Seven findings
- Volume: 7,028 SBA 7(a) and 504 loans worth $3.18 billion went to New Jersey projects in 33 months, about 29.7 loans for every 1,000 business establishments in the state [1][2][3].
- Bergen leads on size, Ocean on intensity. Bergen had 1,006 loans, the most of any county. Ocean, with less than half Bergen's establishments, had 38.9 loans per 1,000, the highest rate in the state [1][3].
- South Jersey's extremes. Cumberland had the lowest rate (15.9 per 1,000) and the lowest dollars per establishment, about $7,600. Neighboring Salem had the highest dollars per establishment, about $19,900, on only 35 loans [1][3].
- One lender everywhere. TD Bank was the most active SBA lender in all 21 counties, with its share ranging from 13% of loans in Mercer to 49% in Salem [1].
- Most counties grew. Comparing fiscal 2025 with fiscal 2024, 7(a) loan counts rose in 19 of 21 counties. Burlington fell 22% and Atlantic 3% [1].
- Startups cluster in Central Jersey. Somerset (21%) and Mercer (20%) had the highest share of loans to businesses not yet open; Salem (3%) and Ocean (7%) the lowest [1].
- Restaurants top the list in 9 of 21 counties. Full-service restaurants were the leading industry in 9 counties, while residential remodelers led in Ocean and Gloucester and fitness centers in Monmouth and Morris [1].
Year-over-year change by county
Fiscal 2025 (Oct 1, 2024 to Sep 30, 2025) was a strong year for SBA lending in New Jersey: statewide 7(a) approvals rose from 2,501 to 2,830 [1]. The county view shows where the growth happened.
| County | 7(a) FY2024 | 7(a) FY2025 | Change | 7(a) FY2026 (9 months) | 504 loans, FY2024 to Jun 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlantic | 65 | 63 | -3% | 35 | 6 |
| Bergen | 350 | 400 | +14% | 230 | 26 |
| Burlington | 131 | 102 | -22% | 60 | 12 |
| Camden | 124 | 155 | +25% | 77 | 11 |
| Cape May | 27 | 39 | +44% | 26 | 9 |
| Cumberland | 15 | 17 | +13% | 11 | 2 |
| Essex | 203 | 233 | +15% | 106 | 17 |
| Gloucester | 73 | 82 | +12% | 47 | 10 |
| Hudson | 173 | 190 | +10% | 89 | 12 |
| Hunterdon | 28 | 38 | +36% | 25 | 6 |
| Mercer | 72 | 94 | +31% | 54 | 6 |
| Middlesex | 220 | 234 | +6% | 111 | 18 |
| Monmouth | 193 | 243 | +26% | 105 | 25 |
| Morris | 156 | 162 | +4% | 92 | 10 |
| Ocean | 213 | 227 | +7% | 123 | 21 |
| Passaic | 129 | 159 | +23% | 75 | 13 |
| Salem | 8 | 14 | +75% | 13 | 0 |
| Somerset | 91 | 111 | +22% | 49 | 5 |
| Sussex | 32 | 37 | +16% | 15 | 3 |
| Union | 171 | 202 | +18% | 104 | 19 |
| Warren | 27 | 28 | +4% | 15 | 4 |
Percentage changes in small counties swing on a handful of loans: Salem's +75% is six more loans. Mercer's fiscal 2026 dollar total through June ($46.9 million) had already passed its full fiscal 2025 total ($42.5 million) [1].
Dollars per business, loan size and loan type by county
Counting loans favors counties with many small ones. Dividing dollars by the number of establishments gives a second view of how much SBA-backed capital reached each county's business base [1][3].
| County | Dollars per establishment | Establishments (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| Salem | $19,907 | 1,137 |
| Union | $17,503 | 14,276 |
| Warren | $16,519 | 2,286 |
| Gloucester | $16,179 | 6,298 |
| Camden | $15,921 | 11,541 |
| Hudson | $11,188 | 14,119 |
| Essex | $11,115 | 19,392 |
| Passaic | $10,933 | 12,406 |
| Cumberland | $7,573 | 2,826 |
| New Jersey (21 counties) | $13,435 | 236,915 |
Loan size splits the state. Mercer and Cape May had the highest median loan at $250,000, followed by Monmouth at $225,000. Burlington ($125,000) and Hudson ($132,800) had the lowest [1]. Hudson and Passaic lean small: 59% and 60% of their SBA loans were $150,000 or less, compared with 39% in Cape May [1].
Loan type differs too. SBA Express loans, which go up to $500,000 and are decided by the lender [6], made up 53% of 7(a) and 504 loans in Ocean and Passaic, against 35% in Hunterdon [1]. The 504 program for buildings and long-life equipment was most used in Bergen (26 loans), Monmouth (25) and Ocean (21); Salem had none in the period [2].
The three most active SBA 7(a) lenders in each county
| County | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 1st lender's share | Startup share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergen | TD Bank (213) | M&T (115) | Northeast Bank (83) | 21% | 11% |
| Ocean | TD Bank (198) | M&T (60) | ReadyCap (39) | 34% | 7% |
| Middlesex | TD Bank (119) | Northeast Bank (51) | M&T (47) | 20% | 15% |
| Monmouth | TD Bank (106) | M&T (52) | Northeast Bank (49) | 19% | 12% |
| Essex | TD Bank (116) | M&T (69) | Northeast Bank (46) | 21% | 13% |
| Union | TD Bank (120) | M&T (55) | Northeast Bank (32) | 24% | 9% |
| Hudson | TD Bank (91) | M&T (63) | Newtek (50) | 20% | 16% |
| Morris | TD Bank (98) | Northeast Bank (34) | Newtek (29) | 23% | 13% |
| Passaic | TD Bank (85) | M&T (59) | Northeast Bank (37) | 23% | 8% |
| Camden | TD Bank (106) | Northeast Bank (18) | M&T (17) | 29% | 19% |
| Burlington | TD Bank (94) | Northeast Bank (23) | WSFS (21) | 31% | 11% |
| Somerset | TD Bank (45) | Northeast Bank (21) | M&T (20) | 18% | 21% |
| Mercer | TD Bank (30) | M&T (21) | Northeast Bank (17) | 13% | 20% |
| Gloucester | TD Bank (78) | Fulton Bank (19) | Northeast Bank (14) | 37% | 15% |
| Atlantic | TD Bank (66) | ReadyCap (11) | Newtek (10) | 39% | 8% |
| Cape May | TD Bank (35) | Northeast Bank (9) | Newtek (8) | 35% | 8% |
| Hunterdon | TD Bank (21) | Northeast Bank (10) | Newtek (7) | 22% | 14% |
| Sussex | TD Bank (12) | Northeast Bank (8) | Huntington (6) | 14% | 16% |
| Warren | TD Bank (17) | Northeast Bank (9) | JPMorgan Chase (6) | 23% | 16% |
| Cumberland | TD Bank (14) | Northeast Bank (4) | WSFS (4) | 31% | 13% |
| Salem | TD Bank (17) | Newtek (2) | WSFS (2) | 49% | 3% |
M&T is Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company; WSFS is Wilmington Savings Fund Society. Fulton Bank's second place in Gloucester and ReadyCap's in Atlantic are the only regional breaks in the pattern. A count of loans is not a measure of quality or price; for statewide rankings by dollars, see our SBA lenders in New Jersey page.
Method and data notes
- Data: SBA's 7(a) FOIA file (FY2020 to present) and 504 FOIA file (FY2010 to present), both with an as-of date of June 30, 2026, downloaded Oct 20, 2026 from data.sba.gov [1][2][4]. SBA updates these files quarterly [4].
- Filter: loans with ProjectState equal to NJ and ApprovalFY of 2024, 2025 or 2026. Fiscal 2026 is partial (Oct 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026).
- County: SBA's ProjectCounty field, the location of the project, not the lender or the owner's home.
- Dollars: GrossApproval, the approved amount in nominal dollars, not the amount disbursed or outstanding.
- Cancellations: included, matching how SBA reports approvals. 16% of the 7(a) loans in this period were later marked cancelled in SBA's file [1].
- Lenders: the 7(a) lender is SBA's BankName field. 504 loans are counted in county totals but not in the lender table, since a 504 has a CDC and a separate bank.
- Establishments: Census County Business Patterns 2023, all-industry establishment count per county; statewide 236,915 across the 21 counties [3].
- Industry: SBA's 6-digit NAICS description on each loan.
Cross-check: our fiscal 2025 statewide 7(a) count (2,830 loans, $1.2045 billion) is within one loan of SBA's FY2025 year-end activity report figures for New Jersey (2,831 loans, $1.2054 billion), which count by borrower congressional district [5]. SBA notes that district-level reports can differ slightly from the loan file.
Limits: SBA's file lists approved loans only. It cannot show approval rates, denials, loans that never applied through SBA, or the owner's gender or race. County industry leaders in small counties rest on three to five loans.
How to use and cite this study
If you are a business owner, the county table tells you two practical things: whether SBA lending is common where you are, and which lenders are already doing it locally. Start with those lenders, and use the median loan in your county as a sense of normal size, not a limit.
To cite: "Business Funders, New Jersey SBA lending by county, FY2024 to June 2026, analysis of SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA data as of June 30, 2026, published Oct 20, 2026." We will refresh it after SBA posts the September 30, 2026 file.
For statewide trends, rates and industries, see SBA loans in New Jersey. For your county's local programs, see the county pages linked from business loans in New Jersey.