Where U.S. federal contract money goes, and why so much of it lands in September
1 official source (USAspending.gov) · Data through 11 Oct 2026 · Human reviewed
In 30 seconds
10 of the largest federal agencies committed $735.9 billion on contracts in fiscal year 2025, up 7% on 2024. 37% of it came in the last three months of the year.
In 3 minutes
In fiscal year 2025 (October 2024 to September 2025), 10 of the federal agencies that buy the most through contracts committed a combined $735.9 billion on them. That is up 7% on fiscal year 2024, when the same agencies committed $686.2 billion.
One agency dominates. The Department of Defense accounted for 67% of the 2025 total, $491.8 billion. The other 9 agencies together accounted for the rest.
The money is not spread evenly through the year. If agencies signed contracts at a steady pace, each quarter would hold about a quarter of the year's total. Instead, the last quarter (July to September) held 37% of fiscal year 2025 contract obligations, $272.5 billion, and 35% in 2024. Much of the money agencies receive each year can only be committed until the fiscal year ends on 30 September, so many finish their buying in the final weeks.
For businesses that sell to the federal government, that timing matters: a large part of each year's contract money is committed in a few months.
By agency, fiscal years 2024 and 2025
| Agency | FY2024 ($ bn) | FY2025 ($ bn) | Change | Share of FY2025 total | Share signed July–September 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | 445.8 | 491.8 | up 10% | 67% | 36% |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 66.9 | 78.3 | up 17% | 11% | 39% |
| Department of Energy | 46.0 | 48.5 | up 5% | 7% | 21% |
| Department of Homeland Security | 23.6 | 28.3 | up 20% | 4% | 56% |
| General Services Administration | 26.5 | 23.8 | down 10% | 3% | 37% |
| Department of Health and Human Services | 29.9 | 21.3 | down 29% | 3% | 49% |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | 15.0 | 15.8 | up 5% | 2% | 42% |
| Department of State | 11.7 | 9.8 | down 16% | 1% | 48% |
| Department of Agriculture | 11.6 | 9.6 | down 17% | 1% | 43% |
| Department of Justice | 9.3 | 8.6 | down 8% | 1% | 36% |
By quarter, all 10 agencies
| Fiscal year | October–December ($ bn) | January–March ($ bn) | April–June ($ bn) | July–September ($ bn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 135.0 | 125.5 | 183.5 | 242.2 |
| 2025 | 148.3 | 145.2 | 169.8 | 272.5 |
What this shows and what it does not
- These are contract obligations, the amounts agencies legally commit when they sign or change a contract. They are not payments, and they are not each agency's total spending.
- Only 10 agencies are covered, chosen because they award the most through contracts. Other agencies are not included.
- Amounts are net of de-obligations, so a quarter's figure can be lower than the value of new contracts signed in it.
Source
Source: USAspending.gov, U.S. Department of the Treasury. Quarterly contract obligations from USAspending.gov, retrieved 2026-10-11.
Deep dive
Read with care
- Figures are contract obligations: the amounts agencies legally committed when they signed or changed contracts. They are not payments (outlays) and not total agency spending.
- Only prime contract award types A to D are counted: definitive contracts, purchase orders, delivery and task orders, and blanket purchase agreement calls. Grants, loans and subcontracts are excluded.
- Each amount is credited to the agency that awarded the contract, which is not always the agency that paid for it.
- Quarterly totals include de-obligations (negative changes), so a quarter can be smaller than the new work signed in it.
- Only the ten listed agencies are covered; they are not the whole federal government.
- Agencies keep correcting their data, so later downloads of the same quarters can differ slightly.
- The figures come from the data snapshot of 2026-10-11. Later changes in the source data are not included.
Show me the evidence
- Sources used
- 1 (USAspending.gov)
- Data through
- 11 Oct 2026
- Figures checked
- 6, each recomputed from the data before publication
- USAspending.gov, published by the U.S. Department of the Treasury: www.usaspending.gov
How the figures were produced: methodology. All sources: sources.