By awarding agency
Federal construction spending by awarding agency
$52.7B of FY2026 NAICS 236220 construction obligations, grouped by the agency that awarded the work. Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defense alone account for more than four out of every five dollars.
| Awarding agency | FY2026 obligations | Share of dollars |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Homeland Security | $31.8B | 60.3% |
| Department of Defense | $11.0B | 20.9% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $3.5B | 6.7% |
| General Services Administration | $2.1B | 4.1% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $1.2B | 2.2% |
| Department of State | $752.0M | 1.4% |
| Department of Transportation | $657.5M | 1.2% |
| Department of the Interior | $542.5M | 1.0% |
| Department of Agriculture | $283.9M | 0.5% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | $236.2M | 0.4% |
| Department of Justice | $183.5M | 0.3% |
| Department of Commerce | $100.9M | 0.2% |
| Smithsonian Institution | $90.5M | 0.2% |
| Department of Energy | $76.2M | 0.1% |
| Department of the Treasury | $50.3M | 0.1% |
| Department of Labor | $26.2M | 0.0% |
| Environmental Protection Agency | $19.4M | 0.0% |
| National Archives and Records Administration | $9.2M | 0.0% |
| District of Columbia Courts | $8.7M | 0.0% |
| Government Accountability Office | $2.2M | 0.0% |
| National Gallery of Art | $733K | 0.0% |
| National Science Foundation | $500K | 0.0% |
| Federal Trade Commission | $345K | 0.0% |
| Nuclear Regulatory Commission | $197K | 0.0% |
| Unattributed / other | $191K | 0.0% |
| Institute of Museum and Library Services | $184K | 0.0% |
| Social Security Administration | $33K | 0.0% |
| National Transportation Safety Board | $25K | 0.0% |
Reading the concentration
The top three agencies — Department of Homeland Security ($31.8B), Department of Defense ($11.0B) and Department of Veterans Affairs ($3.5B) — obligated the overwhelming majority of the market. That is unusually concentrated even for federal construction, and it reflects a few very large multi-year programs rather than thousands of small buys. A share this high is a dollar concentration, not a count of opportunities: read it as a reason to study the largest buyers closely, and check the underlying USAspending.gov award search before treating any single figure as final.
For bidders this cuts both ways. A concentrated market means fewer buyers to understand, but it also means fewer chances to recover from a missed opportunity. Agencies further down the table can be a better fit for firms that cannot carry the bonding or past-performance requirements of the largest programs.
Frequently asked questions
Why is construction spending so concentrated in a few agencies?
Federal construction is dominated by a handful of large, multi-year programs. DHS carries a very large share through its mission-support building work, DOD through military construction, and VA through its medical-facility program. Those three agencies alone account for most of the market.
Should I only bid to the largest agencies?
Not necessarily. The largest agencies have the most requirements and the strictest past-performance and bonding thresholds. Agencies lower on the list can be a better fit for a firm building a federal record.
Does an agency's spending in a state mean I must be based there?
No. Awards are grouped by the agency that obligated the money, not by the contractor's location. A firm based anywhere can win work awarded by any agency.
Related guide: Federal construction by agency, explained
Turn this data into wins
The same federal-contracting fundamentals behind this analysis are taught in the FCEXperts Pro Membership. The full federal-contracting training library, templates, and member-only expert briefings.