# Where to Buy a Business in Indiana

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/indiana
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 23,903 of 43,195 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 345.2
- Share of the national buyable market: 2%
- Rank among the guided states: 15
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 841 since FY2020, 121 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $510,000
- Population: 6,924,275

## The Deepest Counties in Indiana

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. Chicago (https://searchspheresource.com/data/metro-target-scans/chicago) 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.

- Marion: 3,570 buyable (14.9% of the state's)
- Lake: 1,763 buyable (7.4% of the state's)
- Hamilton: 1,488 buyable (6.2% of the state's)
- Allen: 1,474 buyable (6.2% of the state's)
- St. Joseph: 931 buyable (3.9% of the state's)
- Vanderburgh: 794 buyable (3.3% of the state's)
- Elkhart: 651 buyable (2.7% of the state's)
- Tippecanoe: 617 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Porter: 597 buyable (2.5% of the state's)
- Hendricks: 577 buyable (2.4% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Indiana

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 4,350 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 3,609 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,607 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,587 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 944 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 886 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant

## Before You Close in Indiana

A transfer of more than half the tangible personal property of a business can leave the buyer liable for the seller's past sales, use, innkeeper's and food and beverage tax, up to the purchase price. Filing notice at least forty-five days before possession or payment is what prevents it.

Cited as Indiana successor liability on a bulk transfer, State Form 57309.

## Next Door to Indiana

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

- Illinois: 42,174 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/illinois)
- Kentucky: 14,943 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/kentucky)
- Michigan: 34,085 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/michigan)
- Ohio: 41,505 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/ohio)

## 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

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