# Where to Buy a Business in Washington

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/washington
Last checked: 2026-09-23

## The Opportunity

- Buyable businesses: 28,222 of 54,418 establishments in the covered trades
- Buyable per 100,000 residents: 354.6
- Share of the national buyable market: 2.4%
- Rank among the guided states: 13
- SBA change-of-ownership loans: 1,432 since FY2020, 324 of them in FY2025
- Median loan: $727,000
- Population: 7,958,180

## The Deepest Counties in Washington

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.

- King: 9,067 buyable (32.1% of the state's)
- Pierce: 3,024 buyable (10.7% of the state's)
- Snohomish: 2,940 buyable (10.4% of the state's)
- Spokane: 2,125 buyable (7.5% of the state's)
- Clark: 1,740 buyable (6.2% of the state's)
- Thurston: 1,027 buyable (3.6% of the state's)
- Kitsap: 919 buyable (3.3% of the state's)
- Whatcom: 879 buyable (3.1% of the state's)
- Benton: 753 buyable (2.7% of the state's)
- Yakima: 677 buyable (2.4% of the state's)

## What Trades Run Deepest in Washington

- Full-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722511): 4,893 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Limited-Service Restaurants (NAICS 722513): 3,923 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Offices of Dentists (NAICS 621210): 2,642 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-dental-practice
- Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (NAICS 722515): 2,166 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-restaurant
- Child Care Services (NAICS 624410): 1,179 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-childcare-center
- Gasoline Stations with Convenience Stores (NAICS 447110): 1,082 buyable. https://searchspheresource.com/guides/buying-a-convenience-store

## Before You Close in Washington

The successor withholds from the purchase price enough to pay any tax due until the seller produces a statement of tax status or a certificate that none is due, and giving the department written notice of the acquisition caps the exposure at six months.

Cited as RCW 82.32.140.

## Next Door to Washington

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

- Idaho: 7,784 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/idaho)
- Oregon: 16,968 buyable (https://searchspheresource.com/guides/states/oregon)

## 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