Rankings
Top federal agencies by spending: FY2022
FY2022 · complete year · data as of 2026-07-11
≈ computed · obligations
Department of Health and Human Services obligated $1.7T in FY2022, 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. FY2020 to FY2026 are loaded. Rank vs FY2021 is each name's change in position from FY2021; a dash means the name was not in FY2021's data.
Quick findings
Computed- The top 10 account for 94% of the $4.6T combined total of all 78 agencies listed.
- Election Assistance Commission rose the most, from #76 in FY2021 to #48 in FY2022.
- Small Business Administration fell the most among those listed, from #5 in FY2021 to #15 in FY2022.
| Rank | Name | FY2022 | FY2021 | Change | Rank vs FY2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Department of Health and Human Services645 recipients | $1.7T | $1.7T | +3% | same |
| 02 | Social Security Administration80 recipients | $1.3T | $1.2T | +7% | same |
| 03 | Department of Defense662 recipients | $424.5B | $395.3B | +7% | ▲ 1 |
| 04 | Department of Veterans Affairs205 recipients | $290.7B | $254.2B | +14% | ▲ 3 |
| 05 | Department of Agriculture375 recipients | $234.8B | $224.8B | +4% | ▲ 3 |
| 06 | Department of Transportation289 recipients | $129.3B | $108.1B | +20% | ▲ 3 |
| 07 | Department of Education289 recipients | $99B | $313.1B | −68% | ▼ 1 |
| 08 | Department of Homeland Security352 recipients | $62.2B | $65.9B | −6% | ▲ 3 |
| 09 | Department of Housing and Urban Development146 recipients | $54.9B | $83.1B | −34% | ▲ 1 |
| 10 | Department of Energy229 recipients | $47.5B | $42.4B | +12% | ▲ 2 |
| 11 | Agency for International Development90 recipients | $36.1B | $23.3B | +55% | ▲ 2 |
| 12 | Department of the Treasury166 recipients | $30.1B | $450.1B | −93% | ▼ 9 |
| 13 | Department of State153 recipients | $23.3B | $20.3B | +15% | ▲ 2 |
| 14 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration217 recipients | $21.3B | $20.4B | +4% | same |
| 15 | Small Business Administration37 recipients | $21.2B | $334.1B | −94% | ▼ 10 |
| 16 | General Services Administration236 recipients | $21.2B | $18.3B | +16% | same |
| 17 | Federal Communications Commission70 recipients | $21B | $7.8B | +170% | ▲ 5 |
| 18 | Department of Justice285 recipients | $15.5B | $12.6B | +23% | ▲ 2 |
| 19 | Department of the Interior246 recipients | $14.7B | $13.6B | +8% | ▼ 1 |
| 20 | Railroad Retirement Board4 recipients | $13.6B | $13.5B | +1% | ▼ 1 |
| 21 | Department of Labor108 recipients | $11.5B | $16.9B | −32% | ▼ 4 |
| 22 | Department of Commerce234 recipients | $10.9B | $7.6B | +44% | ▲ 1 |
| 23 | Environmental Protection Agency151 recipients | $9.5B | $6.1B | +55% | ▲ 1 |
| 24 | National Science Foundation153 recipients | $8.8B | $8.4B | +5% | ▼ 3 |
| 25 | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation23 recipients | $8.2B | $605.5M | — | ▲ 4 |
| 26 | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation6 recipients | $971.1M | $2B | −53% | ▼ 1 |
| 27 | Corporation for National and Community Service30 recipients | $947.7M | $934.5M | +1% | same |
| 28 | Securities and Exchange Commission12 recipients | $558.6M | $550M | +2% | ▲ 2 |
| 29 | U.S. Agency for Global Media5 recipients | $490.2M | $631.7M | −22% | ▼ 1 |
| 30 | Office of Personnel Management7 recipients | $460.7M | $471.3M | −2% | ▲ 1 |
| 31 | Smithsonian Institution0 recipients | $396.4M | $402.3M | −1% | ▲ 2 |
| 32 | Executive Office of the President16 recipients | $329.3M | $361.3M | −9% | ▲ 2 |
| 33 | Millennium Challenge Corporation8 recipients | $315.4M | $962.7M | −67% | ▼ 7 |
| 34 | Institute of Museum and Library Services17 recipients | $272.1M | $432.2M | −37% | ▼ 2 |
| 35 | National Endowment for the Arts10 recipients | $225.2M | $188M | +20% | ▲ 1 |
| 36 | National Archives and Records Administration9 recipients | $205.6M | $177.6M | +16% | ▲ 2 |
| 37 | National Endowment for the Humanities21 recipients | $196.8M | $214.2M | −8% | ▼ 2 |
| 38 | Appalachian Regional Commission6 recipients | $194.8M | $26.8M | +628% | ▲ 13 |
| 39 | Nuclear Regulatory Commission15 recipients | $185.1M | $181.3M | +2% | ▼ 2 |
