2025 release. Tables are refreshed as the agencies and market sources publish.

Do you prepare studies for USDA projects in rural Utah?

Yes. USDA Business and Industry and related rural programs are a core use case, and much of Utah outside the Wasatch Front and the St. George area falls within USDA-eligible territory. Eligibility is parcel-specific, so confirming the subject address against current USDA maps is part of scoping every rural engagement.

SBA loan record in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026

SBA 7(a) and 504 loans approved for projects in Utah across the asset classes Loan Analytics tracks, from SBA's own loan-level files.

	Loans	Dollars
Both programs	2,972	$2.34 billion
SBA 7(a)	2,169	$1.47 billion
SBA 504	803	$862.9 million

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, SBA loan record in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Cancelled after approval, FY2017 to FY2024 approvals (a floor)	9.3%
Charged off to date, FY2017 to FY2021 disbursed loans (a floor)	2.6%
Charged off within five years of approval	1.3%

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, SBA loan record in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Both rates are floors: SBA withholds the status of open loans. A rate needs at least 30 loans in its cohort.

SBA loans approved in Utah by fiscal year, in the asset classes with 10 or more loans and approvals in 5 or more fiscal years

Fiscal year	Loans	Dollars
FY2017	300	$226.3 million
FY2018	319	$257.5 million
FY2019	277	$193.7 million
FY2020	258	$191.4 million
FY2021	307	$285.5 million
FY2022	274	$224.3 million
FY2023	254	$217.6 million
FY2024	297	$191.4 million
FY2025	336	$270.4 million
FY2026	305	$220.4 million

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, SBA loan record in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Asset classes in Utah, ranked by loans

Asset class	Loans	Dollars
Full-service restaurant	357	$217.5 million
Limited-service restaurant	299	$159.4 million
Dental office	256	$195.9 million
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)	226	$115.9 million
Fitness center	206	$100.0 million
Coffee shop and snack bar	204	$65.1 million
Hotel and motel	165	$357.2 million
Beauty salon	153	$45.1 million
Medical office (physicians)	144	$108.4 million
Child care center	132	$87.8 million
Self storage	107	$146.9 million
Gas station and truck stop	89	$90.1 million
Car wash	84	$83.0 million
Assisted living (without nursing care)	84	$138.1 million
Rehabilitation and therapy clinic	71	$24.9 million
Behavioral health and addiction treatment	65	$69.9 million
RV park and campground	43	$61.0 million
Grocery store	39	$47.7 million
Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings)	35	$29.1 million
Veterinary clinic	33	$44.8 million
Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff)	32	$10.5 million
School (elementary and secondary, including charter)	27	$22.8 million
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries)	26	$11.1 million
Data center	21	$8.1 million
Warehouse and distribution	19	$21.2 million
Skilled nursing	10	$16.8 million
Urgent care and ambulatory surgery	8	$12.4 million
Life science lab (research and development)	8	$6.1 million
Manufactured housing community (lessors of other real estate)	7	$10.2 million
Multifamily (lessors of residential buildings)	6	$11.8 million
Hospital	6	$5.5 million
Diagnostic imaging center	5	$1.9 million
Cold storage	2	fewer than five loans
Marina	2	fewer than five loans
Liquor store	1	fewer than five loans

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, SBA loan record in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Most active SBA lenders in Utah's largest classes

Full-service restaurant, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved
Lender	Loans
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	48
Mountain America FCU	33
Celtic Bank Corporation	20
America First Federal Credit Union	19
First Utah Bank	15

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, Full-service restaurant, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Limited-service restaurant, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved
Lender	Loans
Mountain America FCU	31
America First Federal Credit Union	26
Central Bank	24
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	18
Community Banks of Colorado, A Division of NBH Bank	12

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, Limited-service restaurant, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Dental office, SBA 504: lenders by loans approved
Lender	Loans
Mountain West Small Business Finance	71
Intermountain Business Lending, Inc.	18

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, Dental office, SBA 504: lenders by loans approved, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Dental office, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved
Lender	Loans
Live Oak Banking Company	31
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	20
Central Bank	12
Glacier Bank	10
Mountain America FCU	9

Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, Dental office, SBA 7(a): lenders by loans approved, https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#state-record.

Feasibility study data by asset class in Utah

Feasibility study data by asset class and SBA program in Utah

Feasibility study data by metro area in Utah

Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files (data.sba.gov), as of 2026-09-30. Totals add the state's cells across the tracked asset classes; they are not all SBA lending in Utah.

Feasibility study questions for Utah

How many SBA loans have gone to Utah projects in the asset classes Loan Analytics tracks?

Utah projects received 2,972 SBA loans worth $2.34 billion between FY2017 and FY2026 within the Loan Analytics classes. Utah's 7(a) loans came to 2,169 and $1.47 billion; its 504 loans to 803 and $862.9 million. Utah cells drawn from SBA loan files for the tracked classes are the base, so Utah's SBA lending in other industries sits outside them.

Which asset classes receive the most SBA loans in Utah?

Full-service restaurants lead Utah with 357 loans ($217.5 million), followed by limited-service restaurants at 299 ($159.4 million). Dental offices rank third, 256 loans worth $195.9 million. Automotive repair (226), fitness centers (206) and coffee shops (204) come next. Hotels and motels have 165 loans and the largest Utah dollar total, $357.2 million, and physicians' medical offices hold 144.

How often are SBA loans in Utah cancelled or charged off?

Utah's floors are 9.3% cancelled after approval for the fiscal 2017 to 2024 cohort and 2.6% charged off so far among fiscal 2017 to 2021 disbursals, with 1.3% of Utah loans charged off by year five. As SBA keeps open-loan outcomes unpublished, the real Utah figures are no lower than these, and Utah's page shows a rate only where 30 loans or more support it.

Which lenders make the most SBA loans in Utah?

Zions Bancorporation, National Association heads the Utah full-service restaurant 7(a) list with 48 loans, ahead of Mountain America FCU at 33. Mountain America FCU leads limited-service restaurants with 31, with America First Federal Credit Union at 26. Dental offices have their own leaders: Mountain West Small Business Finance dominates Utah's SBA 504 dental table with 71 loans, and Live Oak Banking Company leads dental 7(a) with 31.

Which Utah programs can support a project financed with an SBA or USDA loan?

Utah's Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity is the state office to contact about incentives and programs that can back an SBA- or USDA-financed project. The office's pages were not read for this answer, and so no program name appears. The borrower and the SBA lender, or the certified development company on a 504 loan, should put the question to the office directly, naming the project's county, size and use.

Which state permits and approvals should a feasibility study for a project in Utah account for?

The Utah Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issues the state's environmental permits. Since DEQ's pages were outside this review, the answer names no Utah permit. A Utah study describes the site and use to DEQ and records the approvals it identifies, then checks zoning and building permits with the city or county so the schedule reflects every approval.

What does a feasibility study for a project in Utah test first?

Utah's record mixes restaurants with healthcare. For 357 full-service and 299 limited-service restaurant loans, a Utah study opens with drive-time trade areas and a capture rate grounded in how comparable Utah operators perform. Dental offices, 256 loans worth $195.9 million, need demand built from population and households and a survey of competing practices. Hotels, 165 loans carrying $357.2 million, add stabilized occupancy and a sensitivity test, since a single-use building has limited alternative use if the business fails.

Source: How a Feasibility Study Is Done: The Loan Analytics Methodology, Loan Analytics

Worked examples

Worked Example: SBA 7(a) Assisted Living Feasibility Study in Utah

A worked example of the feasibility study a lender would read for an assisted living project in Utah, financed with an SBA 7(a) loan.

State: Utah · Asset: Assisted living · Program: SBA 7(a)

SBA lending in Utah, FY1991 to FY2026

Every SBA 7(a) and 504 loan approved for a project in Utah since FY1991, by fiscal year, from SBA's own loan files.

Utah's 7(a) count peaked in FY2008

Utah's SBA 7(a) approvals rose from 944 in FY2003 to 1,592 in FY2004 and kept climbing to 2,648 in FY2007 and a peak of 2,774 in FY2008. Those were small loans: the FY2008 peak carried $275.7 million. The count fell to 1,824 in FY2009 and 1,233 in FY2010, then held between 997 and 1,311 every year from FY2010 to FY2018 before dropping to 770 in FY2019. The dollars did not follow the count down; they climbed every year from $227.5 million in FY2012 to $445.9 million in FY2016. A Utah 7(a) loan today is a larger commitment per borrower than the mid-2000s record suggests, and the study has to carry the cash flow for the amount actually requested.

FY2021 and FY2025 set the dollar highs

The 7(a) dollar high belongs to FY2021, $618.0 million on just 896 loans. FY2025 comes second with $610.8 million on 1,343 loans, the most 7(a) approvals in Utah since FY2009, and FY2026 third with $543.2 million on 1,052, narrowly ahead of FY2024's $540.5 million on 1,153; FY2016 follows at $445.9 million. The recent fiscal years own the top of Utah's 7(a) dollar table, and a credit officer compares a new request with that book of larger loans.

The 504 program swung harder

Utah's SBA 504 lending reached its high in FY2022, 370 loans and $371.0 million, after 363 loans and $313.3 million in FY2021. That same year 7(a) fell to 762 loans, the fewest since FY2002, carrying $426.9 million. The 504 count then dropped to 229 in FY2023 and 181 in FY2024, the fewest since FY1997, before recovering to 250 loans and $309.8 million in FY2025 and 256 loans and $295.6 million in FY2026, the third and fourth largest 504 dollar totals in the table. From FY2022 to FY2026, annual 504 dollars in Utah ranged from $182.5 million to $371.0 million, and a 504 study has to justify its project cost to lenders who have watched the program move that far.

FY1996 and the long record

One year reverses the usual order: in FY1996 Utah's 266 SBA 504 loans carried $83.8 million, more than the $73.8 million on 459 SBA 7(a) loans, the only year in the table in which 504 dollars led. Across the whole record, 7(a) adds up to 36,723 loans and $9.40 billion and 504 to 8,095 loans and $4.80 billion. The decade from FY2017 to FY2026 holds 9,726 of those 7(a) loans but $4.79 billion of the 7(a) dollars, and 2,635 of the 504 loans but $2.43 billion of the 504 dollars. The money sits in the recent decade, and that is the book a Utah lender measures a new request against.

The tracked classes, year by year

In the asset classes this page tracks, Utah's yearly approvals moved in a narrow band, from 254 loans in FY2023 to 336 in FY2025, the decade's high; FY2026 brought 305 loans and $220.4 million. Dollars peaked earlier, at $285.5 million on 307 loans in FY2021, and FY2024 shows loan size moving against count: its 297 loans carried $191.4 million, the same total FY2020 reached on 258 loans. While all SBA 504 lending in Utah peaked in FY2022, the tracked classes fell that year to 274 loans and $224.3 million. A study for a project in one of these classes should test the request against its own class's recent years, not the statewide totals, which rise and fall with lending this page does not track.

SBA 7(a) and 504 loans approved in Utah by fiscal year
Fiscal year	SBA 7(a) loans	SBA 7(a) dollars	SBA 504 loans	SBA 504 dollars
FY1991	241	$49.0 million	83	$20.8 million
FY1992	305	$68.3 million	101	$24.1 million
FY1993	272	$66.4 million	121	$33.9 million
FY1994	366	$90.1 million	171	$44.6 million
FY1995	636	$107.9 million	185	$51.8 million
FY1996	459	$73.8 million	266	$83.8 million
FY1997	498	$103.2 million	155	$48.5 million
FY1998	457	$87.8 million	208	$62.5 million
FY1999	519	$86.7 million	235	$73.1 million
FY2000	618	$103.6 million	191	$63.6 million
FY2001	571	$100.2 million	198	$72.0 million
FY2002	573	$117.4 million	206	$77.2 million
FY2003	944	$118.3 million	227	$74.2 million
FY2004	1,592	$169.0 million	227	$81.6 million
FY2005	1,765	$210.5 million	241	$103.5 million
FY2006	1,848	$184.6 million	299	$128.6 million
FY2007	2,648	$226.6 million	331	$181.0 million
FY2008	2,774	$275.7 million	281	$144.7 million
FY2009	1,824	$185.1 million	213	$110.6 million
FY2010	1,233	$174.8 million	212	$96.6 million
FY2011	1,311	$303.1 million	246	$132.6 million
FY2012	1,114	$227.5 million	260	$133.6 million
FY2013	1,088	$285.3 million	207	$122.5 million
FY2014	1,049	$341.8 million	203	$138.3 million
FY2015	1,183	$408.6 million	187	$129.5 million
FY2016	1,109	$445.9 million	206	$138.7 million
FY2017	1,073	$440.2 million	214	$156.7 million
FY2018	997	$426.7 million	233	$176.5 million
FY2019	770	$326.1 million	253	$182.7 million
FY2020	778	$419.9 million	286	$205.4 million
FY2021	896	$618.0 million	363	$313.3 million
FY2022	762	$426.9 million	370	$371.0 million
FY2023	902	$438.4 million	229	$239.5 million
FY2024	1,153	$540.5 million	181	$182.5 million
FY2025	1,343	$610.8 million	250	$309.8 million
FY2026	1,052	$543.2 million	256	$295.6 million
FY1991 to FY2026	36,723	$9.40 billion	8,095	$4.80 billion
FY2017 to FY2026	9,726	$4.79 billion	2,635	$2.43 billion

Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files as of 2026-09-30 (data.sba.gov; gross approvals, cancelled approvals included), aggregated by Loan Analytics; each figure is kept with its source file and retrieval date. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "SBA 7(a) and 504 loans approved in Utah by fiscal year", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#sba-record-sba-by-year.

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Asset classes financed in Utah, ranked

Each asset class Loan Analytics tracks, ranked by SBA loans approved in Utah from FY2017 to FY2026, with loan size, program split and the cohort floors where at least 30 loans support them.

Count and dollars order Utah's classes differently

By loans, Utah's leading classes are full-service restaurants (357), limited-service restaurants (299), dental offices (256), automotive mechanical repair (226), fitness centers (206) and coffee shops and snack bars (204). By dollars, hotels and motels move from seventh place to first with $357.2 million, ahead of full-service restaurants ($217.5 million), dental offices ($195.9 million) and limited-service restaurants ($159.4 million). Self storage climbs from eleventh by count (107 loans) to fifth by dollars ($146.9 million), and assisted living, level with car washes at 84 loans, ranks sixth by dollars with $138.1 million. Coffee shops move the other way, sixth by count and fourteenth by dollars at $65.1 million. A Utah study's depth follows the dollar ranking, not the count.

Hotels: the largest dollars and an even split

Hotels and motels concentrate Utah's SBA money on single properties: 165 loans, $357.2 million and a $1.9 million median, the highest median in the table. The program split is nearly even, 83 SBA 7(a) loans against 82 SBA 504 loans, where self storage leans to 504 (63 to 44) and assisted living to 7(a) (55 to 29). The cohort floors are low, 6.2% cancelled and 0.00% charged off. A Utah hotel study is read against that clean record, so the credit desk looks for the reasons this property will keep it clean: the competitive set the subject enters, the occupancy and rate assumptions behind the revenue line, and debt service coverage at the full requested amount in a weaker year.

Self storage, grocery and assisted living: approvals that fall away

Self storage prints the highest cancellation floor in Utah's table, 20.4% cancelled, on 107 loans at a $1.0 million median, and its 504 loans outnumber its 7(a) loans, 63 to 44, as they do for schools, 18 to 9; no other class in the table leans to 504. Grocery stores follow at 16.7% cancelled and assisted living at 16.2%, the latter with a 6.0% charge-off floor at a $1.2 million median; RV parks print 13.2%. An approval cancelled after the lender said yes is a project that did not proceed on that loan, so in these classes the study proves more than demand: a budget that holds, a site ready to build or operate, and a fill-up period the borrower can carry until revenue stabilizes.

Fitness and coffee: small loans, the highest losses

Utah's highest charge-off floors sit in small-ticket 7(a) classes. Fitness centers print 8.0% charged off on 206 loans, 191 of them SBA 7(a), at a $300,000 median; coffee shops and snack bars print 7.1% on 204 loans, 193 of them 7(a), at $245,000. Assisted living (6.0%) is the only large-ticket class near them, and beauty salons (5.9%) and limited-service restaurants (4.7%) come next, all above the 2.6% floor for the tracked classes together. The economy table below shows both leaders adding establishments fast between 2018 and 2023, so a Utah fitness or coffee study is judged on whether the membership or ticket count holds once the newer competitors in the trade area are counted, and whether the business covers its payments before it is established.

Dental and medical offices: the low-loss healthcare book

Dental offices rank third in Utah by both count and dollars, 256 loans and $195.9 million at a $480,900 median, and their 90 SBA 504 loans are the most of any class in the state, ahead of full-service restaurants (86) and hotels (82). Their floors are among the lowest in the table: 6.6% cancelled and 0.72% charged off. Physicians' medical offices print 5.5% cancelled, second lowest after nonresidential lessors' 2.9%, and a 0.00% charge-off floor on 144 loans. With so little loss history in the cohort, the lender's question on a Utah dental or medical study is whether the building, build-out and equipment budget fits what the practice will produce, and whether the patient base in its trade area supports one more practice.

Classes below the reporting line

From rehabilitation and therapy clinics (71 loans) down to beverage manufacturing (26), Utah's charge-off floors are not reported because fewer than 30 loans sit in each cohort, and veterinary clinics, caterers, schools and beverage manufacturers lack a cancellation floor as well. Some of these are large loans all the same: veterinary clinics carry an $856,000 median on 33 loans and schools $650,000 on 27. Below them, data centers (21 loans, $8.1 million), warehouse and distribution (19 loans, $21.2 million) and the rest of the table carry too few loans for the page to print a median or a split between programs. A Utah study in one of these classes cannot lean on a state loss record; it says so to the lender and builds the case from the class's national record, the local operators County Business Patterns counts, and the subject's own figures.

SBA loans in Utah by asset class, FY2017 to FY2026
Asset class	Loans	Dollars	Median loan	SBA 7(a) loans	SBA 504 loans	Cancelled (floor)	Charged off (floor)
Full-service restaurant	357	$217.5 million	$341,000	271	86	7.6%	2.5%
Limited-service restaurant	299	$159.4 million	$350,000	259	40	11.5%	4.7%
Dental office	256	$195.9 million	$480,900	166	90	6.6%	0.72%
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck)	226	$115.9 million	$337,500	156	70	9.2%	3.9%
Fitness center	206	$100.0 million	$300,000	191	15	8.1%	8.0%
Coffee shop and snack bar	204	$65.1 million	$245,000	193	11	7.4%	7.1%
Hotel and motel	165	$357.2 million	$1.9 million	83	82	6.2%	0.00%
Beauty salon	153	$45.1 million	$150,000	129	24	11.1%	5.9%
Medical office (physicians)	144	$108.4 million	$343,050	103	41	5.5%	0.00%
Child care center	132	$87.8 million	$481,500	89	43	11.1%	1.7%
Self storage	107	$146.9 million	$1.0 million	44	63	20.4%	0.00%
Gas station and truck stop	89	$90.1 million	$748,000	60	29	8.2%	0.00%
Car wash	84	$83.0 million	$656,500	45	39	9.6%	0.00%
Assisted living (without nursing care)	84	$138.1 million	$1.2 million	55	29	16.2%	6.0%
Rehabilitation and therapy clinic	71	$24.9 million	$150,000	56	15	8.9%	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Behavioral health and addiction treatment	65	$69.9 million	$500,000	37	28	6.0%	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
RV park and campground	43	$61.0 million	$998,000	27	16	13.2%	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Grocery store	39	$47.7 million	$763,000	29	10	16.7%	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings)	35	$29.1 million	$636,000	31	4	2.9%	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Veterinary clinic	33	$44.8 million	$856,000	20	13	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff)	32	$10.5 million	$154,000	29	3	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
School (elementary and secondary, including charter)	27	$22.8 million	$650,000	9	18	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries)	26	$11.1 million	$304,500	20	6	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Data center	21	$8.1 million	too few loans for these measures
Warehouse and distribution	19	$21.2 million	too few loans for these measures
Skilled nursing	10	$16.8 million	too few loans for these measures
Urgent care and ambulatory surgery	8	$12.4 million	too few loans for these measures
Life science lab (research and development)	8	$6.1 million	too few loans for these measures
Manufactured housing community (lessors of other real estate)	7	$10.2 million	too few loans for these measures
Multifamily (lessors of residential buildings)	6	$11.8 million	too few loans for these measures
Hospital	6	$5.5 million	too few loans for these measures
Diagnostic imaging center	5	$1.9 million	too few loans for these measures
Cold storage	2	fewer than five loans	too few loans for these measures
Marina	2	fewer than five loans	too few loans for these measures
Liquor store	1	fewer than five loans	too few loans for these measures

Source: Loan Analytics' SBA loan record from SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan-level files, approvals FY2017 to FY2026 as of 2026-09-30; rates are floors and need at least 30 loans in their cohort; dollars are not shown where fewer than five loans would reveal a single loan. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "SBA loans in Utah by asset class, FY2017 to FY2026", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#asset-classes-classes.

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Metro and micro areas in Utah

SBA lending in the metropolitan and micropolitan areas that reach into Utah, ranked by loans: every SBA 7(a) and 504 approval in each area, all industries together, not only the asset classes Loan Analytics tracks.

Salt Lake City-Murray leads; Provo-Orem-Lehi prints the highest median

Salt Lake City-Murray holds the largest SBA book of any area reaching into Utah, 4,663 loans and $2.86 billion from FY2017 to FY2026, followed by Provo-Orem-Lehi with 2,754 loans and $1.60 billion and Ogden with 1,796 loans and $1.04 billion. Their medians sit close together: $285,500 in Provo-Orem-Lehi, the highest in the table, $285,000 in Salt Lake City-Murray and $280,850 in Ogden. A study for a project in any of these areas can draw its comparable loans from a deep local file at a similar typical size, and a credit officer will expect it to; leaning on statewide or out-of-state figures is hard to defend where the subject's own metro has a record this large.

Charge-off floors separate the areas more than size does

The charge-off floors separate these areas more than their medians do. Logan prints 4.7%, the highest in the table, above Salt Lake City-Murray at 4.4% and Provo-Orem-Lehi at 4.0%; the Heber micro area prints 3.7%, Ogden 3.2% and St. George 1.8%, the lowest. St. George's 964 loans and $541.1 million came at a $248,500 median, below the larger metros, so a St. George study argues from a smaller typical loan and a cleaner record than a Salt Lake City-Murray study would. For Cedar City, Brigham City and Vernal the floor is withheld, and a study there cannot cite a local loss rate at all; it relies on the class floors in the asset table above.

Micro areas, and the rows that cross into Idaho

Market size does not set loan size. The Heber micro area, with 422 loans and $249.2 million, prints a $254,400 median, above St. George's $248,500, though St. George has the larger book. Cedar City (289 loans, $200,000 median), Vernal (164 loans, $204,500) and Brigham City (179 loans, $167,000, the lowest median in the table) are thin files, and Vernal and Brigham City raised almost the same dollars, $73.5 million and $73.6 million, on different counts. Logan, UT-ID and Brigham City, UT-ID both cross into Idaho, as their names show, so their rows count loans on both sides of the state line; a study for a project in either area should say which side its comparable loans come from.

SBA loans by metro area touching Utah, FY2017 to FY2026
Metro or micro area	Loans	Dollars	Median loan	Charged off (floor)
Salt Lake City-Murray, UT Metro Area	4,663	$2.86 billion	$285,000	4.4%
Provo-Orem-Lehi, UT Metro Area	2,754	$1.60 billion	$285,500	4.0%
Ogden, UT Metro Area	1,796	$1.04 billion	$280,850	3.2%
St. George, UT Metro Area	964	$541.1 million	$248,500	1.8%
Logan, UT-ID Metro Area	538	$302.0 million	$258,600	4.7%
Heber, UT Micro Area	422	$249.2 million	$254,400	3.7%
Cedar City, UT Micro Area	289	$124.8 million	$200,000	withheld
Brigham City, UT-ID Micro Area	179	$73.6 million	$167,000	withheld
Vernal, UT Micro Area	164	$73.5 million	$204,500	withheld

Source: Loan Analytics' SBA loan record from SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan-level files, approvals FY2017 to FY2026 as of 2026-09-30; rates are floors and need at least 30 loans in their cohort; dollars are not shown where fewer than five loans would reveal a single loan. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "SBA loans by metro area touching Utah, FY2017 to FY2026", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#metros-metros.

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SBA lenders in Utah

The SBA lenders with a recorded book of loans for projects in Utah, ranked by loans; no lender with fewer than 5 loans is listed.

Mountain West Small Business Finance and the 504 book

Mountain West Small Business Finance leads Utah on both measures, 2,006 loans and $1.81 billion from FY2017 to FY2026, the largest dollar book in the table by a wide margin; Intermountain Business Lending, Inc. is second by dollars with $495.5 million on 548 loans. This page's archived overview names these two as the leaders of Utah's 504 lending, and their counts stand against 2,635 SBA 504 approvals in the state over the same decade. The lead holds inside a single class: in the dental 504 table on this page Mountain West Small Business Finance has 71 loans and Intermountain Business Lending, Inc. 18. Both charge-off floors are withheld. A 504 study for a Utah project will probably be read at Mountain West Small Business Finance or Intermountain Business Lending, Inc., where the deepest Utah 504 files in the table sit.

The 7(a) count leaders

Zions Bancorporation, National Association is second in Utah by count with 1,516 loans but fourth by dollars with $328.3 million, while Mountain America FCU is third on both, 1,076 loans and $390.5 million: the bank with more loans holds the smaller dollar book. Central Bank (UT) follows with 646 loans, its dollars withheld, and America First Federal Credit Union turns 420 loans into $322.0 million, fifth by dollars. Their printed charge-off floors are 4.8% for Zions Bancorporation, National Association, 2.1% for Mountain America FCU and 1.9% for Central Bank (UT). A smaller 7(a) request at one of these desks can take a proportionate study, but one that still places the subject in its class row and metro.

