# Where to Buy a Business in Arizona

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/arizona
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 23,735 of 43,190 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 313
- Share of the national buyable market: 2%
- Rank among the guided states: 17
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 824 since FY2020, 147 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $822,200
- Population: 7,582,384

## The Deepest Counties in Arizona

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.

- Maricopa: 15,414 buyable (64.9% of the state's)
- Pima: 3,443 buyable (14.5% of the state's)
- Yavapai: 898 buyable (3.8% of the state's)
- Pinal: 693 buyable (2.9% of the state's)
- Mohave: 661 buyable (2.8% of the state's)
- Coconino: 598 buyable (2.5% of the state's)
- Yuma: 511 buyable (2.2% of the state's)
- Cochise: 288 buyable (1.2% of the state's)
- Navajo: 263 buyable (1.1% of the state's)
- Gila: 107 buyable (0.5% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Arizona

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 4,765 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 3,435 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,677 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,291 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 1,278 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 1,009 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business

## Before You Close in Arizona

The successor withholds from the purchase money enough to cover the taxes, interest and penalties until the former owner produces a receipt from the department or a certificate that nothing is due.

Cited as A.R.S. section 42-1110.

## Next Door to Arizona

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

- California: 137,681 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/california)
- Colorado: 23,585 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/colorado)
- New Mexico: 7,050 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/new-mexico)
- Nevada: 11,315 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/nevada)
- Utah: 11,876 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/utah)

## 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