| 40 | Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council1 recipient | $149.4M | $97.2M | +54% | ▲ 2 |
| 41 | Peace Corps5 recipients | $146.1M | $109.7M | +33% | ▼ 1 |
| 42 | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau11 recipients | $125M | $118.1M | +6% | ▼ 3 |
| 43 | Government Accountability Office4 recipients | $101.6M | $108.8M | −7% | ▼ 2 |
| 44 | Federal Trade Commission2 recipients | $90.2M | $83.8M | +8% | ▼ 1 |
| 45 | Commodity Futures Trading Commission7 recipients | $82.6M | $77.5M | +7% | ▼ 1 |
| 46 | National Gallery of Art0 recipients | $74.3M | $37.1M | +100% | ▲ 2 |
| 47 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission9 recipients | $62.5M | $62.1M | +1% | ▼ 2 |
| 48 | Election Assistance Commission1 recipient | $54.7M | $0 | — | ▲ 28 |
| 49 | Consumer Product Safety Commission38 recipients | $48.9M | $41.9M | +17% | ▼ 3 |
| 50 | Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency3 recipients | $47.3M | $37.6M | +26% | ▼ 3 |
| 51 | District of Columbia Courts3 recipients | $40.4M | $31.2M | +30% | ▼ 2 |
| 52 | Delta Regional Authority0 recipients | $35.6M | $5.5M | +545% | ▲ 8 |
| 53 | Inter-American Foundation0 recipients | $26.5M | $30.3M | −12% | ▼ 3 |
| 54 | National Labor Relations Board0 recipients | $24.1M | $18.5M | +30% | ▼ 1 |
| 55 | Denali Commission4 recipients | $20.9M | $14.6M | +43% | ▲ 1 |
| 56 | United States Trade and Development Agency1 recipient | $19.2M | $18.2M | +6% | ▼ 2 |
| 57 | Export-Import Bank of the United States1 recipient | $16.7M | $18.7M | −11% | ▼ 5 |
| 58 | International Trade Commission3 recipients | $14.8M | $13.6M | +9% | ▼ 1 |
| 59 | Federal Election Commission0 recipients | $13.6M | $11.9M | +14% | ▼ 1 |
| 60 | National Transportation Safety Board5 recipients | $12.8M | $16.2M | −21% | ▼ 5 |
| 61 | Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board0 recipients | $7.5M | $6.5M | +15% | ▼ 2 |
| 62 | Selective Service System0 recipients | $5.3M | $5.4M | −2% | ▼ 1 |
| 63 | Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service1 recipient | $4.9M | $4.4M | +12% | ▼ 1 |
| 64 | Federal Maritime Commission1 recipient | $4.9M | $3.5M | +40% | ▲ 1 |
| 65 | Merit Systems Protection Board1 recipient | $3.9M | $3.9M | −1% | ▼ 2 |
| 66 | Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency0 recipients | $3M | $1.6M | +90% | ▲ 3 |
| 67 | Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled0 recipients | $2.1M | $3.1M | −34% | ▼ 1 |
| 68 | Federal Labor Relations Authority1 recipient | $1.7M | $2.2M | −21% | same |
| 69 | Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $1.7M | $3.9M | −57% | ▼ 5 |
| 70 | National Credit Union Administration0 recipients | $1.3M | $1.3M | −1% | same |
| 71 | Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $1.2M | $993.4K | — | same |
| 72 | Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation0 recipients | $1.1M | $220.9K | — | ▲ 1 |
| 73 | United States Chemical Safety Board0 recipients | $1M | — | — | — |
| 74 | Federal Housing Finance Agency0 recipients | $992.1K | $982.5K | — | ▼ 2 |
| 75 | United States Institute of Peace0 recipients | $961.5K | — | — | — |
| 76 | Administrative Conference of the U.S.0 recipients | $154.8K | $194.6K | — | ▼ 2 |
| 77 | John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts0 recipients | $0 | $2.7M | −100% | ▼ 10 |
| 78 | Library of Congress0 recipients | $0 | $0 | — | ▼ 1 |
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 FY2022?
- Department of Health and Human Services, with $1.7T obligated in FY2022, ahead of Social Security Administration at $1.3T.
- 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 FY2022. TheFiscalFinder does the ranking; the underlying figures are the government's own.
- How many agencies are shown?
- The top 78 for FY2022. 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 FY2022, computed from public records. It is not an allegation about anyone on it.
Related rankings
Why the labels? The graph is only worth anything if the links are trusted. Facts taken straight from a federal filing are Source; figures we calculate are Computed; links we infer (corporate parents, districts, similar contractors, 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.