Federal contracting climbed to $812 billion projected for FY2024, even as the Department of Defense alone is forecast to account for $510 billion, largely driven by modernization. From FY2023’s $791.3 billion in total obligations to rising competition and a fast growing cybersecurity slice, the dataset shows where budgets are tightening, where they are expanding, and which categories are reshaping how agencies buy.
Key Takeaways
- In fiscal year 2023, the total value of federal contract obligations reached $791.3 billion, marking a 3.2% increase from FY2022.
- Federal IT spending through contracts in FY2023 totaled $105.4 billion, representing 13.3% of overall federal contracting.
- The Department of Defense accounted for 62% of all federal contract spending in FY2023, obligating $490.5 billion.
- In FY2023, 42% of federal contract actions were competed fully, up from 39% in FY2022.
- Use of commercial item acquisitions rose to 28.5% of total dollars in FY2023.
- Simplified acquisitions under SAT grew 6.2% to $145.3 billion in FY2023.
- In FY2023, small businesses received 26.8% of prime contract dollars, totaling $212.4 billion.
- Small disadvantaged businesses (SDB) captured 10.2% of federal contract awards in FY2023, worth $80.7 billion.
- Women-owned small businesses (WOSB) achieved 5.4% of prime contracts in FY2023, amounting to $42.8 billion.
- Lockheed Martin was the top federal contractor in FY2023, receiving $69.1 billion in awards.
- Boeing secured $33.2 billion in federal contracts in FY2023, primarily aircraft-related.
- General Dynamics received $24.8 billion in DoD contracts in FY2023 for shipbuilding.
- In FY2024 projections, federal contracting market expected to grow 2.5% to $812 billion.
- DoD contracting forecasted at $510 billion in FY2024, driven by modernization.
- IT contracting projected to reach $118 billion in FY2024, up 12%.
In FY2023, federal contracting hit $791.3 billion, with growing competition, IT and cybersecurity, and small business share rising.
Related reading
01 · Category
Market Size And Spending30 stats
01
In fiscal year 2023, the total value of federal contract obligations reached $791.3 billion, marking a 3.2% increase from FY2022.
02
Federal IT spending through contracts in FY2023 totaled $105.4 billion, representing 13.3% of overall federal contracting.
03
The Department of Defense accounted for 62% of all federal contract spending in FY2023, obligating $490.5 billion.
04
In FY2022, civilian agency contract spending was $252.8 billion, up 5.1% from the previous year.
05
Federal contracts for professional services reached $128.7 billion in FY2023, comprising 16.3% of total obligations.
06
The value of federal construction contracts awarded in FY2023 was $42.1 billion, a 7.8% rise year-over-year.
07
R&D contracts by the federal government totaled $68.9 billion in FY2023, primarily driven by DoD needs.
08
In FY2023, indefinite-delivery contracts (IDVs) accounted for $389.2 billion in obligations, or 49.2% of total.
09
Federal spending on engineering and technical services contracts hit $89.4 billion in FY2023.
10
The top 100 federal contractors received 26% of total contract dollars in FY2023, amounting to $206.1 billion.
11
GSA's Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) program facilitated $38.2 billion in contracts in FY2023.
12
Federal healthcare-related contract spending reached $55.7 billion in FY2023.
13
In FY2023, contracts under $250,000(micro-purchases) totaled $12.4 billion across all agencies.
14
DoD's Operation and Maintenance contracts obligated $210.3 billion in FY2023.
15
NASA's contract spending in FY2023 was $22.6 billion, focused on space exploration programs.
16
Federal contracts for cybersecurity services grew to $18.9 billion in FY2023.
17
VA's contract obligations in FY2023 reached $32.1 billion, largely for medical services.
18
DHS awarded $28.4 billion in contracts in FY2023, with border security as a key area.
19
DOE's contract spending on energy R&D was $14.7 billion in FY2023.
20
Federal logistics and supply chain contracts totaled $76.5 billion in FY2023.
21
In FY2023, sole-source contracts amounted to $45.2 billion, or 5.7% of total obligations.
22
Army Corps of Engineers awarded $9.8 billion in civil works contracts in FY2023.
23
Federal environmental services contracts reached $11.3 billion in FY2023.
24
DOJ's contract spending in FY2023 was $7.6 billion, focused on law enforcement tech.
25
USDA obligated $6.2 billion in contracts for agricultural research in FY2023.
26
Federal aircraft and ship maintenance contracts totaled $15.4 billion in FY2023.
27
Treasury Department's contract awards in FY2023 reached $4.1 billion.
28
Federal education and training contracts amounted to $3.9 billion in FY2023.
29
Interior Department's contracting in FY2023 was $2.8 billion for land management.
30
Federal transportation contracts (non-DoD) totaled $18.7 billion in FY2023.
Interpretation
Market Size And Spending Interpretation
In FY2023, total federal contract obligations climbed to $791.3 billion and federal IT alone reached $105.4 billion, showing that federal contracting market size is growing while technology spending remains a major share of overall spend at 13.3%.
02 · Category
Procurement Trends25 stats
01
In FY2023, 42% of federal contract actions were competed fully, up from 39% in FY2022.
02
Use of commercial item acquisitions rose to 28.5% of total dollars in FY2023.
03
Simplified acquisitions under SAT grew 6.2% to $145.3 billion in FY2023.
04
Multiple award contracts (MACs) obligated $210.4 billion in FY2023.
05
Fair opportunity task orders under IDIQs totaled $189.7 billion in FY2023.
06
Sole-source awards decreased 2.1% to 4.8% of total obligations in FY2023.
07
IT services contracts grew 9.4% year-over-year to $112.6 billion in FY2023.
08
Cloud computing contract spending surged 22.7% to $14.3 billion in FY2023.
09
Use of Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) reached $18.2 billion in FY2023.
10
Fixed-price contracts comprised 85.3% of total contract actions in FY2023.
11
Cost-reimbursement contracts declined to 12.1% of dollars in FY2023.
12
Average federal contract size increased 4.7% to $156,000 in FY2023.
13
Number of new contracts awarded dropped 3.8% to 12.4 million in FY2023.
14
Professional, administrative, and management support services were 22.4% of FY2023 spending.
15
Sustainment contracts grew 5.6% to $320.1 billion in DoD FY2023 budget.
16
AI and machine learning contracts reached $2.7 billion in FY2023.
17
Federal procurement of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure hit $1.4 billion in FY2023.
18
Use of GSA Schedules increased 7.2% to $41.6 billion in FY2023.
19
Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) facilitated $28.9 billion in FY2023.
20
Federal acquisition of software-as-a-service (SaaS) grew 18.3% in FY2023.
21
DoD's adaptive acquisition framework led to 15% faster awards in FY2023 pilots.
22
Civilian IT modernization contracts totaled $22.1 billion in FY2023.
23
Procurement protests filed with GAO increased 4.2% to 2,456 in FY2023.
24
Sustainment-to-development spending ratio was 65:35 in DoD FY2023.
25
Federal spending on agile software development rose 12.6% in FY2023.
Interpretation
Procurement Trends Interpretation
In the Procurement Trends category, competition and commercial purchasing continued to grow in FY2023 as fully competed actions rose to 42% from 39% and commercial item acquisitions reached 28.5% of total dollars.
03 · Category
Small Business Participation25 stats
01
In FY2023, small businesses received 26.8% of prime contract dollars, totaling $212.4 billion.
02
Small disadvantaged businesses (SDB) captured 10.2% of federal contract awards in FY2023, worth $80.7 billion.
03
Women-owned small businesses (WOSB) achieved 5.4% of prime contracts in FY2023, amounting to $42.8 billion.
04
HUBZone-certified small businesses received 3.1% of federal dollars in FY2023, or $24.5 billion.
05
Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB) got 4.8% in FY2023, totaling $38 billion.
06
In FY2023, DoD small business goaling was met at 23.1% of eligible contracts.
07
GSA awarded 45.2% of its prime contract dollars to small businesses in FY2023.
08
NASA achieved 32.7% small business participation in FY2023 contracts.
09
Number of small business prime contractors grew to 112,400 in FY2023.
10
Small businesses won 78.5% of contracts by number (but lower by value) in FY2023.
11
8(a) program participants received $28.6 billion in FY2023, up 4.5% from prior year.
12
Mentor-Protégé program facilitated $1.2 billion in small business subcontracts in FY2023.
13
Small business set-asides accounted for 67.3% of all small business awards in FY2023.
14
WOSB set-asides awarded $12.4 billion in FY2023.
15
HUBZone sole-source awards totaled $3.7 billion in FY2023.
16
SDVOSB joint ventures received $4.1 billion in FY2023.
17
Small business R&D contracts reached $15.9 billion in FY2023 via SBIR/STTR programs.
18
DoD's small business subcontracting goals were exceeded by 12 firms in FY2023.
19
Civilian agencies' small business goaling rate was 24.6% in FY2023.
20
Number of HUBZone firms grew 8.2% to 7,200 in FY2023.
21
Federal contract awards to small businesses in IT sector hit $32.1 billion in FY2023.
22
Small businesses in construction received $18.4 billion in FY2023.
23
8(a) graduates continued to win $9.2 billion post-program in FY2023.
24
Small business participation in GWACs reached 41% in FY2023.
25
Federal awards to small businesses via IDIQs totaled $112.7 billion in FY2023.
Interpretation
Small Business Participation Interpretation
In FY2023, small businesses took 26.8% of prime contract dollars totaling $212.4 billion, showing strong overall participation while specialized groups like SDB at 10.2% and WOSB at 5.4% further demonstrate how that participation is distributed within the Small Business Participation landscape.
More related reading
04 · Category
Top Contractors And Awards25 stats
01
Lockheed Martin was the top federal contractor in FY2023, receiving $69.1 billion in awards.
02
Boeing secured $33.2 billion in federal contracts in FY2023, primarily aircraft-related.
03
General Dynamics received $24.8 billion in DoD contracts in FY2023 for shipbuilding.
04
Raytheon Technologies (RTX) was awarded $22.4 billion in missile defense contracts in FY2023.
05
Northrop Grumman obtained $17.9 billion in federal awards in FY2023, focused on aeronautics.
06
Leidos Holdings won $13.6 billion in IT and health contracts in FY2023.
07
Huntington Ingalls Industries received $11.2 billion for naval ship construction in FY2023.
08
Deloitte Consulting secured $9.7 billion in civilian agency contracts in FY2023.
09
Booz Allen Hamilton was awarded $8.4 billion, mainly in intelligence services in FY2023.
10
L3Harris Technologies received $7.9 billion in communications contracts in FY2023.
11
SAIC (Science Applications International Corp) got $7.2 billion in engineering awards in FY2023.
12
Fluor Corporation secured $6.8 billion in construction contracts in FY2023.
13
ManTech International received $5.3 billion in cybersecurity contracts in FY2023.
14
CACI International won $4.9 billion in IT support contracts in FY2023.
15
Jacobs Engineering Group was awarded $4.6 billion for infrastructure in FY2023.
16
Accenture Federal Services secured $4.2 billion in digital transformation contracts in FY2023.
17
BAE Systems received $3.8 billion in electronics contracts in FY2023.
18
KBR Inc. won $3.5 billion in logistics support awards in FY2023.
19
Parsons Corporation secured $3.1 billion in engineering services in FY2023.
20
Peraton Labs received $2.9 billion in mission services contracts in FY2023.
21
Amentum Services won $2.7 billion in O&M contracts in FY2023.
22
IBM Corporation was awarded $2.4 billion in cloud computing contracts in FY2023.
23
Oracle America Inc. secured $2.1 billion in software licenses in FY2023.
24
Microsoft Corporation received $1.9 billion in federal software and services in FY2023.
25
General Electric received $1.7 billion in aviation contracts in FY2023.
Interpretation
Top Contractors And Awards Interpretation
In the Top Contractors And Awards landscape, Lockheed Martin led FY2023 with $69.1 billion in federal awards, far ahead of Boeing’s $33.2 billion and highlighting how a small number of major primes captured the largest shares of contract dollars.
05 · Category
Trends And Future Outlook19 stats
01
In FY2024 projections, federal contracting market expected to grow 2.5% to $812 billion.
02
DoD contracting forecasted at $510 billion in FY2024, driven by modernization.
03
IT contracting projected to reach $118 billion in FY2024, up 12%.
04
Cybersecurity market in federal contracts expected to grow 15.3% to $22.1 billion in FY2024.
05
Cloud services spending forecasted at $18.9 billion in FY2024, CAGR 21%.
06
Small business participation projected to hit 28.2% in FY2024.
07
AI/ML federal investments to exceed $5.2 billion by FY2025.
08
Federal R&D contracting expected to rise 4.8% to $72.3 billion in FY2024.
09
Infrastructure contracts from IIJA to total $550 billion over 5 years through 2026.
10
Hypersonics and space domain awareness contracts to grow 25% annually to 2028.
11
Federal healthcare IT spending projected at $12.4 billion in FY2024.
12
OTA usage expected to double to $36 billion by FY2025.
13
Digital engineering adoption to reduce acquisition timelines by 30% by FY2027.
14
Federal electric vehicle procurement to reach 650,000 units by 2032.
15
Software modernization initiatives to allocate $8.7 billion in FY2024.
16
Quantum computing R&D contracts forecasted at $1.2 billion in FY2024.
17
Supply chain resilience contracts to surge 18% to $45.6 billion in FY2024.
18
Federal 5G deployments expected to cost $4.3 billion through FY2026.
19
Climate resilience and sustainability contracts projected at $28 billion annually by 2025.
Interpretation
Trends And Future Outlook Interpretation
Federal contracting is on a steady growth path, with the market projected to reach $812 billion in FY2024 as modernization drives $510 billion in DoD spend and technology categories surge, including IT at $118 billion, cybersecurity growing 15.3% to $22.1 billion, and cloud services forecasted at $18.9 billion.
report visual · Breakdown
Federal Contracting: Scale and Share in FY2023
FY2023 federal contracting showed broad expansion overall, with IT representing a significant share of total dollars.
32.7%
NASA achieved 32.7% small business participation in FY2023 contracts.
67.3%
Small business set-asides accounted for 67.3% of all small business awards in FY2023.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Alexander Schmidt. (2026, February 13). Federal Government Contracting Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/federal-government-contracting-industry-statistics
MLA
Alexander Schmidt. "Federal Government Contracting Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/federal-government-contracting-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Alexander Schmidt. 2026. "Federal Government Contracting Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/federal-government-contracting-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
21 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level