New data from the federal government reveal more information about the Paycheck Protection Program, including some of the loan recipients.
And that information shows the program’s deep and wide reach in South Dakota.
There have been $1.66 billion in PPP loans to about 22,500 South Dakota recipients. The loans average $74,000. They cover 181,633 jobs.
The U.S. Small Business Administration oversees the program. Jaime Wood is the SBA’s district director in Sioux Falls.
“I sure am heartened by the fact that these businesses found value in PPP, and it really provided the lifeline for them,” Wood said.
The program targets small businesses with fewer than 500 workers, but there are exceptions. An example is the Dakota Provisions meat-processing plant in Huron. It has a loan of more than $2 million, even though it claims a workforce of about 1,000.
“They are still considered small,” Wood said, “so there were some provisions written in for those plants into PPP, and they were clarified provisions that were written in over time.”
The loans are in 430 South Dakota towns and cities. The industries with the most loans are cattle ranchers and farmers, corn farmers, churches and other religious organizations, full-service restaurants, other grain farmers, and beauty salons.
SD Industries With Most PPP Loans
| Beef cattle ranching and farming | 1,198 |
| Corn farming | 917 |
| Religious organizations | 534 |
| Full-service restaurants | 498 |
| All other grain farming | 497 |
The loans range from about $200 to more than $2 million. They are serviced by 373 banks. Dacotah Bank has the most loans, with 1,526.
Most loan recipients do not disclose their race. Among those who do, 95 percent are white. Those identifying themselves as Asian, Hispanic, Native American or African American each number less than 100.
Many loan recipients also fail to disclose the gender of the business owner. Among those that do, 78 percent are male, and 22 percent are female.
Since creating the program to keep workers on payrolls during the pandemic, the federal government has loaned out more than $500 billion nationwide. Recipients don’t have to pay the money back if they spend 60 percent of it on payroll.
The new release of data from the federal government includes the names and addresses for loans of $150,000 or more. There are 1,944 of those loans in South Dakota.
Names and addresses are not included for loans less than $150,000. There are 20,563 of those loans in South Dakota.