# Where to Buy a Business in Connecticut

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/connecticut
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 13,789 of 27,172 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 375.2
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.2%
- Rank among the guided states: 29
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 293 since FY2020, 81 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $725,000
- Population: 3,675,069

## The Deepest Counties in Connecticut

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. New York City (https://searchspheresource.com/data/metro-target-scans/nyc) is scanned in the Metro Target Scans, which rank the strongest industries in each region by loans approved, median loan size and seasoned charge-off.

- Capitol: 3,718 buyable (27% of the state's)
- Western Connecticut: 2,764 buyable (20% of the state's)
- South Central Connecticut: 2,148 buyable (15.6% of the state's)
- Naugatuck Valley: 1,499 buyable (10.9% of the state's)
- Greater Bridgeport: 1,041 buyable (7.5% of the state's)
- Southeastern Connecticut: 986 buyable (7.2% of the state's)
- Lower Connecticut River Valley: 653 buyable (4.7% of the state's)
- Northwest Hills: 362 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Northeastern Connecticut: 233 buyable (1.7% of the state's)
- 09999: 6 buyable (0% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Connecticut

- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 2,433 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 1,815 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,064 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 791 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 741 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 482 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business

## Before You Close in Connecticut

The successor withholds enough of the purchase price to cover the amount until the former owner produces a receipt or a certificate that nothing is due, and a purchaser without one is liable to the extent of the purchase price.

Cited as Conn. Gen. Stat. section 12-424.

## Next Door to Connecticut

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

- Massachusetts: 27,394 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/massachusetts)
- New York: 64,697 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/new-york)
- Rhode Island: 4,330 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/rhode-island)

## 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