Federal award data, Department of Defense
Department of Defense Education Activity: contract awards and competition
What does the Department of Defense Education Activity buy, and how many bids do its contracts get?
The Department of Defense Education Activity signed 4,645 new contract awards of $25,000 or more in FY2016-FY2026, worth $3B. 90% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 3 offers; 25% got a single offer. Its most common NAICS code was 485410 (School and Employee Bus Transportation), with 1,080 awards.
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 4,645
- Obligated
- $3B
- Median award
- $132,221
- Median offers
- 3
- Agencies signed about 436 new awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 440 of them in FY2025 (down 12% from FY2016).
- The median award was $132,221; 785 different companies won at least one award.
- 37% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 120 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 Defense Education Activity 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 | 498 | $295M |
| FY2017 | 402 | $202M |
| FY2018 | 432 | $261M |
| FY2019 | 411 | $338M |
| FY2020 | 374 | $388M |
| FY2021 | 375 | $224M |
| FY2022 | 453 | $303M |
| FY2023 | 475 | $233M |
| FY2024 | 498 | $238M |
| FY2025 | 440 | $246M |
| FY2026* | 287 | $240M |
* 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?
90% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 25% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 449 (25%) |
| 2 | 447 (25%) |
| 3-4 | 546 (30%) |
| 5-9 | 336 (18%) |
| 10+ | 43 (2%) |
1,821 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 460 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
37% of the 1,799 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 1,137 (63%) |
| Small business | 556 (31%) |
| 8(a) | 78 (4%) |
| HUBZone | 18 (1%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 5 (0%) |
| Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) | 5 (0%) |
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 $132,221. 42% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 1,971 (42%) |
| $100K-$1M | 2,129 (46%) |
| $1M-$10M | 505 (11%) |
| $10M+ | 40 (1%) |
What does it buy?
The NAICS codes with the most new awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| 485410 School and Employee Bus Transportation | 1,080 | $708M |
| 561210 Facilities Support Services | 519 | $386M |
| 611710 Educational Support Services | 453 | $145M |
| 511130 Book Publishers | 275 | $117M |
| 541519 Other Computer Related Services | 274 | $339M |
| 811310 Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic) Repair and Maintenance | 143 | $53.4M |
| 511210 Software Publishers | 117 | $77.7M |
| 561510 Travel Agencies | 95 | $4.6M |
Where is the work done?
Awards by place of performance.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 793 | $506M |
| Georgia | 174 | $241M |
| Minnesota | 131 | $25.7M |
| Massachusetts | 128 | $195M |
| North Carolina | 111 | $63.6M |
| California | 109 | $37.4M |
| New York | 108 | $131M |
| Kentucky | 91 | $99.4M |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- BaseDepartment of Defense Education Activity, FY2020$85.7M
- Europe east west custodial and groundsDepartment of Defense Education Activity, FY2019$63.2M
- Education program as dover air force baseDepartment of Defense Education Activity, FY2020$53.3M
- Education services - west point, nyDepartment of Defense Education Activity, FY2016$36.5M
- Laptop b (fte)Department of Defense Education Activity, FY2022$32.1M
Coming up for re-bid
120 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 Defense Education Activity contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 1,821 awards with an offer count). 25% got a single offer and 21% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
What does the Department of Defense Education Activity buy most?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: NAICS 485410 School and Employee Bus Transportation (1,080), NAICS 561210 Facilities Support Services (519), NAICS 611710 Educational Support Services (453), NAICS 511130 Book Publishers (275).
How many Department of Defense Education Activity contracts are set aside for small business?
37% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 31%, 8(a) 4%, HUBZone 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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