# Where to Buy a Business in Missouri

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/missouri
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 22,224 of 43,930 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 355.8
- Share of the national buyable market: 1.9%
- Rank among the guided states: 19
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 824 since FY2020, 174 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $578,000
- Population: 6,245,466

## The Deepest Counties in Missouri

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.

- St. Louis: 4,143 buyable (18.6% of the state's)
- Jackson: 2,533 buyable (11.4% of the state's)
- St. Charles: 1,631 buyable (7.3% of the state's)
- Greene: 1,342 buyable (6% of the state's)
- St. Louis city: 1,074 buyable (4.8% of the state's)
- Clay: 806 buyable (3.6% of the state's)
- Boone: 769 buyable (3.5% of the state's)
- Jefferson: 628 buyable (2.8% of the state's)
- Jasper: 419 buyable (1.9% of the state's)
- Franklin: 351 buyable (1.6% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Missouri

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 3,870 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 3,406 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,805 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 1,240 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 996 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 805 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business

## Before You Close in Missouri

The purchaser withholds enough of the purchase money to cover the taxes, interest and penalties until the seller produces a receipt or a certificate, and a purchaser who does not is personally liable for them.

Cited as Section 144.150 RSMo.

## Next Door to Missouri

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

- Arkansas: 10,505 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/arkansas)
- Iowa: 11,982 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/iowa)
- Illinois: 42,174 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/illinois)
- Kansas: 10,949 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/kansas)
- Kentucky: 14,943 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/kentucky)
- Nebraska: 8,187 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/nebraska)
- Oklahoma: 14,213 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/oklahoma)
- Tennessee: 23,855 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/tennessee)

## 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