Buying a Business in North Dakota
The Numbers
FY2025 Acquisition Loans
24
$36.3M approved
Median Loan
$687k
FY2020 through FY2025
Loans Since FY2020
87
$94.6M in total approvals
Share of U.S. Activity
0.2%
Of change-of-ownership loans
What the Data Says
North Dakota ranks 45th of 53 states and territories for change-of-ownership SBA 7(a) lending: 87 loans since FY2020, 0.2% of the national total.
The typical deal is mid-market: its $687k median loan is close to the $650k midpoint across states.
Activity is accelerating: FY2025's 24 loans ran ahead of the state's own ~15 a year pace since FY2020.
The most-financed target is hotels (except casino hotels) and motels (7 loans), and the 5 most active lenders wrote about 34% of the state's acquisitions, a broad lender field.
This is a thin market by national standards, so expect fewer local comparables and mostly out-of-state lenders; build the shortlist deliberately rather than relying on a nearby branch.
Most Active Acquisition Lenders in North Dakota
- 1. Aspire Bank8 loans
- 2. Alerus Financial, National Association8 loans
- 3. Town and Country CU5 loans
- 4. Wallis Bank5 loans
- 5. Old National Bank4 loans
A lender being active in North Dakota does not require a local branch; several top SBA lenders work nationally. Build a shortlist with Lenders.
What Gets Bought in North Dakota
- Hotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels7 loans
- Couriers and Express Delivery Services6 loans
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores5 loans
- Full-Service Restaurants4 loans
- Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages)4 loans
Industry-specific pricing and diligence live in the Guides. How many buyable businesses North Dakota holds in each trade is in Where the Businesses Are.
Method & Source
Computed from the SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (FY2020 through FY2025), filtered to approvals flagged change of ownership with a North Dakota project address. Approvals, not closings; excludes conventional and 504 financing.