# Where to Buy a Business in Ohio

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/ohio
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 41,505 of 71,331 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 349.3
- Share of the national buyable market: 3.6%
- Rank among the guided states: 7
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 1,290 since FY2020, 299 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $597,450
- Population: 11,883,304

## The Deepest Counties in Ohio

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.

- Franklin: 5,089 buyable (12.3% of the state's)
- Cuyahoga: 4,604 buyable (11.1% of the state's)
- Hamilton: 3,317 buyable (8% of the state's)
- Summit: 2,049 buyable (4.9% of the state's)
- Montgomery: 1,923 buyable (4.6% of the state's)
- Lucas: 1,616 buyable (3.9% of the state's)
- Stark: 1,401 buyable (3.4% of the state's)
- Butler: 1,203 buyable (2.9% of the state's)
- Lorain: 901 buyable (2.2% of the state's)
- Delaware: 877 buyable (2.1% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Ohio

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 8,319 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 5,990 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 2,711 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 2,515 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 2,036 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 1,662 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant

## Before You Close in Ohio

The successor withholds enough of the purchase money to cover the taxes, interest and penalties due until the former owner produces the tax commissioner's receipt or a certificate that none are due.

Cited as Ohio Revised Code section 5739.14.

## Next Door to Ohio

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

- Indiana: 23,903 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/indiana)
- Kentucky: 14,943 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/kentucky)
- Michigan: 34,085 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/michigan)
- Pennsylvania: 44,963 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/pennsylvania)
- 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

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt