Federal award data
Federal contracts in California: award statistics
How many federal contracts are performed in California?
Federal agencies signed 461,983 new contract awards of $25,000 or more for work performed in California in FY2016-FY2026, worth $532B. 78% were competed, and competed awards drew a median of 3 offers; 30% got a single offer. The most common NAICS code was 325411 (Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing).
USAspending.gov data, FY2016-FY2026. Updated .
- New awards
- 461,983
- Obligated
- $532B
- Median award
- $78,000
- Median offers
- 3
- Agencies signed about 43,163 new awards in California a year from FY2016 to FY2025, 36,584 of them in FY2025 (down 30% from FY2016).
- The median award was $78,000; 27,067 different companies won at least one award.
- 31% of awards that report a set-aside were set aside for small businesses or a socioeconomic program, most often small business set-asides.
- 16,592 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 awards in California 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 | 52,092 | $75.6B |
| FY2017 | 52,420 | $39B |
| FY2018 | 52,411 | $67.8B |
| FY2019 | 49,504 | $63.7B |
| FY2020 | 38,507 | $47.3B |
| FY2021 | 36,151 | $44B |
| FY2022 | 36,341 | $40.2B |
| FY2023 | 38,247 | $41.4B |
| FY2024 | 39,370 | $44.6B |
| FY2025 | 36,584 | $42.5B |
| FY2026* | 30,356 | $26B |
* 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?
78% of awards were competed. Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers, against 3 offers across all federal contracts; 30% got a single offer.
| Offers received | Competed awards |
|---|---|
| 1 (single offer) | 68,218 (30%) |
| 2 | 32,112 (14%) |
| 3-4 | 55,730 (25%) |
| 5-9 | 39,536 (18%) |
| 10+ | 28,775 (13%) |
224,371 competed awards with an offer count. Not competed: 103,611 awards (sole source, follow-on or not available for competition).
Set-asides
31% of the 241,072 awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program.
| Set-aside | Awards |
|---|---|
| No set-aside | 165,786 (69%) |
| Small business | 59,610 (25%) |
| 8(a) | 6,600 (3%) |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | 6,518 (3%) |
| HUBZone | 1,368 (1%) |
| Women-owned (WOSB and EDWOSB) | 862 (0%) |
| Indian Economic Enterprises (ISBEE) | 207 (0%) |
| Veteran-owned (VA VOSB) | 121 (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 $78,000. 58% were under $100,000, the range where agencies often use simplified acquisition.
| Amount obligated | Awards |
|---|---|
| Under $100K | 265,859 (58%) |
| $100K-$1M | 160,206 (35%) |
| $1M-$10M | 30,536 (7%) |
| $10M+ | 5,382 (1%) |
What do agencies buy in California?
The NAICS codes with the most new awards performed in the state.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| 325411 Medicinal and Botanical Manufacturing | 58,962 | $10.6B |
| 336413 Other Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing | 28,036 | $14.5B |
| 541519 Other Computer Related Services | 17,047 | $8.2B |
| 324110 Petroleum Refineries | 13,739 | $3.7B |
| 115310 Support Activities for Forestry | 13,705 | $2.1B |
| 311812 Commercial Bakeries | 13,226 | $969M |
| 541330 Engineering Services | 13,088 | $34.9B |
| 336111 Automobile Manufacturing | 12,099 | $699M |
Which agencies buy?
The agency components with the most new awards in the state.
| Awards | Obligated | |
|---|---|---|
| Defense Logistics Agency | 180,964 | $33.4B |
| Department of the Navy | 66,297 | $112B |
| Department of Veterans Affairs | 40,294 | $52.9B |
| Department of the Air Force | 24,346 | $94.8B |
| Forest Service | 20,877 | $4.5B |
| Department of the Army | 18,263 | $51.3B |
| Federal Acquisition Service | 16,428 | $9.1B |
| Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisons | 8,483 | $1.8B |
Largest awards
The five awards with the most obligated, as described by the contracting office. Each links to its record on USAspending.gov.
- Managed care support services in support of the tricare programDefense Health Agency, FY2016$23.5B
- Fy19 engineering servicesDepartment of the Air Force, FY2019$8.6B
- Next generation overhead persistent infrared geosynchronous earth orbit space vehicle 1-3 phase 1Department of the Air Force, FY2018$7.5B
- Detail design and construction (dd&c) for t-ao 205Department of the Navy, FY2016$5.9B
- Requirement is for the procurement of performance based logistics support services for the mq-1c gray...Department of the Army, FY2019$3.8B
Coming up for re-bid
16,592 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 federal contracts in California get?
Competed awards drew a median of 3 offers (FY2016-FY2026, 224,371 awards with an offer count). 30% got a single offer and 30% got five or more. Across all federal contracts the median is 3 offers.
Which agencies award the most federal contracts in California?
By number of new awards in FY2016-FY2026: Defense Logistics Agency (39%), Department of the Navy (14%), Department of Veterans Affairs (9%). Agencies that buy often are the ones to watch for recompetes and sources-sought notices.
How many federal contracts in California are set aside for small business?
31% of the awards that report a set-aside were reserved for small businesses or a socioeconomic program: small business set-asides 25%, 8(a) 3%, Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) 3%. 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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