Rankings & leaderboards·SBA 2026 Borrower Suspensions
States by Suspension Rate per 1,000 Pandemic Loans
Illinois had the highest suspension rate of the 55 jurisdictions ranked: 126.4 suspended borrowers for every 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans, ahead of Georgia (117.2) and Louisiana (94.0). South Dakota had the lowest, 20.3. The rate divides SBA's count of suspended borrowers by the number of loans in the federal loan files. One borrower can hold several loans, so the rate is not the share of borrowers suspended; it compares jurisdictions.
Releases 6 Feb, 4 Jun, 8 Jul & 14 Sep 2026Dataset built 15 September 2026Universe 55 jurisdictions (67.73 per 1,000 overall)Source SBA suspensions by state
- Highest rate: Illinois (96,128 suspended / 760,752 loans)
- 126.36
- All jurisdictions together per 1,000 PPP & COVID EIDL loans
- 67.73
- Lowest ranked rate: South Dakota (1,452 / 71,667 loans, #55)
- 20.26
- Minimum loan denominator (2 jurisdictions below it excluded)
- 1,000
Where suspension rates are highest
Only two states exceed 100 suspended borrowers per 1,000 loans (Illinois at 126.36 and Georgia at 117.18), while 15 jurisdictions sit above the 67.73 all-jurisdictions rate.
Geography of the suspension rate across 55 jurisdictions
Suspended borrowers per 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans. Illinois (126.36) and Georgia (117.18) are outlined in yellow; American Samoa (AS, 474 loans) and military mail (4 loans) fall below the 1,000-loan threshold.
- <35
- 35–45
- 45–60
- 60–75
- 75–90
- 90+
- <1,000 loans (excluded)
Source: SBA borrower suspensions by state, 2026 (SBA releases of 6 February, 4 June, 8 July and 14 September 2026).
Distribution across the 55 ranked jurisdictions vs. the 67.73 all-jurisdictions rate
Each dot is one jurisdiction. 15 jurisdictions sit above the 67.73 per 1,000 all-jurisdictions rate (through Maryland at 67.88, rank 15); 40 sit below it.
Top 12 jurisdictions by suspension rate, plus California (#21) and South Dakota (#55)
Suspended borrowers per 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans, with raw suspended-borrower numerator and loan denominator.
Note: Five numerators come from earlier 2026 SBA releases (California and Minnesota from 6 February 2026; Maine and Ohio from 4 June 2026; Wisconsin from 8 July 2026); the other 50 come from 14 September 2026.
- 1
Illinois
126.36Suspended borrowers per 1,000 loans · 1st of 55 ranked- Suspended
- 96,128 borrowers
- Loans
- 760,752 PPP & COVID EIDL
- Release
- 14 September 2026
Highest rate among the 55 jurisdictions above the 1,000-loan threshold; third-highest raw count after Florida (118,167) and California (111,620).
Source: SBA state dataset (15 Sep 2026)
- 2
Georgia
117.18Suspended borrowers per 1,000 loans · 2nd of 55 ranked- Suspended
- 85,975 borrowers
- Loans
- 733,685 PPP & COVID EIDL
- Release
- 14 September 2026
One of only two jurisdictions above 100 suspended borrowers per 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans.
Source: SBA state dataset (15 Sep 2026)
- 3
Louisiana
94.00Suspended borrowers per 1,000 loans · 3rd of 55 ranked- Suspended
- 26,739 borrowers
- Loans
- 284,448 PPP & COVID EIDL
- Release
- 14 September 2026
Leads a three-jurisdiction cluster between 91.18 and 94.00 per 1,000 (Louisiana 94.00, Delaware 92.92, Nevada 91.18).
Source: SBA state dataset (15 Sep 2026)
The ranking
All 55 jurisdictions with at least 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans. Click any numeric header to re-sort; the in-cell bars rescale to the active column.
