Reference data
Small Business Financing Statistics 2026
A current look at how U.S. employer firms use financing, why they seek it, and what happens when they apply.
Last updated October 16, 2026. Survey findings were published March 3, 2026 and reflect responses collected from September through November 2025.
At a glance
Funding decisions shape the operating plan.
Financing is a recurring part of the small-business operating picture, but access and outcomes are uneven. The figures below provide a common reference point for founders, operating leaders, advisors, and writers covering the financial decisions behind growth, working capital, and resilience.
Each statistic comes from the Federal Reserve's national Small Business Credit Survey of employer firms. The figures describe the survey respondents and should be read as a view of their reported experience, not a forecast or a guarantee for any individual business.
01
86%
use financing regularly
Credit cards and loans were the most common regular financing products among employer firms.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202602
60%
applied for financing
Six in ten employer firms applied for financing in the 12 months before the survey.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202603
56%
sought financing for operating expenses
Covering operating expenses was the most common reason firms gave for seeking financing.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202604
46%
sought financing for expansion
Expansion or a new opportunity was the second most common reason firms sought funding.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202605
42%
received all requested financing
Less than half of applicants received the full amount they sought.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202606
36%
received some or most requested financing
More than one in three applicants received a partial amount rather than the full request.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202607
22%
received no financing
More than one in five applicants did not receive financing from the sources they approached.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202608
38%
applied for a loan, line, or cash advance
This share was nearly unchanged from the prior year's survey.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202609
29%
of loan, line, or cash-advance applicants sought financing from an online lender
Use of online fintech lenders has increased from 17% in the 2020 survey.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202610
57%
of small-bank applicants were fully approved
Small-bank applicants were more likely to report full approval than applicants using other lender types.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202611
60%
of online-lender borrowers reported higher-than-expected borrowing costs
That compares with 37% of small-bank borrowers and 32% of large-bank borrowers.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202612
59%
used a personal guarantee
Among firms carrying debt, personal guarantees were more common than pledging business assets.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 202613
31%
had no outstanding debt
The debt-free share had returned to its prepandemic level after growing from 21% in the 2020 survey.
Source: Federal Reserve, March 3, 2026What the figures show
Cash needs and growth plans often arrive at the same time.
More firms sought financing to cover operating expenses than to pursue expansion. That distinction matters. A growth plan may look viable in a revenue forecast while the timing of payroll, supplier payments, collections, and debt service tells a different story.
The application outcomes make the same point from another angle: a funding plan should include room for a partial approval, a delay, or a different capital source. Lender choice can affect the outcome too, with small-bank applicants reporting a higher full-approval rate while many online-lender borrowers reported costs above their expectations.
For a leadership team, the practical task is to connect financing assumptions to the operating plan before commitments are difficult to reverse.
Venturion helps leaders build that view through fractional CFO support, planning, and decision-ready financial models.
Methodology and sources
Where these numbers come from
All statistics on this page are taken from the Federal Reserve, 2026 Report on Employer Firms: Findings from the 2025 Small Business Credit Survey. The report was published on March 3, 2026 and presents findings from a national survey of employer firms conducted from September 3 through November 14, 2025.
The page was reviewed October 16, 2026. The Federal Reserve report remains the current annual primary source. Individual figures retain stable section links so they can be cited directly.
Cite this page
Venturion Strategy Group. “Small Business Financing Statistics 2026.” Updated October 16, 2026. https://venturionstrategy.com/small-business-finance-statistics