# Where to Buy a Business in Louisiana

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/louisiana
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 16,009 of 28,423 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 348.2
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.4%
- Rank among the guided states: 26
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 321 since FY2020, 71 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $812,600
- Population: 4,597,740

## The Deepest Counties in Louisiana

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.

- East Baton Rouge Parish: 1,834 buyable (11.5% of the state's)
- Jefferson Parish: 1,713 buyable (10.7% of the state's)
- Orleans Parish: 1,351 buyable (8.4% of the state's)
- Lafayette Parish: 1,141 buyable (7.1% of the state's)
- St. Tammany Parish: 1,072 buyable (6.7% of the state's)
- Caddo Parish: 845 buyable (5.3% of the state's)
- Calcasieu Parish: 690 buyable (4.3% of the state's)
- Ouachita Parish: 597 buyable (3.7% of the state's)
- Rapides Parish: 449 buyable (2.8% of the state's)
- Tangipahoa Parish: 400 buyable (2.5% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Louisiana

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 2,897 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 2,318 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,129 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,046 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 799 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Insurance Agencies and Brokerages (NAICS 524210): 745 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-insurance-agency

## Before You Close in Louisiana

The successor withholds enough of the purchase money to cover the tax, interest and penalties until the former owner produces a receipt or a certificate, and a purchaser who does not is personally liable.

Cited as La. R.S. 47:308.

## Next Door to Louisiana

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

- Arkansas: 10,505 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/arkansas)
- Mississippi: 9,700 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/mississippi)
- Texas: 97,820 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/texas)

## 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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