My business is in a small town or the countryside. What money is there for rural businesses?
USDA loan guarantees and grants that are only for rural places, and the government-backed loans open to rural businesses as anywhere else, cheapest first.
USDA Rural Development runs the federal business programs that are only for rural places. Its business loan guarantees and its energy grants use the same test: the project must be outside any city or town of more than 50,000 people, and outside the built-up area next to one, going by the latest census. USDA's eligibility map shows which addresses count.
- Business and Industry loan guarantees: a bank or other lender makes the loan, and USDA guarantees part of it.
- Grants: the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) pays part of the cost of renewable energy and energy savings for rural small businesses and for farms and ranches. Value-Added Producer Grants help farmers turn what they grow or raise into new products.
Farm Credit System lenders, overseen by the Farm Credit Administration, exist to lend to creditworthy and eligible people in agriculture and rural America. The SBA and community lenders below work in rural areas as anywhere else.
6 routes to look at, cheapest first
Compare the first 4 side by side- L0
Free or nearly free
Little or no cash cost, though most take time and admin. Some bring money in, and a few have small fees. - L1
Very cheap or subsidised
Borrowing on better terms than the market, usually because a public body, community lender or large buyer is involved.- Government-backed and community lending
Community development lenders (CDFIs)
Loans from community development financial institutions: mission-driven lenders certified by the US Treasury that serve low-income communities and people who find it hard to get finance elsewhere, often with advice alongside.
WeeksPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA 504 loans
Long-term, fixed-rate financing for buildings, land and long-life equipment, split between a bank and a nonprofit Certified Development Company backed by the SBA. You usually put in 10% yourself.
MonthsUp to $5.5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
SBA Microloans
A small business loan of up to $50,000 from a nonprofit community lender that the SBA funds, for working capital, supplies and equipment. The average is about $13,000.
WeeksUp to $50kPersonal guarantee likely
- Government-backed and community lending
- L2
Mainstream secured debt
Standard borrowing from banks, credit unions and mainstream lenders, often secured on assets or backed by a personal guarantee.- Government-backed and community lending
SBA 7(a) loans
A business loan of up to $5 million from a bank or other lender, with part of it guaranteed by the SBA, for businesses that cannot get the credit they need on reasonable terms elsewhere.
MonthsUp to $5mPersonal guarantee likely - Government-backed and community lending
USDA Business and Industry loan guarantees
A loan from a bank or other lender, with up to 85% guaranteed by USDA Rural Development, for businesses, cooperatives and others whose project is in a rural area. Up to $25 million, for up to 40 years, for buildings, equipment, buying a business and more.
MonthsUp to $25m
- Government-backed and community lending
Worth knowing
- Check the project's address on USDA's eligibility map before you apply. The map follows census areas, so a place that feels rural may not count.
- USDA grants are awarded in rounds. Check whether one is open, and have quotes ready for when it is.
- Find a Farm Credit lender near you with the Farm Credit Administration's lender locator.
Sources
- 7 CFR 5001.3: definitions for USDA's guaranteed loans, including rural area and the eligibility map · checked October 20, 2026
- 7 CFR 4280.104: definitions for the Rural Energy for America Program, including rural area and rural small business · checked October 20, 2026
- USDA Rural Development: Rural Energy for America Program, renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvement grants and guaranteed loans · checked October 20, 2026
- USDA Rural Development: Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan · checked October 20, 2026
- USDA Rural Development: Value-Added Producer Grants · checked October 20, 2026
- Farm Credit Administration: About us · checked October 20, 2026
Facts about each route are sourced on its own page.