# Where to Buy a Business in Alabama

Buyable means an establishment with five to ninety-nine employees in the 36 trades this site covers, counted from SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026) and the Census establishment file.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/alabama
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 16,540 of 30,023 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 320.7
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.4%
- Rank among the guided states: 25
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 383 since FY2020, 74 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $816,000
- Population: 5,157,699

## The Deepest Counties in Alabama

Nobody searches a state; they search a metro they can drive across. These hold the most buyable targets in the covered trades, each with its share of the state's.

- Jefferson: 2,451 buyable (14.8% of the state's)
- Madison: 1,433 buyable (8.7% of the state's)
- Mobile: 1,345 buyable (8.1% of the state's)
- Baldwin: 983 buyable (5.9% of the state's)
- Shelby: 819 buyable (5% of the state's)
- Montgomery: 749 buyable (4.5% of the state's)
- Tuscaloosa: 662 buyable (4% of the state's)
- Lee: 578 buyable (3.5% of the state's)
- Houston: 430 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Morgan: 395 buyable (2.4% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Alabama

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 3,513 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 2,095 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,210 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,023 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Pharmacies and Drug Retailers (NAICS 446110): 738 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-pharmacy
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 712 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center

## Before You Close in Alabama

The purchaser of an ongoing business withholds enough to cover the unpaid sales and use tax unless the seller produces a certificate of good standing showing the tax is paid.

Cited as Code of Alabama sections 40-23-25 and 40-23-82.

## Next Door to Alabama

Nobody buys a state. These are the states Alabama touches, with the buyable businesses each holds in the same 36 trades.

- Florida: 74,917 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/florida)
- Georgia: 36,421 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/georgia)
- Mississippi: 9,700 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/mississippi)
- Tennessee: 23,855 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/tennessee)

## Method and Source

- Establishment counts: 2023, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp.html
- Population: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest.html
- Lending: SBA 7(a) FOIA loan-level dataset (as of June 30, 2026), FY2020 through FY2025

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt