PITTSBURGH — It’s no surprise that Pittsburgh is home to the most small businesses in the 10-county region receiving 2021 Paycheck Protection Program loans. But not all of the 51 cities or towns with at least 100 PPP loan recipients are necessarily expected locations and the top five are in different counties.
The count for businesses based in Pittsburgh that were recipients of the forgivable loans was 9,971. That’s about 15 times the number of PPP recipients at No. 2 Greensburg, with 644, and accounts for approximately one-third of the total local PPP loans.
Some 28,968 organizations and companies were approved for a combined $2.11 billion in PPP loans this year, according to U.S. Small Business Administration data. The SBA manages PPP. The federally funded forgivable loan initiative was created to get money quickly to small businesses struggling with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2021 initiative began Jan. 11 with $284 billion and concluded in late May.
While just one city topped four figures, another 50 were home to at least 100 recipients.
- Pittsburgh, 9,971
- Greensburg, 644
- Washington, 577