How Well Did PPP Loans Reach Low- and Moderate-Income Communities?

Abstract

We investigate the degree to which Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans reached small businesses in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities. We use PPP loan data from the Small Business Administration that we geocode and link to census tracts. We assess the program’s reach in a few ways and focus on the number of loans, rather than the amount of funds, that went to different areas in order to capture the program’s impact on businesses with fewer than 50 employees—the vast majority of small businesses. We find evidence that the program did have a broad reach within LMI communities, but that it reached higher-income communities to a greater extent and areas with Black, Hispanic, and American Indian or Alaska Native majorities to a lesser extent.