Businesses in Kentucky accepted the seventh lowest amount of Payment Protection Program money in the country, per a study released by smartestdollar.com.
PPP Loans came as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis that followed. The pandemic’s negative downstream effects on the United States economy caused the government to pass a string of relief packages. Policies such as mandated store closures forced small businesses to make tough choices like cutting payroll in order to increase their chances of survival.
The intention behind the loans was to help small businesses keep their doors open, retain employees and to boost struggling local economies. Employees with fewer than 500 employees could apply for these forgivable loans. Recipients of PPP loans were initially required to spend 60% of allocated funds on payrolls in order for them to be eligible for loan forgiveness.
During its first of three rounds from April 3, 2020, to August 8, 2020, the PPP distributed $525 billion to small businesses in need and eventually distributed nearly $800 billion in loans by the time the program ended in mid-2021.
Here is a summary of the data for Kentucky:
- Total PPP funds per capita: $1,729.
- Total PPP funds: $7,798,983,631.
- Median PPP loan amount: $16,321.
- Share of approved PPP funds forgiven: 97.5%.
- Industry sector with the most PPP funds: Construction.
In comparison, here are the statistics for the entire United States:
- Total PPP funds per capita: $2,388.
- Total PPP funds: $792,611,806,528.
- Median PPP loan amount: $20,689.
- Share of approved PPP funds forgiven: 95.2%.
- Industry sector with the most PPP funds: Construction.
States in the northern portion of the US received more PPP loans per capita than southern states. North Dakota received the most PPP funds per capita at $3,734. New York and South Dakota received the second and third most PPP funds per capita at $3,062 and $3,048, respectively.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, West Virginia, $1,458, New Mexico, $1,598, and Arkansas, $1,651, received the lowest amount of PPP funding per person.
