# Where to Buy a Business in Virginia

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/virginia
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 31,567 of 56,670 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 358.3
- Share of the national buyable market: 2.7%
- Rank among the guided states: 12
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 636 since FY2020, 149 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $773,000
- Population: 8,811,195

## The Deepest Counties in Virginia

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.

- Fairfax: 4,029 buyable (12.8% of the state's)
- Virginia Beach city: 1,992 buyable (6.3% of the state's)
- Loudoun: 1,483 buyable (4.7% of the state's)
- Prince William: 1,402 buyable (4.4% of the state's)
- Henrico: 1,400 buyable (4.4% of the state's)
- Chesterfield: 1,301 buyable (4.1% of the state's)
- Chesapeake city: 990 buyable (3.1% of the state's)
- Norfolk city: 816 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Richmond city: 810 buyable (2.6% of the state's)
- Arlington: 736 buyable (2.3% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Virginia

- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 5,418 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 5,227 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 2,272 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,654 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 1,360 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors (NAICS 238220): 1,180 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-an-hvac-business

## Before You Close in Virginia

The successor withholds enough of the purchase money to cover the tax, penalties and interest until the former owner produces a receipt or a certificate that none are due, and a purchaser who does not is personally liable for them.

Cited as Virginia Code section 58.1-629.

## Next Door to Virginia

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

- Washington, D.C.: 2,578 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/washington-dc)
- Kentucky: 14,943 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/kentucky)
- Maryland: 20,716 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/maryland)
- North Carolina: 39,632 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/north-carolina)
- Tennessee: 23,855 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/tennessee)
- 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

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