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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 build the lender shortlist deliberately.

Most Active Acquisition Lenders in North Dakota

  1. 1. Aspire Bank8 loans
  2. 2. Alerus Financial, National Association8 loans
  3. 3. Town and Country CU5 loans
  4. 4. Wallis Bank5 loans
  5. 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. Where the buyable targets sit in North Dakota, by county, is in the North Dakota buying guide.

By Metro Area in North Dakota

  • Fargo, ND-MN

    50 purchase loans, median $470k. Bought most: Couriers and Express Delivery Services. Most active lender: Aspire Bank (8).

Every metro area that drew 20 purchase loans, with three lenders each, is in the metro table.

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.