U.S. small business reference
Small Business Financing Statistics: 2026
A straightforward reference for business owners, writers, and researchers looking for current U.S. small business financing data.
Last updated September 29, 2026. Every figure below links to its original source.
Small businesses make financing decisions against a moving backdrop of costs, customer demand, and repayment obligations. This page brings together the latest national figures that help put those decisions in context, without turning a complex choice into a one-number answer.
The figures are useful for understanding the broader market. They are not a prediction of what any individual business will qualify for or pay.
36.2M
small businesses operate in the United States.
Small businesses account for 99.9% of U.S. businesses.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, February 202662.3M
people work for U.S. small businesses.
That represents 45.9% of private-sector employees.
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration, February 202686%
of employer firms use financing regularly.
Credit cards and loans were the most common products reported.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey60%
of employer firms applied for financing in the prior 12 months.
The two most common reasons were operating expenses and expansion or a new opportunity.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey38%
applied for a loan, line of credit, or merchant cash advance.
This figure was nearly unchanged from the prior survey.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey42%
of financing applicants received the full amount they sought.
Another 36% received some or most, while 22% received none.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey57%
of small-bank applicants were fully approved.
Small-bank applicants were more likely to be fully approved than applicants at other lender types in the survey.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey60%
of online-lender borrowers said actual borrowing costs were higher than expected.
The comparable shares were 37% for small-bank borrowers and 32% for large-bank borrowers.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 survey77%
reported rising input costs, tariff-related costs, or both as a financial challenge.
The share combines firms reporting one or both cost pressures.
Source: Federal Reserve Small Business Credit Survey, 2025 surveyPutting the figures to work
Useful context before a funding decision.
National statistics can help you ask better questions, but a sensible funding decision still starts with the business in front of you: what the capital needs to do, when it is needed, how revenue arrives, and what the repayment will require.
If the need is tied to payroll, inventory, or a short-term timing gap, start with a practical view of working capital. If cash timing is the root of the pressure, our cash flow guide offers a weekly routine for getting ahead of it.
Methodology and sources
How this page is kept useful.
Primary sources
The national small-business counts and employment figures come from the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy’s 2026 small business facts. Financing figures come from the Federal Reserve Banks’ 2026 Report on Employer Firms, based on the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey.
Important survey context
The Federal Reserve report is based on 6,525 responses from employer firms with 1 to 499 employees across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. It is a nationwide convenience sample, not a random sample, so its figures describe surveyed firms rather than a guarantee for every business.
Update cadence
We review this page about monthly and update it sooner when a key primary source publishes new data. Stable section links are kept in place so writers can cite a specific statistic directly.
Cite this page
KerrFundingGroup. “Small Business Financing Statistics: 2026.” Updated September 29, 2026. https://kkfg.org/small-business-financing-statistics
When the numbers meet your business
Start with the job the capital needs to do.
Explore funding paths in plain English, then decide what fits your business.
See My Options