# Where to Buy a Business in Minnesota

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/minnesota
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 20,943 of 39,168 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 361.5
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.8%
- Rank among the guided states: 21
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 1,382 since FY2020, 212 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $475,000
- Population: 5,793,151

## The Deepest Counties in Minnesota

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.

- Hennepin: 5,243 buyable (25% of the state's)
- Ramsey: 1,919 buyable (9.2% of the state's)
- Dakota: 1,546 buyable (7.4% of the state's)
- Anoka: 1,207 buyable (5.8% of the state's)
- Washington: 866 buyable (4.1% of the state's)
- St. Louis: 696 buyable (3.3% of the state's)
- Olmsted: 598 buyable (2.9% of the state's)
- Stearns: 586 buyable (2.8% of the state's)
- Scott: 443 buyable (2.1% of the state's)
- Wright: 439 buyable (2.1% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Minnesota

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 3,037 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 2,961 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,529 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,351 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 987 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 776 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant

## Before You Close in Minnesota

The successor notifies the commissioner of the transfer and its terms at least twenty days before taking possession or paying, and a successor who does not is liable for the unpaid tax up to the purchase price.

Cited as Minn. Stat. section 270C.57.

## Next Door to Minnesota

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

- Iowa: 11,982 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/iowa)
- North Dakota: 3,278 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/north-dakota)
- South Dakota: 3,651 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/south-dakota)
- Wisconsin: 21,765 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/wisconsin)

## 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