Coronavirus Relief Loans In Massachusetts: Where PPP Money Went

MASSACHUSETTS — More than 18,000 Massachusetts businesses and nonprofits received loans of $150,000 or more from the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, to help pay their employees during the coronavirus pandemic.

PPP loans were established as part of the federal government's CARES Act and are similar to grants: They will be forgiven as long as businesses keep employees on the payroll and don't cut their pay. However, the money does not necessarily have to go directly to employees as long as the business keeps paying them; it can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent and utilities.

On Monday, the U.S. Small Business Administration released data showing that nearly 5 million businesses have received PPP loans totaling more than $521 billion. The U.S. Treasury says that money has supported 51.1 million jobs — as much as 84 percent of America's small business employees.

Here's an interactive map that shows the businesses that received PPP loans of more than $150,000 in Massachusetts. You can zoom into an area and click on a pin to find the business and the details about the loan it received:

Here is a complete list of all Massachusetts businesses that have received PPP loans over $150,000. Tens of thousands more businesses received loans under $150,000.

Learn more about PPP loans at the SBA's website here.

Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).