| # | Jurisdiction | Source | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | 126.36 | 96,128 | 760,752 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 2 | Georgia | 117.18 | 85,975 | 733,685 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 3 | Louisiana | 94.00 | 26,739 | 284,448 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 4 | Delaware | 92.92 | 3,462 | 37,258 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 5 | Nevada | 91.18 | 14,387 | 157,792 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 6 | Alabama | 84.52 | 18,075 | 213,843 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 7 | Mississippi | 84.04 | 14,310 | 170,268 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 8 | Michigan | 82.24 | 30,923 | 376,006 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 9 | Florida | 81.75 | 118,167 | 1,445,517 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 10 | Arizona | 76.33 | 17,450 | 228,625 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 11 | District of Columbia | 75.45 | 3,007 | 39,855 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 12 | New York | 71.39 | 75,451 | 1,056,875 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 13 | Texas | 70.76 | 88,831 | 1,255,347 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 68.51 | 19,373 | 282,783 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 15 | Maryland | 67.88 | 17,591 | 259,156 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 16 | Indiana | 67.23 | 15,114 | 224,794 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 17 | South Carolina | 66.00 | 13,052 | 197,744 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 64.08 | 22,439 | 350,155 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 19 | Ohio | 63.30 | 27,486 | 434,202 | SBA release, 4 Jun 2026 |
| 20 | Arkansas | 62.05 | 7,645 | 123,213 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 21 | California | 61.17 | 111,620 | 1,824,668 | SBA release, 6 Feb 2026 |
| 22 | Rhode Island | 59.72 | 2,658 | 44,504 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 23 | New Jersey | 57.44 | 24,609 | 428,458 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 24 | Pennsylvania | 55.70 | 24,492 | 439,735 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 25 | Virginia | 52.36 | 15,485 | 295,725 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 26 | West Virginia | 52.31 | 2,151 | 41,117 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 27 | Washington | 51.99 | 13,393 | 257,588 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 28 | Massachusetts | 49.79 | 13,896 | 279,110 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 29 | U.S. Virgin Islands | 48.00 | 249 | 5,188 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 30 | Missouri | 45.27 | 12,425 | 274,494 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 31 | Connecticut | 44.48 | 6,803 | 152,955 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 32 | Wyoming | 44.27 | 1,366 | 30,858 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 33 | Idaho | 44.00 | 2,832 | 64,365 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 34 | Oklahoma | 43.40 | 8,112 | 186,911 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 35 | New Mexico | 42.90 | 2,383 | 55,551 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 36 | Colorado | 40.87 | 10,138 | 248,070 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 37 | New Hampshire | 38.98 | 2,015 | 51,698 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 38 | Hawaii | 38.81 | 2,422 | 62,408 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 39 | Oregon | 38.08 | 5,831 | 153,116 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 40 | Kentucky | 37.86 | 5,788 | 152,896 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 41 | Northern Mariana Islands | 36.85 | 44 | 1,194 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 42 | Alaska | 36.10 | 1,124 | 31,140 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 43 | Vermont | 35.42 | 977 | 27,585 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 44 | Utah | 34.87 | 3,685 | 105,675 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 45 | Wisconsin | 34.69 | 7,800 | 224,845 | SBA release, 8 Jul 2026 |
| 46 | Guam | 33.62 | 167 | 4,967 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 47 | Kansas | 31.92 | 4,631 | 145,101 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 48 | Puerto Rico | 30.34 | 3,015 | 99,368 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 49 | Iowa | 26.18 | 4,942 | 188,775 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 50 | Maine | 26.17 | 1,500 | 57,323 | SBA release, 4 Jun 2026 |
| 51 | Minnesota | 25.99 | 6,900 | 265,440 | SBA release, 6 Feb 2026 |
| 52 | Montana | 24.29 | 1,379 | 56,783 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 53 | Nebraska | 21.72 | 2,789 | 128,389 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 54 | North Dakota | 20.82 | 1,201 | 57,689 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
| 55 | South Dakota | 20.26 | 1,452 | 71,667 | SBA release, 14 Sep 2026 |
Excluded under the 1,000-loan minimum denominator: Armed Forces Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada (military mail) (4 loans); American Samoa (474 loans).
How this list is built
Method & definitions
- Unit ranked
- the state or territory.
- Metric
- suspended borrowers per 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans.
- Universe
- 55 jurisdictions above the threshold.
- All jurisdictions together
- 67.73 per 1,000.
- Vintage
- SBA releases of 6 February, 4 June, 8 July and 14 September 2026; dataset built 15 September 2026.
SBA's 2026 releases give suspended borrowers by jurisdiction; the federal spending files give each jurisdiction's PPP and COVID EIDL loan counts. The archive's dataset carries both. This list divides the first by the second and multiplies by a thousand, recomputed here from the two count columns rather than taken from the dataset's own rate column. Five numerators are not from the September release: California and Minnesota from SBA's release of 6 February 2026, Maine and Ohio from 4 June 2026, Wisconsin from 8 July 2026.
A minimum-denominator rule applies. A jurisdiction with a handful of loans produces an unstable rate — one suspension out of four loans is 250 per thousand. Jurisdictions with fewer than 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans are therefore excluded and named below rather than ranked. 2 rows are excluded: Armed Forces Europe, Middle East, Africa and Canada (military mail) (4 loans); American Samoa (474 loans).
What this measures, and what it does not
A suspension is an administrative step, not a finding of fraud. Nothing in this table is an adjudication, and no borrower is named.
A rate is a ratio of two things SBA and USAspending count differently. The numerator is borrowers; the denominator is loans, and one borrower could take both a PPP loan and a COVID EIDL loan, so the denominator counts some borrowers twice. The rate is therefore a comparative index, not a probability that a given borrower was suspended.
The jurisdictions the releases did not break out carry no numerator and are absent. This comparison excludes jurisdictions with fewer than 1,000 PPP and COVID EIDL loans. That threshold is the archive's choice, not SBA's.
Sources
- Archive data page: SBA borrower suspensions by state, 2026
- Archive data page: SBA borrower suspensions, 2026
- File as held:
data/files/sba-borrower-suspensions-by-state-2026.csv(sha256 5b902f91dc555863…)