# Where to Buy a Business in New Jersey

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/new-jersey
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 31,865 of 68,153 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 335.4
- Share of the national buyable market: 2.7%
- Rank among the guided states: 11
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 840 since FY2020, 191 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $724,000
- Population: 9,500,851

## The Deepest Counties in New Jersey

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. New York City (https://searchspheresource.com/data/metro-target-scans/nyc) 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.

- Bergen: 3,935 buyable (12.3% of the state's)
- Monmouth: 3,019 buyable (9.5% of the state's)
- Middlesex: 2,521 buyable (7.9% of the state's)
- Essex: 2,227 buyable (7% of the state's)
- Morris: 2,211 buyable (6.9% of the state's)
- Ocean: 2,058 buyable (6.5% of the state's)
- Union: 1,864 buyable (5.8% of the state's)
- Hudson: 1,841 buyable (5.8% of the state's)
- Camden: 1,695 buyable (5.3% of the state's)
- Burlington: 1,500 buyable (4.7% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in New Jersey

- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 4,779 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 4,218 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 2,663 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 1,882 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 1,738 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Beauty Salons (NAICS 812112): 1,461 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-hair-salon

## Before You Close in New Jersey

The purchaser notifies the Division of Taxation at least ten business days before the transfer, sending the form and the executed contract, and closing before the Division sets an escrow makes the purchaser responsible for the seller's tax.

Cited as New Jersey bulk sale notification.

## Next Door to New Jersey

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

- Delaware: 3,870 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/delaware)
- New York: 64,697 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/new-york)
- Pennsylvania: 44,963 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/pennsylvania)

## 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