Agencies
Who Buys What in the Federal Government
Federal contract spend concentrates in a few dozen buyers. These guides cover what each agency actually purchases, the NAICS codes that appear on its solicitations, and what small businesses should know before pursuing it.
Cabinet departments
- DoD64,952 open
Department of Defense
The Department of Defense is by a wide margin the largest buyer in the federal government, awarding more contract dollars than all civilian agencies combined. Its buying is decentralized across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Space Force, and the defense agencies (DLA, DISA, DARPA, MDA), each with its own contracting commands and priorities.
- VA8,751 open
Department of Veterans Affairs
The Department of Veterans Affairs runs the largest integrated health care system in the United States, and its contracting reflects that: medical services and equipment, facility construction and maintenance, and a very large IT portfolio. The VA is also the single most important agency for veteran-owned businesses.
- DOI4,312 open
Department of the Interior
The Department of the Interior manages federal lands and resources through the National Park Service, BLM, USGS, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs.
- DHS3,203 open
Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security buys across a wide mission set through components including CBP, ICE, TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, CISA, and the Secret Service. Its needs skew toward security technology, screening, IT and cyber, and emergency response.
- USDA2,847 open
Department of Agriculture
The Department of Agriculture buys through components including the Forest Service, ARS, APHIS, NRCS, and Rural Development. Its contracting is geographically dispersed and includes a large volume of land-management and wildland-fire work.
- HHS2,573 open
Department of Health and Human Services
Health and Human Services contracts through components including NIH, CDC, FDA, CMS, and HRSA. Its spend is weighted toward biomedical research support, public health, and very large health IT and claims-processing systems.
- DOS2,183 open
Department of State
The Department of State contracts for embassy operations and construction worldwide, diplomatic security, language services, and international program support.
- DOC1,611 open
Department of Commerce
The Department of Commerce contracts through NOAA, NIST, the Census Bureau, and the Patent and Trademark Office. NOAA and the Census Bureau drive most of its contract volume.
- DOJ1,470 open
Department of Justice
The Department of Justice contracts through the FBI, DEA, ATF, US Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Prisons. Its buying leans toward law-enforcement technology, forensics, detention services, and litigation support.
- DOE1,108 open
Department of Energy
The Department of Energy's contracting is dominated by management and operating (M&O) contracts for the national laboratories and the nuclear security enterprise, plus one of the largest environmental cleanup programs in the world.
- DOT722 open
Department of Transportation
The Department of Transportation contracts through the FAA, FHWA, FTA, FRA, and NHTSA. The FAA dominates its direct contract spend, particularly in air traffic control modernization.
- Treasury220 open
Department of the Treasury
The Treasury Department contracts through the IRS, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, the Mint, and other bureaus. IT modernization and financial systems dominate its spend.
- DOL101 open
Department of Labor
The Department of Labor contracts for workforce development programs, most visibly the Job Corps centers, along with statistical programs and enforcement support.
- HUD33 open
Department of Housing and Urban Development
HUD contracts for housing program administration, property management and disposition, inspections, and IT systems supporting its housing and community development programs.
- ED24 open
Department of Education
The Department of Education contracts primarily for student aid systems and servicing, educational research, and program evaluation.
Independent agencies
- NASA1,038 open
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA contracts through ten field centers, each with distinct mission portfolios — human spaceflight at Johnson and Kennedy, science at Goddard and JPL, aeronautics at Langley and Glenn, propulsion at Marshall and Stennis.
- GSA961 open
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is both a buyer in its own right and the government's central acquisition and property manager. For most contractors GSA matters less as a customer than as a gateway: the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) is the contract vehicle other agencies buy through.
- EPA204 open
Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency contracts for environmental research, laboratory analysis, Superfund site remediation, and regulatory program support.
- SSA60 open
Social Security Administration
The Social Security Administration contracts largely for IT modernization, disability case processing support, and nationwide field office operations.
- NSF26 open
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation primarily awards grants rather than contracts, but it does contract for facility operations, Antarctic logistics, and program administration support.
- NRC14 open
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission contracts for technical and scientific support to its licensing and oversight mission, along with IT and administrative services.
- OPM3 open
Office of Personnel Management
The Office of Personnel Management is the federal government's HR agency, contracting for background investigations support, training, benefits administration, and HR systems.
- SBA
Small Business Administration
The Small Business Administration is a modest buyer in its own right, but it is the agency that certifies and governs every federal small-business set-aside program — which makes it the most consequential agency in government for a small contractor.
- USAID
U.S. Agency for International Development
USAID contracts for international development program implementation, technical assistance, and monitoring and evaluation across its overseas missions.
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