Large books from smaller counts

Several lenders put far more money into Utah than their counts suggest. Live Oak Banking Company ranks seventeenth by count with 195 loans and seventh by dollars with $270.9 million; First Utah Bank turns 186 loans into $181.2 million, Byline Bank 75 loans into $106.7 million and T Bank, National Association 57 loans into $104.0 million. When a study goes to one of these desks it backs a large loan, and the coverage analysis and the sensitivity cases get the closest reading.

Where the recorded losses sit

Among the lenders with a printed floor, the highest charge-off floors belong to Celtic Bank Corporation, 11.9% on 294 loans, and U.S. Bank, National Association, 11.8% on 580; on 405 loans Wells Fargo Bank National Association prints 8.6%, and KeyBank National Association 6.1% on 230. Bank of Utah (103 loans) and Brighton Bank (58) print 0.00%. A lender's floor covers its whole Utah book rather than one class, so it says nothing about a single borrower; it does say which credit desks have taken losses in the state, and those desks read the downside case of a Utah study with that experience in mind.

SBA lenders by loans approved in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026
Lender	Loans	Dollars	Charged off (floor)
Mountain West Small Business Finance	2,006	$1.81 billion	withheld
Zions Bancorporation, National Association	1,516	$328.3 million	4.8%
Mountain America FCU	1,076	$390.5 million	2.1%
Central Bank (UT)	646	withheld	1.9%
U.S. Bank, National Association	580	$143.6 million	11.8%
Intermountain Business Lending, Inc.	548	$495.5 million	withheld
America First Federal Credit Union	420	$322.0 million	withheld
Wells Fargo Bank National Association	405	$123.2 million	8.6%
Community Banks of Colorado, A Division of NBH Bank	316	$291.8 million	withheld
Cache Valley Bank	305	$102.1 million	withheld
Celtic Bank Corporation	294	$173.3 million	11.9%
State Bank of Southern Utah	293	$64.9 million	withheld
KeyBank National Association	230	$131.9 million	6.1%
Glacier Bank	229	$112.5 million	5.1%
The Huntington National Bank	216	$86.1 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
JPMorgan Chase Bank, National Association	205	$79.9 million	withheld
Live Oak Banking Company	195	$270.9 million	withheld
Canyon View Federal Credit Union	190	$33.6 million	5.3%
First Utah Bank	186	$181.2 million	withheld
BMO Bank National Association	146	$83.9 million	withheld
BayFirst National Bank	143	$23.9 million	withheld
Newtek Bank, National Association	137	$60.9 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Northeast Bank (ME)	137	$24.2 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
United Midwest Savings Bank National Association	112	$33.0 million	withheld
Readycap Lending, LLC	112	$59.2 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Bank of Utah	103	$99.8 million	0.00%
Accordia Bank	90	$59.0 million	withheld
Citizens Bank (TN)	80	$65.0 million	withheld
B:Side Capital	79	$80.6 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Byline Bank	75	$106.7 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Northwest Bank (ID)	63	$52.2 million	withheld
Wasatch Peaks FCU	60	$12.0 million	withheld
Brighton Bank	58	$37.4 million	0.00%
T Bank, National Association	57	$104.0 million	withheld
Stearns Bank National Association	50	$17.4 million	withheld
UMB Bank, National Association	50	$35.1 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Newtek Small Business Finance, LLC	43	$38.9 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort
Cyprus Federal Credit Union	40	$4.0 million	withheld
First Bank of the Lake	35	$22.6 million	withheld
Enterprise Bank & Trust	32	$34.5 million	withheld
First Internet Bank of Indiana	28	$49.5 million	withheld
Montana Community Development Corp.	26	$3.4 million	not reported: fewer than 30 loans in the cohort

Source: Loan Analytics' SBA loan record from SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan-level files, approvals FY2017 to FY2026 as of 2026-09-30; rates are floors and need at least 30 loans in their cohort; dollars are not shown where fewer than five loans would reveal a single loan. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "SBA lenders by loans approved in Utah, FY2017 to FY2026", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#lenders-lenders.

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Utah against its Census division and the nation

Utah beside the other states of the Mountain Census division, all SBA lending and the tracked asset classes.

Second over the full record, third in the decade

Over the full record from FY1991 to FY2026, Utah's 44,818 SBA loans rank second in the Mountain division, behind Colorado's 53,617 and just ahead of Arizona's 44,594. In the decade from FY2017 to FY2026 the order changes: Colorado leads with 16,797 loans and $10.39 billion, and Arizona moves ahead, $8.59 billion on 13,242 loans against Utah's $7.22 billion on 12,361. The high-count 7(a) years from FY2004 to FY2009 in the record above weigh heavily in Utah's full-record rank; the recent decade, in which Arizona leads, is the comparison that matters to a lender judging a Utah request today.

The smallest tracked share in the division

Utah's 2,972 loans in the tracked classes rank third in the division, after Colorado's 5,131 and Arizona's 3,785. Set against each state's own FY2017 to FY2026 total, though, no state in the Mountain division has a smaller part of its SBA lending in these classes: Utah's 2,972 of 12,361 compares with 5,131 of 16,797 in Colorado, 3,785 of 13,242 in Arizona and 1,832 of 6,771 in Nevada. More of Utah's SBA lending goes to industries this page does not track, so a Utah credit desk may see fewer files in the subject's class than its overall volume suggests, and the study should supply the class evidence itself.

A floor below its large neighbours

In the tracked classes Utah's charge-off floor, 2.6%, sits below Nevada's 5.0%, the highest in the division, Colorado's 3.9%, Montana's 3.1% and Arizona's 3.0%, and above the 2.4% of Idaho and the 2.1% of New Mexico; Wyoming prints 0.00% on 296 loans. Of the division's largest books, Colorado's, Arizona's and Utah's, Utah's floor is the lowest. A lender that also lends in Colorado or Nevada may bring a heavier loss assumption to a Utah file than the Utah record supports; the study answers it with the state floor and, more usefully, the floor of the subject's own class.

The national frame

Nationally, SBA approved 2,207,426 loans from FY1991 to FY2026, and 647,329 loans for $353.09 billion from FY2017 to FY2026. A Utah study uses those totals as context only; the lender sizes a Utah loan against the Utah rows printed here.

