TheFiscalFinder

Top federal agencies by spending: FY2020

≈ computed · obligations

Department of Health and Human Services obligated $1.7T in FY2020, more than any other federal agency. Cabinet departments and independent agencies at the top tier, ranked by what they obligated. Sub-agencies roll up into their parent here and are ranked separately. ≈ computed

Ranked from USASpending records, data current as of 2026-07-12. FY2020 to FY2025 are loaded.

  1. 1
    Department of Health and Human Services635 recipients
    $1.7T
  2. 2
    Social Security Administration87 recipients
    $1.1T
  3. 3
    Small Business Administration29 recipients
    $580.4B
  4. 4
    Department of Defense606 recipients
    $431.9B
  5. 5
    Department of Veterans Affairs195 recipients
    $226.7B
  6. 6
    Department of the Treasury285 recipients
    $183.2B
  7. 7
    Department of Agriculture366 recipients
    $168.1B
  8. 8
    Department of Transportation299 recipients
    $112.7B
  9. 9
    Department of Education271 recipients
    $110.3B
  10. 10
    Department of Homeland Security404 recipients
    $92.9B
  11. 11
    Department of Housing and Urban Development185 recipients
    $56.8B
  12. 12
    Department of Energy203 recipients
    $39.7B
  13. 13
    Federal Communications Commission75 recipients
    $33.1B
  14. 14
    Agency for International Development84 recipients
    $21.2B
  15. 15
    National Aeronautics and Space Administration197 recipients
    $20.1B
  16. 16
    Department of State141 recipients
    $18.3B
  17. 17
    General Services Administration205 recipients
    $17.6B
  18. 18
    Department of Labor130 recipients
    $15.2B
  19. 19
    Railroad Retirement Board5 recipients
    $13.5B
  20. 20
    Department of Justice355 recipients
    $13.2B
  21. 21
    Department of the Interior253 recipients
    $11.6B
  22. 22
    Department of Commerce218 recipients
    $9.1B
  23. 23
    National Science Foundation133 recipients
    $8B
  24. 24
    Environmental Protection Agency177 recipients
    $6B
  25. 25
    Election Assistance Commission1 recipient
    $823.9M
  26. 26
    Corporation for National and Community Service49 recipients
    $670.9M
  27. 27
    Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation9 recipients
    $531.7M
  28. 28
    Securities and Exchange Commission17 recipients
    $521.5M
  29. 29
    U.S. Agency for Global Media9 recipients
    $453.7M
  30. 30
    Smithsonian Institution0 recipients
    $410.3M
  31. 31
    U.S. International Development Finance Corporation3 recipients
    $394.5M
  32. 32
    Office of Personnel Management17 recipients
    $358M
  33. 33
    Executive Office of the President21 recipients
    $327.7M
  34. 34
    Institute of Museum and Library Services21 recipients
    $288.9M
  35. 35
    National Endowment for the Arts10 recipients
    $208.9M
  36. 36
    National Endowment for the Humanities16 recipients
    $199.7M
  37. 37
    Nuclear Regulatory Commission8 recipients
    $179.4M
  38. 38
    National Archives and Records Administration11 recipients
    $150.6M
  39. 39
    Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council2 recipients
    $138.9M
  40. 40
    Peace Corps6 recipients
    $126.5M
  41. 41
    Appalachian Regional Commission5 recipients
    $104.3M
  42. 42
    Consumer Financial Protection Bureau9 recipients
    $98.6M
  43. 43
    Government Accountability Office2 recipients
    $85.7M
  44. 44
    Federal Trade Commission5 recipients
    $83.8M
  45. 45
    Commodity Futures Trading Commission5 recipients
    $66.2M
  46. 46
    Equal Employment Opportunity Commission15 recipients
    $64.2M
  47. 47
    National Gallery of Art0 recipients
    $50M
  48. 48
    Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency2 recipients
    $41.1M
  49. 49
    Consumer Product Safety Commission35 recipients
    $34.1M
  50. 50
    Millennium Challenge Corporation7 recipients
    $31.9M
  51. 51
    National Labor Relations Board2 recipients
    $30.5M
  52. 52
    Delta Regional Authority0 recipients
    $27.1M
  53. 53
    United States Trade and Development Agency1 recipient
    $26.8M
  54. 54
    Inter-American Foundation0 recipients
    $26.5M
  55. 55
    Export-Import Bank of the United States6 recipients
    $12.7M
  56. 56
    Federal Election Commission0 recipients
    $11.7M
  57. 57
    National Transportation Safety Board2 recipients
    $10.5M
  58. 58
    International Trade Commission0 recipients
    $10.4M
  59. 59
    Denali Commission4 recipients
    $8.9M
  60. 60
    John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts0 recipients
    $8.7M
  61. 61
    Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency1 recipient
    $7.2M
  62. 62
    Overseas Private Investment Corporation1 recipient
    $7.1M
  63. 63
    Selective Service System0 recipients
    $6.1M
  64. 64
    Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service1 recipient
    $4.2M
  65. 65
    Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board0 recipients
    $3.5M
  66. 66
    Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients
    $3.2M
  67. 67
    Merit Systems Protection Board0 recipients
    $3.1M
  68. 68
    Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled0 recipients
    $2.5M
  69. 69
    Federal Maritime Commission1 recipient
    $2.4M
  70. 70
    Federal Labor Relations Authority0 recipients
    $2.3M
  71. 71
    National Credit Union Administration0 recipients
    $2.1M
  72. 72
    Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients
    $1.5M
  73. 73
    United States Institute of Peace0 recipients
    $1.1M
  74. 74
    Federal Housing Finance Agency0 recipients
    $451.7K
  75. 75
    Administrative Conference of the U.S.0 recipients
    $234K
  76. 76
    Marine Mammal Commission0 recipients
    $62.6K
  77. 77
    United States Chemical Safety Board0 recipients
    $33.8K
  78. 78
    Library of Congress0 recipients
    $0

Obligations are commitments, not outlays: an agency obligates money in the year it awards, which can precede the year the money is actually paid.

Questions

Which federal agency spends the most in FY2020?
Department of Health and Human Services, with $1.7T obligated in FY2020, ahead of Social Security Administration at $1.1T.
Why is the Department of Defense not first?
Because this ranks all obligations, and the health and retirement programs run by HHS and the Social Security Administration move more money than defense procurement does. Ranked by CONTRACT dollars alone, Defense leads by a wide margin.
Where does this ranking come from?
It is computed from USASpending.gov award records, which are U.S. government works and in the public domain. Each figure is the agency's total obligations for FY2020. TheFiscalFinder does the ranking; the underlying figures are the government's own.
How many agencies are shown?
The top 78 for FY2020. Each row opens that agencie's own page, where the same money is broken out by year, by counterparty and by place.
Does a high position mean anything is wrong?
No. This is a description of where public money went in FY2020, computed from public records. It is not an allegation about anyone on it.

Related rankings

Top federal sub-agencies by spendingTop contractors of the Department of StateTop congressional districts by federal spendingTop federal assistance programs
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Why the labels? The graph is only worth anything if the links are trusted. Facts taken straight from a federal filing are ✓ from source; figures we calculate are ≈ computed; links we infer (corporate parents, districts, competitors, connections between records) are ≈ inferred, worded carefully, never asserted as fact and never a claim that one thing caused another. Spot an error? Tell us.