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Data

Where the Businesses Are

Pick an Industry

Businesses with five to ninety-nine employees: big enough to have something to sell, small enough to finance. By state to compare markets, and by county because nobody searches Arizona; they search Phoenix, and Los Angeles County alone holds more plumbing and HVAC companies than most states do.

202,326 businesses with 5 to 99 employees across the country. What they trade for.

51 of 51
Buyable limited-service restaurants by state
California26,35913.0%34,527
Texas19,9139.8%24,360
Florida11,9045.9%15,969
New York9,4774.7%17,791
Ohio8,3194.1%10,404
Illinois7,6283.8%10,622
Georgia7,2883.6%9,735
North Carolina6,8503.4%8,502
Pennsylvania6,1713.1%9,802
Michigan6,1223.0%7,923
Virginia5,4182.7%7,145
Arizona4,7652.4%5,713
Tennessee4,7182.3%5,735
Indiana4,3502.1%5,396
New Jersey4,2182.1%7,670
Washington3,9231.9%5,168
Colorado3,8881.9%4,753
Missouri3,8701.9%4,814
Maryland3,7011.8%5,487
Massachusetts3,5301.7%5,337
Alabama3,5131.7%4,442
South Carolina3,3541.7%4,227
Wisconsin3,1641.6%3,925
Minnesota3,0371.5%3,848
Kentucky2,9481.5%3,499

The Map of the Buyable Market

AKAK: 2,561 buyable in the covered tradesMEME: 5,803 buyable in the covered tradesVTVT: 2,695 buyable in the covered tradesNHNH: 6,072 buyable in the covered tradesWAWA: 28,222 buyable in the covered tradesIDID: 7,784 buyable in the covered tradesMTMT: 4,973 buyable in the covered tradesNDND: 3,278 buyable in the covered tradesMNMN: 20,943 buyable in the covered tradesILIL: 42,174 buyable in the covered tradesWIWI: 21,765 buyable in the covered tradesMIMI: 34,085 buyable in the covered tradesNYNY: 64,697 buyable in the covered tradesRIRI: 4,330 buyable in the covered tradesMAMA: 27,394 buyable in the covered tradesOROR: 16,968 buyable in the covered tradesNVNV: 11,315 buyable in the covered tradesWYWY: 2,640 buyable in the covered tradesSDSD: 3,651 buyable in the covered tradesIAIA: 11,982 buyable in the covered tradesININ: 23,903 buyable in the covered tradesOHOH: 41,505 buyable in the covered tradesPAPA: 44,963 buyable in the covered tradesNJNJ: 31,865 buyable in the covered tradesCTCT: 13,789 buyable in the covered tradesCACA: 137,681 buyable in the covered tradesUTUT: 11,876 buyable in the covered tradesCOCO: 23,585 buyable in the covered tradesNENE: 8,187 buyable in the covered tradesMOMO: 22,224 buyable in the covered tradesKYKY: 14,943 buyable in the covered tradesWVWV: 5,827 buyable in the covered tradesVAVA: 31,567 buyable in the covered tradesMDMD: 20,716 buyable in the covered tradesDEDE: 3,870 buyable in the covered tradesAZAZ: 23,735 buyable in the covered tradesNMNM: 7,050 buyable in the covered tradesKSKS: 10,949 buyable in the covered tradesARAR: 10,505 buyable in the covered tradesTNTN: 23,855 buyable in the covered tradesNCNC: 39,632 buyable in the covered tradesSCSC: 18,930 buyable in the covered tradesDCDC: 2,578 buyable in the covered tradesOKOK: 14,213 buyable in the covered tradesLALA: 16,009 buyable in the covered tradesMSMS: 9,700 buyable in the covered tradesALAL: 16,540 buyable in the covered tradesGAGA: 36,421 buyable in the covered tradesHIHI: 4,831 buyable in the covered tradesTXTX: 97,820 buyable in the covered tradesFLFL: 74,917 buyable in the covered trades

By location

Best States to Buy a Business

The buyable businesses, ranked by state and county.

What Actually Changes Hands

Counting targets is half the answer; the other half is whether deals actually happen there. These are SBA acquisition loans by state, sortable both ways: what sells in each state, and where each industry's deals concentrate. Loans, not listings: cash and conventionally financed deals are absent, so read the ordering rather than the level.

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SBA acquisition loans by state, with the industries financed most often
California3788$640kFull-Service RestaurantsBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersLimited-Service Restaurants
Texas2815$890kGasoline Stations with Convenience StoresFull-Service RestaurantsHotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels
Florida2629$769kFull-Service RestaurantsAll Other Specialty Trade ContractorsChild Care Services
Washington1432$727kGasoline Stations with Convenience StoresLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
Colorado1401$654kBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersFull-Service RestaurantsHotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels
Minnesota1382$475kOffices of ChiropractorsFull-Service RestaurantsLimited-Service Restaurants
Illinois1321$692kFull-Service RestaurantsHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsGasoline Stations with Convenience Stores
Georgia1310$920kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsFull-Service RestaurantsBeer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers
Ohio1290$597kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
Pennsylvania1270$519kFull-Service RestaurantsLimited-Service RestaurantsBeer, Wine, and Liquor Retailers
Michigan1177$635kBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
North Carolina1172$839kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
Wisconsin1113$572kFull-Service RestaurantsLimited-Service RestaurantsGasoline Stations with Convenience Stores
New York1092$597kBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
Indiana841$510kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
New Jersey840$724kBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersFull-Service RestaurantsLimited-Service Restaurants
Missouri824$578kFull-Service RestaurantsHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service Restaurants
Arizona824$822kFull-Service RestaurantsGeneral Automotive RepairLimited-Service Restaurants
Massachusetts708$431kFull-Service RestaurantsBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersLimited-Service Restaurants
Virginia636$773kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants
Utah523$650kLandscaping ServicesFull-Service RestaurantsAll Other Specialty Trade Contractors
South Carolina508$750kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsGeneral Automotive RepairFull-Service Restaurants
Oregon483$680kLimited-Service RestaurantsGasoline Stations with Convenience StoresHotels (except Casino Hotels) and Motels
Maryland468$693kBeer, Wine, and Liquor RetailersLimited-Service RestaurantsGeneral Automotive Repair
Tennessee430$798kHotels (except Casino Hotels) and MotelsLimited-Service RestaurantsFull-Service Restaurants

FY2020 through FY2025, from the SBA's loan-level FOIA data.

Why Counts and Not Feelings

A market with three times the targets is a market where three times as many owners will retire, get sick, get bored, or get an offer. It does not make the deals better and it does not make them cheaper. It makes them EXIST, which is the constraint that ends most searches: not a bad deal taken, but no deal found.

Within a trade, the count misses nothing. Unlike the loan figures here, which keep only each state's busiest industries, Census counts every establishment in every state, so a thin number here is a thin market rather than a gap in the data. Across trades it is a selection: 36 industries are mapped, chosen because a searcher can finance and run them, and a trade with a buying guide and no tile here is one nobody has pulled the county file for yet. What no count can tell you is how many are for sale, because nobody counts that.

Method & Source

Census County Business Patterns (2023). How often each industry changes hands is in Market Depth, and the states with the most buyable targets, ranked and broken down by county, are in the Best States to Buy a Business.