SBA lending: Utah, the Mountain division and the United States
State	All SBA loans FY1991 to FY2026	All SBA loans FY2017 to FY2026	All SBA dollars FY2017 to FY2026	Loans in tracked classes FY2017 to FY2026	Charged off, tracked classes (floor)
Arizona	44,594	13,242	$8.59 billion	3,785	3.0%
Colorado	53,617	16,797	$10.39 billion	5,131	3.9%
Idaho	22,125	6,477	$2.83 billion	1,660	2.4%
Montana	14,132	2,480	$1.25 billion	701	3.1%
Nevada	20,163	6,771	$3.97 billion	1,832	5.0%
New Mexico	12,544	2,818	$1.61 billion	846	2.1%
Utah	44,818	12,361	$7.22 billion	2,972	2.6%
Wyoming	5,371	1,178	$615.5 million	296	0.00%
United States	2,207,426	647,329	$353.09 billion

Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan-level FOIA files as of 2026-09-30 (data.sba.gov; gross approvals, cancelled approvals included), aggregated by Loan Analytics; each figure is kept with its source file and retrieval date. Loan Analytics' SBA loan record from SBA's 7(a) and 504 loan-level files, approvals FY2017 to FY2026 as of 2026-09-30; rates are floors and need at least 30 loans in their cohort; dollars are not shown where fewer than five loans would reveal a single loan. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "SBA lending: Utah, the Mountain division and the United States", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#compare-compare.

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Utah's economy for a feasibility study

The establishments, jobs and payroll of each asset class's industry in Utah, and the state's population, income and output, from the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Residents, household income and state output

Utah had 3,503,613 residents in 2024 by the Census Bureau's count, against 3,205,958 in 2019, and median household income rose from $75,780 to $96,658 over the same span. The Bureau of Economic Analysis puts Utah's gross domestic product at $319.18 billion in 2025 against $201.26 billion in 2019, and personal income at $248.87 billion against $155.44 billion. Income and output rose by far more than population, so a study still built on 2019 incomes can understate a Utah trade area's spending, while one that applies statewide growth to a single county can overstate it.

Restaurants and coffee: supply keeps growing

County Business Patterns counts 2,801 limited-service restaurants in Utah in 2023, up from 2,442 in 2018, with employees up from 51,686 to 59,380 and a $1.13 billion payroll. Full-service restaurants grew more slowly, from 1,703 to 1,799 establishments and from 39,205 to 41,107 employees. Coffee shops and snack bars grew fastest of the food classes, from 601 to 865 establishments and from 6,895 to 11,721 employees, while caterers are the one food class whose employees fell, from 1,301 to 1,081. With 357, 299 and 204 SBA loans in these classes, a Utah study counts the operators opened since 2018 inside the subject's trade area, and the lender reads that count beside the 7.1% and 4.7% charge-off floors of coffee and limited service.

Car washes, child care, salons and gyms: new operators

Car washes went from 177 establishments in 2018 to 280 in 2023 and from 1,543 to 2,216 employees; child care centers from 536 to 745 establishments; beauty salons from 723 to 959; fitness centers from 276 to 367. The SBA record carries these classes too: 84 car wash loans at a $656,500 median, 132 child care loans at $481,500, 153 beauty salon loans at $150,000 and 206 fitness loans at $300,000. A Utah car wash study in particular maps the washes opened since 2018 and tests the subject's capture after them, because a competitor list drawn from older data can understate the supply a new wash now faces, and the lender reads that map beside the class's 9.6% cancellation floor.

Hotels and assisted living: steady counts, different staffing

Utah had 636 hotel and motel establishments in 2023 against 612 in 2018, yet their employees fell from 21,390 to 20,939, on an annual payroll of $664.4 million. Assisted living barely moved, from 145 to 146 establishments, while its employees rose from 4,933 to 5,551 on a $158.7 million payroll. Both are large-ticket SBA classes in Utah, with medians of $1.9 million and $1.2 million. For a hotel study the open question is how the subject staffs and prices in a market that added properties while hotel employment shrank; for an assisted living study it is where the residents come from in a market whose operator count held still, and how long a new building takes to fill, which the lender weighs beside the class's 16.2% cancellation and 6.0% charge-off floors.

Healthcare, storage and RV sites

No industry in the table pays more than physicians' offices: $2.43 billion across 2,096 establishments in 2023, up from 1,973, and dental offices grew from 1,734 to 1,789 establishments and from 12,338 to 15,047 employees. Behavioral health and addiction treatment grew in both of its industry lines, from 177 to 330 establishments in one and from 110 to 127 in the other. Self storage rose from 169 to 205 establishments with only 497 employees in 2023, and RV parks and campgrounds from 65 to 93. For storage and RV sites, supply is counted in units and spaces, so the study inventories those in the subject's market, projects under way included.

Grocery, veterinary and beverage makers

Grocery stores grew from 375 to 411 establishments and from 22,997 to 25,097 employees on a $728.4 million payroll; in the SBA record they carry 39 loans at a $763,000 median and the second highest cancellation floor in Utah, 16.7%. Veterinary clinics rose from 229 to 256 establishments and from 2,704 to 3,728 employees, against 33 SBA loans at an $856,000 median. The beverage industry lines grew from 20 to 28, 6 to 9 and 8 to 15 establishments, against 26 beverage manufacturing loans at a $304,500 median. Where the state's SBA file is this thin, the CBP counts carry more of the market case.

Industry establishments, employees and payroll in Utah, by asset class
Asset class (NAICS)	Establishments 2018	Establishments 2023	Employees 2018	Employees 2023	Annual payroll 2023
Full-service restaurant (NAICS 722511)	1,703	1,799	39,205	41,107	$1.01 billion
Limited-service restaurant (NAICS 722513)	2,442	2,801	51,686	59,380	$1.13 billion
Dental office (NAICS 621210)	1,734	1,789	12,338	15,047	$637.7 million
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) (NAICS 811111)	802	866	3,872	4,653	$245.2 million
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) (NAICS 811112)	4	5	6	20	$1.2 million
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) (NAICS 811113)	46	34	190	199	$12.0 million
Automotive mechanical repair (car and truck) (NAICS 811118)	20	32	106	92	$4.1 million
Fitness center (NAICS 713940)	276	367	5,597	7,579	$100.6 million
Coffee shop and snack bar (NAICS 722515)	601	865	6,895	11,721	$192.0 million
Hotel and motel (NAICS 721110)	612	636	21,390	20,939	$664.4 million
Beauty salon (NAICS 812112)	723	959	3,349	4,299	$107.1 million
Medical office (physicians) (NAICS 621111)	1,973	2,096	20,245	23,386	$2.43 billion
Child care center (NAICS 624410)	536	745	6,259	7,760	$190.5 million
Self storage (NAICS 531130)	169	205	408	497	$15.4 million
Gas station and truck stop (NAICS 447110)	680	729	7,423	8,068	$227.5 million
Gas station and truck stop (NAICS 447190)	66	84	1,570	1,891	$64.2 million
Car wash (NAICS 811192)	177	280	1,543	2,216	$61.0 million
Assisted living (without nursing care) (NAICS 623312)	145	146	4,933	5,551	$158.7 million
Rehabilitation and therapy clinic (NAICS 621340)	387	469	3,472	3,631	$139.4 million
Behavioral health and addiction treatment (NAICS 621420)	177	330	2,157	3,526	$181.0 million
Behavioral health and addiction treatment (NAICS 623220)	110	127	5,821	6,458	$264.0 million
RV park and campground (NAICS 721211)	65	93	478	620	$23.0 million
Grocery store (NAICS 445110)	375	411	22,997	25,097	$728.4 million
Nonresidential lessor (flex, office and retail investor buildings) (NAICS 531120)	292	362	1,662	2,071	$146.1 million
Veterinary clinic (NAICS 541940)	229	256	2,704	3,728	$192.6 million
Caterers (includes banquet halls with catering staff) (NAICS 722320)	112	118	1,301	1,081	$28.7 million
School (elementary and secondary, including charter) (NAICS 611110)	185	196	11,146	11,985	$456.4 million
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) (NAICS 312120)	20	28	290	546	$17.1 million
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) (NAICS 312130)	6	9	34	122	$6.4 million
Beverage manufacturing (breweries, wineries, distilleries) (NAICS 312140)	8	15	56	156	$6.7 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2018 and 2023 (NAICS 2017), through the Census Data API; establishments, March employment and annual payroll; suppressed cells print their flag. Most government and self-employed activity is outside CBP. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "Industry establishments, employees and payroll in Utah, by asset class", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#economy-industry.

Population and household income in Utah
Measure	2019	2024
Population	3,205,958	3,503,613
Median household income	$75,780	$96,658

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year estimates, 2019 and 2024, through the Census Data API (tables B01003 and B19013). Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "Population and household income in Utah", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#economy-people.

Output and income in Utah
Measure	Earlier year	Latest year
Gross domestic product, 2019 and 2025	$201.26 billion	$319.18 billion
Personal income, 2019 and 2025	$155.44 billion	$248.87 billion

Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, regional accounts (SAGDP2 all-industry total, current dollars; SAINC1 personal income), through the BEA API. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "Output and income in Utah", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#economy-output.

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USDA Business and Industry guarantees in Utah

New USDA B&I guaranteed loan awards for projects in Utah by fiscal year, and by county, from USAspending; aggregates only.

A few awards a year

USAspending records 12 new B&I guaranteed awards for Utah projects in FY2014, the most in any year of the table, worth $17.3 million. Since FY2017 the count has not gone above 6: 6 awards in FY2017 ($24.9 million), 5 in FY2018 ($14.3 million), 6 in FY2019 ($20.6 million), 3 in FY2020 ($24.5 million), 6 in FY2022 ($26.7 million), 3 in FY2023 ($29.8 million) and 3 in FY2025 ($24.4 million). In FY2021, FY2024 and FY2026 Utah had fewer than 3 awards, and the table withholds the value for those years, as it does whenever awards number fewer than 3.

Fewer awards, larger totals

The dollars moved against the count. FY2014's 12 awards came to $17.3 million; FY2023's 3 came to $29.8 million, the largest total in the table, and FY2020 brought $24.5 million and FY2025 $24.4 million, each on 3 awards. From FY2009 to FY2012 the annual total stayed between $4.1 million and $12.8 million, and FY2015 and FY2016 each came to $22.5 million on 7 and 8 awards. Recent Utah B&I awards run larger than those of the early 2010s, and each is an infrequent file in the state, so the study makes the case in full: the customers the project serves, the market that supports it, and its coverage in a weak year.

Beside the SBA record

Set against SBA lending, B&I is small in Utah: FY2025 brought 3 B&I awards for $24.4 million against 1,343 SBA 7(a) loans and 250 SBA 504 loans. The SBA class and metro rows on this page are therefore the deeper evidence even for a rural Utah project, and a B&I study should use both: the USAspending series for the program's record in the state, and the SBA rows for how similar businesses in Utah have borrowed and performed. The page reports USAspending as aggregates only and names no award recipient.

USDA B&I guaranteed loan awards in Utah by fiscal year
Fiscal year	New awards	Face value, net
FY2026	1	withheld: fewer than 3 awards
FY2025	3	$24.4 million
FY2024	1	withheld: fewer than 3 awards
FY2023	3	$29.8 million
FY2022	6	$26.7 million
FY2021	2	withheld: fewer than 3 awards
FY2020	3	$24.5 million
FY2019	6	$20.6 million
FY2018	5	$14.3 million
FY2017	6	$24.9 million
FY2016	8	$22.5 million
FY2015	7	$22.5 million
FY2014	12	$17.3 million
FY2013	6	$19.8 million
FY2012	7	$10.5 million
FY2011	8	$12.8 million
FY2010	4	$4.1 million
FY2009	3	$5.1 million

Source: USAspending.gov records of USDA Business and Industry guaranteed loan awards by project state, face value of the loan net of later changes, as compiled in Loan Analytics' USDA tables; a year's dollars are withheld where fewer than 3 awards were touched that year (new awards and later actions together), so a year can show dollars beside 0, 1 or 2 new awards; FY2026 runs through August 31, 2026; aggregates only, no recipient is named. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "USDA B&I guaranteed loan awards in Utah by fiscal year", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#usda-usda-by-year.

USDA B&I guaranteed loan awards in Utah by county, FY2015 to FY2026
County	Awards	Face value
Wasatch, UT (FIPS 49051)	6	$17.5 million
Grand, UT (FIPS 49019)	5	$25.9 million
San Juan, UT (FIPS 49037)	5	$40.6 million
Washington, UT (FIPS 49053)	5	$24.7 million
Summit, UT (FIPS 49043)	4	fewer than 5 awards
Iron, UT (FIPS 49021)	3	fewer than 5 awards
Sanpete, UT (FIPS 49039)	3	fewer than 5 awards
Carbon, UT (FIPS 49007)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Garfield, UT (FIPS 49017)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Kane, UT (FIPS 49025)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Millard, UT (FIPS 49027)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Tooele, UT (FIPS 49045)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Wayne, UT (FIPS 49055)	2	fewer than 5 awards
Box Elder, UT (FIPS 49003)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Cache, UT (FIPS 49005)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Daggett, UT (FIPS 49009)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Emery, UT (FIPS 49015)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Morgan, UT (FIPS 49029)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Sevier, UT (FIPS 49041)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Uintah, UT (FIPS 49047)	1	fewer than 5 awards
Utah, UT (FIPS 49049)	1	fewer than 5 awards

Source: USAspending.gov award records of USDA Business and Industry guarantees (assistance listing 10.768) by place of performance county, face value net, FY2015 through August 31, 2026, aggregated by Loan Analytics; dollars are withheld where fewer than 5 awards stand behind them; no recipient is named. Download this table (CSV). Cite as: Loan Analytics, "USDA B&I guaranteed loan awards in Utah by county, FY2015 to FY2026", https://www.analytics.loan/utah-feasibility-study-data#usda-usda-by-county.

