Federal award data
8(a) set-aside contract awards
How many federal contracts are set aside for 8(a)?
Federal agencies recorded 78,657 new awards of $25,000 or more as 8(a) set-asides in FY2016-FY2026, worth $123B: 4% of the awards that report a set-aside. 22% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 3 offers; 27% got a single offer. The most common NAICS code was 236220 (Commercial and Institutional Building Construction).
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 78,657
- Obligated
- $123B
- Median award
- $276,437
- Median offers
- 3
- Agencies signed about 7,694 new 8(a) set-aside awards a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 4,059 of them in FY2025 (down 76% from FY2016).
- The median award was $276,437; 7,624 different companies won at least one award.
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Falkview US watches SAM.gov, checks set-aside eligibility against your UEI and drafts the response. See it on one of your own solicitations in a 30-minute demo.
Awards per fiscal year
New 8(a) set-aside 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 | 16,928 | $14.2B |
| FY2017 | 12,838 | $11.9B |
| FY2018 | 7,346 | $10.3B |
| FY2019 | 6,982 | $10.9B |
| FY2020 | 6,581 | $12.6B |
| FY2021 | 5,778 | $12.1B |
| FY2022 | 5,427 | $13.1B |
| FY2023 | 5,558 | $14B |
| FY2024 | 5,443 | $12.9B |
| FY2025 | 4,059 | $8.1B |
| FY2026* | 1,717 | $3.4B |
* 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?
22% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 27% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 4,654 (27%) |
| 2 | 1,974 (12%) |
| 3-4 | 4,122 (24%) |
| 5-9 | 3,301 (19%) |
| 10+ | 2,886 (17%) |
16,937 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 61,624 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
How big are the awards?
The median award was $276,437. 28% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 21,933 (28%) |
| $100K-$1M | 35,046 (45%) |
| $1M-$10M | 19,730 (25%) |
| $10M+ | 1,948 (2%) |
What is bought this way?
The NAICS codes with the most 8(a) set-aside awards.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| 236220 Commercial and Institutional Building Construction | 16,508 | $15.8B |
| 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services | 4,308 | $10.7B |
| 541512 Computer Systems Design Services | 3,712 | $13.2B |
| 541519 Other Computer Related Services | 3,415 | $9.6B |
| 561210 Facilities Support Services | 3,243 | $8.7B |
| 238220 Plumbing, Heating, and Air-Conditioning Contractors | 2,309 | $1.7B |
| 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 2,271 | $4.1B |
| 541330 Engineering Services | 2,129 | $6.9B |
Which agencies use it most?
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Department of the Army | 19,086 | $32.7B |
| Department of the Navy | 10,406 | $12.6B |
| Department of the Air Force | 8,746 | $13.2B |
| Public Buildings Service | 5,680 | $3B |
| Forest Service | 1,955 | $621M |
| U.S. Customs and Border Protection | 1,899 | $2.7B |
| National Park Service | 1,781 | $1.1B |
| Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | 1,613 | $3.1B |
Where is the work done?
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 9,405 | $22B |
| Maryland | 7,662 | $15.4B |
| California | 6,600 | $7B |
| District of Columbia | 6,591 | $13.3B |
| Texas | 4,502 | $7.4B |
| Florida | 3,691 | $5.1B |
| Georgia | 3,241 | $5.6B |
| Colorado | 2,321 | $3.4B |
Coming up for re-bid
2,993 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 8(a) set-aside contracts get?
Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 16,937 awards with an offer count). 27% got a single offer and 37% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
Which agencies award the most 8(a) set-aside contracts?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: Department of the Army (24%), Department of the Navy (13%), Department of the Air Force (11%). Agencies that buy often are the ones to watch for recompetes and sources-sought notices.
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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