# Where to Buy a Business in Kentucky

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/kentucky
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 14,943 of 26,306 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 325.7
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.3%
- Rank among the guided states: 27
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 342 since FY2020, 84 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $500,000
- Population: 4,588,372

## The Deepest Counties in Kentucky

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: 2,996 buyable (20% of the state's)
- Fayette: 1,384 buyable (9.3% of the state's)
- Kenton: 482 buyable (3.2% of the state's)
- Warren: 479 buyable (3.2% of the state's)
- Boone: 472 buyable (3.2% of the state's)
- Daviess: 330 buyable (2.2% of the state's)
- Hardin: 318 buyable (2.1% of the state's)
- McCracken: 303 buyable (2% of the state's)
- Campbell: 297 buyable (2% of the state's)
- Madison: 238 buyable (1.6% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Kentucky

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 2,948 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 2,090 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,132 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 943 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Pharmacies and Drug Retailers (NAICS 446110): 724 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-pharmacy
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 709 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center

## Before You Close in Kentucky

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.

Cited as KRS 139.670.

## Next Door to Kentucky

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

- Illinois: 42,174 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/illinois)
- Indiana: 23,903 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/indiana)
- Missouri: 22,224 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/missouri)
- Ohio: 41,505 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/ohio)
- Tennessee: 23,855 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/tennessee)
- Virginia: 31,567 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/virginia)
- West Virginia: 5,827 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/west-virginia)

## 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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