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Questions buyers ask

Who can I hire to write a feasibility study my Utah lender will accept?

Loan Analytics writes them on Utah projects financed through 7(a), 504 or USDA B&I loans, independent of the borrower, and each carries the signature of Daniel Smith, MAI. Each engagement begins with this page's Utah record, 12,361 SBA loans for $7.22 billion from FY2017 to FY2026, moves to the subject's class row, metro area and lender book, and ends at the property: the households around it, the operators competing with it and the debt service it must cover.

How much does a study for a USDA B&I loan in Utah cost?

For work written to USDA's standard, this site's 2026 fee survey gives a band that starts at $7,500 and reaches $18,750, with some studies above it, and one report meant for both SBA and USDA is quoted at the USDA tier, since that standard asks for more. Utah's B&I awards are few and sizeable, 3 for $29.8 million in FY2023 and 3 for $24.4 million in FY2025, so the fee is weighed against projects of that size.

How long will a feasibility study for my Utah project take?

Each scope reply carries its own timeline, fitted to the project; this page publishes no standard figure. The Utah data show what lengthens the work. A project in a thin market, such as the Vernal micro area with 164 loans or Brigham City with 179, has few local comparables, so competing operators are verified directly. A ground-up self storage or assisted living project, in the classes with Utah's 20.4% and 16.2% cancellation floors, needs its budget and fill-up schedule tested. A USDA B&I file adds the program's own requirements on top of the market work.

What will a Utah credit committee expect a feasibility study to show?

It expects the subject measured against Utah's own record: the class row with its loans, median, program split and floors; the metro row; and the lender's book. For a hotel that means coverage on a loan near the $1.9 million median in a class whose charge-off floor is 0.00%; for a fitness center, a membership case strong enough to stand apart from a class that prints 8.0% charged off; for a Salt Lake City-Murray project, comparables from an area with 4,663 loans rather than a statewide average.

Does a small Utah loan, such as a salon or coffee shop, need a full feasibility study?

The lender decides, but this page shows why a lender may ask. Beauty salons ($150,000 median) and coffee shops and snack bars ($245,000) carry small loans with charge-off floors of 5.9% and 7.1%, above the 2.6% floor for all tracked classes in Utah, and both added establishments quickly between 2018 and 2023, from 723 to 959 salons and from 601 to 865 coffee shops and snack bars. A scope for a small project can be narrower, centered on the trade area's competitors and the sales the business needs to cover its payments.

Does it matter where in Utah my project is?

It changes the evidence the study can use. Salt Lake City-Murray (4,663 loans), Provo-Orem-Lehi (2,754) and Ogden (1,796) give a deep local file at medians between $280,850 and $285,500, while St. George prints a $248,500 median and the lowest charge-off floor in the metro table, 1.8%, and Logan the highest, 4.7%. In Cedar City, Brigham City and Vernal the local floor is withheld, so the study relies on the class floors instead, and the Logan and Brigham City rows include loans on the Idaho side.

What does a self storage or assisted living study in Utah have to prove?

That the project will close and fill as planned. Self storage prints a 20.4% cancellation floor on 107 Utah loans at a $1.0 million median, and assisted living 16.2% cancelled and 6.0% charged off on 84 loans at a $1.2 million median. County Business Patterns shows self storage establishments rising from 169 to 205 between 2018 and 2023 while assisted living held at 145 to 146, so the storage study counts the new competition and the assisted living study shows where residents will come from in a market with a steady operator count.

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Utah feasibility study consultant: request a scope

A Utah scope request should say what is being built or bought, the city or county it sits in, whether it goes to 504, 7(a) or B&I, and how large a loan it needs. Naming the lender helps as well, because a 504 file at Mountain West Small Business Finance, a 7(a) request at Zions Bancorporation, National Association or Mountain America FCU, and a B&I application are each read for different evidence. The form below and Info@analytics.loan both take the request.

Loan Analytics answers with the scope, the fee and a delivery date for that project, and names the rows of this page the study will test the subject against. A dental practice in Provo-Orem-Lehi starts from a class with 90 SBA 504 loans and a 0.72% charge-off floor; a car wash in St. George starts from 280 washes statewide and a 9.6% cancellation floor; a hotel in the Heber micro area starts from the $1.9 million median and a local file of 422 loans. Each request gets the study its own Utah data calls for.

Daniel Smith, MAI

Request Scope & Timeline

Corrections

Figures on this page were checked against SBA's and USAspending's own records and corrected where they differed. Each corrected figure is marked in the text; what it counts and where it comes from:

1,343: Utah 7(a) approvals FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30. $610.80 million: Utah 7(a) gross dollars FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
1,343: Utah 7(a) approvals FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30. $610.80 million: Utah 7(a) gross dollars FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
1,153: Utah 7(a) approvals FY2024; FY2024, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
$540.49 million: Utah 7(a) gross dollars FY2024; FY2024, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
15.7 percent: 504 share of Utah SBA loans FY2025; 504 share of loans, UT FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
8.0 percent: 504 share of SBA loans nationally FY2025; 504 share of loans, national FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
$9.47 billion: Utah 7(a)+504 gross dollars since FY2010; FY2010 to FY2025, borrower state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
25.4 percent: Utah 7(a) count pace through June 2026 below FY2025; nine-month count annualised vs full FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
1,343: Utah 7(a) approvals FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
$610.80 million: Utah 7(a) gross dollars FY2025; FY2025, project state. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
15.7%: 504 share of Utah SBA loans FY2025; 504 share of loans, UT FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
8.0%: 504 share of SBA loans nationally FY2025; 504 share of loans, national FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
25.4%: Utah 7(a) count pace through June 2026 below FY2025; nine-month count annualised vs full FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.
$9.47 billion: gross SBA 7(a) and 504 dollars approved to Utah borrowers from FY2010 through FY2025. Source: SBA loan data as of 2026-09-30.

Start with the data.