Federal award data
Department of Commerce: contract awards and competition
What does the Department of Commerce buy, and how many bids do its contracts get?
The Department of Commerce signed 44,846 new contract awards of $25,000 or more in FY2016-FY2026, worth $45.3B. 77% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 2 offers; 38% got a single offer. Its most common NAICS code was 541519 (Other Computer Related Services), with 10,767 awards.
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 44,846
- Obligated
- $45.3B
- Median award
- $100,000
- Median offers
- 2
- Agencies signed about 4,122 new awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 3,005 of them in FY2025 (down 33% from FY2016).
- The median award was $100,000; 7,962 different companies won at least one award.
- 53% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 3,232 of these awards reach their potential end date (all options exercised) in the next 12 months, so most of that work comes up for re-bid.
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Awards per fiscal year
New Department of Commerce awards of $25,000 or more by the fiscal year they were signed (October to September), with the amount obligated on them to date.
| Fiscal year | Awards | Obligated |
|---|---|---|
| FY2016 | 4,515 | $5.4B |
| FY2017 | 4,069 | $3.8B |
| FY2018 | 4,331 | $4.6B |
| FY2019 | 4,300 | $4.6B |
| FY2020 | 4,211 | $3.6B |
| FY2021 | 3,959 | $6B |
| FY2022 | 4,062 | $3.5B |
| FY2023 | 4,645 | $4.6B |
| FY2024 | 4,127 | $4.3B |
| FY2025 | 3,005 | $2.3B |
| FY2026* | 3,622 | $2.4B |
* FY2026 is still filling in: the Department of Defense reports its awards 90 days late. Full years run to FY2025.
How competitive are these contracts?
77% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 2 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 38% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 10,370 (38%) |
| 2 | 4,948 (18%) |
| 3-4 | 5,451 (20%) |
| 5-9 | 4,528 (17%) |
| 10+ | 1,803 (7%) |
27,100 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 10,159 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
53% of the 26,625 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 12,481 (47%) |
| Small business | 11,422 (43%) |
| 8(a) | 1,836 (7%) |
| Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) | 352 (1%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 303 (1%) |
| HUBZone | 231 (1%) |
Orders placed under an existing contract vehicle often leave the set-aside blank (it is recorded on the vehicle), so they are left out here.
How big are the awards?
The median award was $100,000. 50% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 22,409 (50%) |
| $100K-$1M | 17,029 (38%) |
| $1M-$10M | 4,831 (11%) |
| $10M+ | 577 (1%) |
What does it buy?
The NAICS codes with the most new awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| 541519 Other Computer Related Services | 10,767 | $7.3B |
| 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing | 2,312 | $383M |
| 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services | 1,792 | $2.5B |
| 541512 Computer Systems Design Services | 1,358 | $8.7B |
| 334111 Electronic Computer Manufacturing | 1,344 | $576M |
| 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 1,343 | $1.3B |
| 541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services | 1,323 | $409M |
| 561920 Convention and Trade Show Organizers | 1,208 | $100M |
Which parts of it buy?
The components (sub-agencies) that sign the awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | 19,934 | $18.6B |
| Office of the Secretary | 9,794 | $5.7B |
| National Institute of Standards and Technology | 9,328 | $3.3B |
| U.S. Patent and Trademark Office | 2,896 | $8.9B |
| U.S. Census Bureau | 2,887 | $8.7B |
| National Telecommunications and Information Administration | 3 | $3.1M |
| Department of Commerce | 3 | $2.1M |
| National Technical Information Service | 1 | $38,629 |
Where is the work done?
Awards by place of performance.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 12,400 | $19B |
| District of Columbia | 6,041 | $3.8B |
| Virginia | 5,428 | $8.4B |
| California | 2,320 | $690M |
| Colorado | 2,125 | $1.7B |
| Washington | 1,838 | $898M |
| Florida | 1,141 | $945M |
| Massachusetts | 1,119 | $635M |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- Enterprise solutions framework (esf) for multi-tiered acquisition framework for systems engineering and...U.S. Census Bureau, FY2016$1.5B
- Patent data and document management (pd&dm)U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, FY2021$913M
- 2020 census questionnaire assistance (2020 cqa)U.S. Census Bureau, FY2016$911M
- Engineering services and development leading to the delivery of the jpss common ground system instrument...National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, FY2018$607M
- (no description)U.S. Census Bureau, FY2017$561M
Coming up for re-bid
3,232 of these awards reach their potential end date (every option exercised) in the 12 months after November 5, 2026. Agencies usually post the follow-on solicitation, or a sources-sought notice, months before that.
Falkview US watches SAM.gov for the follow-on notices under your NAICS codes, checks set-aside eligibility against your UEI, and drafts the response for your team to review. For janitorial, landscaping and facilities support, the recompete calendar lists the individual contracts.
See how Falkview handles a re-bidQuestions
How many bids do Department of Commerce contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 2 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 27,100 awards with an offer count). 38% got a single offer and 23% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
What does the Department of Commerce buy most?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: NAICS 541519 Other Computer Related Services (10,767), NAICS 334516 Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (2,312), NAICS 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services (1,792), NAICS 541512 Computer Systems Design Services (1,358).
How many Department of Commerce contracts are set aside for small business?
53% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 43%, 8(a) 7%, Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) 1%. Orders under existing contract vehicles often leave the field blank, so those are not counted.
Where the numbers come from
Every new federal contract award of $25,000 or more signed from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2026 (FY2016 to FY2026), as reported to USAspending.gov from the Federal Procurement Data System: definitive contracts, purchase orders, delivery orders and BPA calls. Amounts are what has been obligated on each award to date, options and modifications included. Place is the place of performance.
Offer counts are FPDS's “number of offers received” on competed awards. Award recipients are counted but not named here. Pages with fewer than 150 awards (500 for one code in one state) are left out of search engines, because a handful of awards can swing the numbers.
Compiled by Falkview US from public data, updated November 5, 2026. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link to the page.
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