PeerSense Research

Safest and Riskiest Industries for SBA Loans 2026

Name: SBA Loan Default Rates by Industry 2026
Creator: PeerSense

Across SBA 7(a) and 504 lending, Animal Production has the lowest default rate at 6.3%, while Credit Intermediation runs the highest at 37.8%. Lower default rates mean lenders quote tighter and underwrite faster. Each industry below links to its full data.

Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 outcomes, minimum 500 resolved loans per industry. Updated June 2026.

Safest industries (lowest default rates)

Industry	Default Rate	Loans Analyzed
Animal Production	6.3%	9,228
Management of Companies	7.2%	558
Beverage & Tobacco	7.6%	4,416
Support Activities for Mining	7.7%	2,108
Ambulatory Healthcare	8.2%	83,986
Crop Production	8.3%	1,967
Warehousing & Storage	8.4%	1,232
Nursing & Residential Care	8.4%	4,708
Waste Management & Remediation	8.6%	4,914
Agriculture & Forestry Support	8.8%	2,553
Fabricated Metal Products	10.5%	18,443
Heavy & Civil Engineering	10.6%	5,019

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Riskiest industries (highest default rates)

Industry	Default Rate	Loans Analyzed
Credit Intermediation	37.8%	3,426
General Merchandise Stores	26.9%	4,403
Fishing, Hunting & Trapping	26.4%	1,210
Electronics & Appliance Stores	24.4%	7,401
Clothing & Accessories	24%	22,508
Apparel Manufacturing	23.2%	3,478
Furniture & Home Furnishing Stores	22.9%	11,250
NAICS 514	22.5%	1,644
Telecommunications	22%	2,584
Miscellaneous Retail	21.7%	28,486
Construction of Buildings	21.6%	25,687
Leather Products	20.9%	746

How to read this

A high industry default rate does not mean you cannot get funded. It means lenders price in more risk, so the match matters more. PeerSense routes higher risk profiles to the lenders that actually fund them. Explore the full industry data library or read the State of SBA Lending 2026 report.