(The Center Square) – The nine largest counties on Colorado’s Front Range received at least $6.5 billion in loans through the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), according to a national database.

The loans supported over 750,000 jobs at businesses in the counties, according to data on PPPDirectory.com that was analyzed by The Center Square. 

The nine counties combined received between $6.5 billion to $12.2 billion in loans out of the $7.9 billion to $14.9 billion total the state received through the program, which expired at the end of May.

• Denver County: $1.6B - $3.1B; 171,969 jobs
• El Paso County: $696.9M - $1.3B; 92,461 jobs
• Arapahoe County: $1.1B - $2.1B; 135,595 jobs
• Jefferson County: $727.9M - $1.3B; 87,090 jobs
• Adams County: $473.8M - $929.2M; 57,168 jobs
• Larimer County: $471M - $844.7M; 51,145 jobs
• Douglas County: $398.7M - $730.8M; 48,039 jobs
• Boulder County:$648.5M - $1.2B; 72,600 jobs
• Weld County: $357.5M - $685.2M; 36,726 jobs

Statewide over 104,000 loans were distributed leading to 931,669 jobs being retained, according to the database. A majority of Colorado businesses received loans of $150,000 or less, the data shows.

Just 95 claimants statewide received the highest bracket of loans between $5 and $10 million. Only five of these loans went to businesses in counties outside of the Front Range, according to the data.

Total loan claims have fallen significantly following their peak during the week of May 3 when Colorado businesses received 10,367 loans. Only 807 PPP loans were distributed to Colorado businesses on June 30, the last day the data records.

According to the data, PPP loans proved successful at helping smaller cities along the Front Range retain more jobs than some urban areas. For example, each loan in Englewood helped save approximately 13 jobs while Denver saw each loan retain an average of 11.5 jobs.

David Carroll, executive director of the Greater Englewood Chamber of Commerce, told The Center Square that the economy of the city, which is located in Arapahoe County, benefited from the program.

“Prior to the pandemic, Englewood’s approach to economic development has been more focused on emerging small businesses – those with fewer than 500 employees,” he said. “So, it stands to reason, securing these PPP funds and others made the difference between keeping a business up and running or being forced to reduce salaries or lay off employees.”