Rankings
Top federal agencies by spending: FY2023
FY2023 · complete year · data as of 2026-07-03
≈ computed · obligations
Department of Health and Human Services obligated $1.8T in FY2023, 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 FY2022 is each name's change in position from FY2022; a dash means the name was not in FY2022's data.
Quick findings
Computed- The top 10 account for 94% of the $4.8T combined total of all 77 agencies listed.
- John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts rose the most, from #77 in FY2022 to #60 in FY2023.
- Small Business Administration fell the most among those listed, from #15 in FY2022 to #50 in FY2023.
| Rank | Name | FY2023 | FY2022 | Change | Rank vs FY2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Department of Health and Human Services571 recipients | $1.8T | $1.7T | +6% | same |
| 02 | Social Security Administration76 recipients | $1.4T | $1.3T | +11% | same |
| 03 | Department of Defense630 recipients | $467.2B | $424.5B | +10% | same |
| 04 | Department of Veterans Affairs169 recipients | $256.9B | $290.7B | −12% | same |
| 05 | Department of Agriculture348 recipients | $206.7B | $234.8B | −12% | same |
| 06 | Department of Transportation262 recipients | $112.2B | $129.3B | −13% | same |
| 07 | Department of Education248 recipients | $86.8B | $99B | −12% | same |
| 08 | Department of Housing and Urban Development151 recipients | $73B | $54.9B | +33% | ▲ 1 |
| 09 | Department of Homeland Security350 recipients | $61.3B | $62.2B | −1% | ▼ 1 |
| 10 | Department of Energy240 recipients | $56B | $47.5B | +18% | same |
| 11 | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation19 recipients | $46.4B | $8.2B | +468% | ▲ 14 |
| 12 | Agency for International Development87 recipients | $38B | $36.1B | +5% | ▼ 1 |
| 13 | General Services Administration219 recipients | $24.4B | $21.2B | +15% | ▲ 3 |
| 14 | Department of State135 recipients | $23.9B | $23.3B | +2% | ▼ 1 |
| 15 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration214 recipients | $22.2B | $21.3B | +4% | ▼ 1 |
| 16 | Department of the Interior240 recipients | $18.5B | $14.7B | +26% | ▲ 3 |
| 17 | Department of Justice254 recipients | $16.1B | $15.5B | +4% | ▲ 1 |
| 18 | Environmental Protection Agency166 recipients | $15.6B | $9.5B | +65% | ▲ 5 |
| 19 | Railroad Retirement Board4 recipients | $14.2B | $13.6B | +4% | ▲ 1 |
| 20 | Federal Communications Commission52 recipients | $13.3B | $21B | −37% | ▼ 3 |
| 21 | Department of the Treasury114 recipients | $13.1B | $30.1B | −57% | ▼ 9 |
| 22 | Department of Labor104 recipients | $11.7B | $11.5B | +1% | ▼ 1 |
| 23 | Department of Commerce212 recipients | $10.7B | $10.9B | −2% | ▼ 1 |
| 24 | National Science Foundation143 recipients | $9.1B | $8.8B | +3% | same |
| 25 | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation8 recipients | $1.4B | $971.1M | +41% | ▲ 1 |
| 26 | Corporation for National and Community Service28 recipients | $1.1B | $947.7M | +11% | ▲ 1 |
| 27 | Securities and Exchange Commission12 recipients | $701.8M | $558.6M | +26% | ▲ 1 |
| 28 | Millennium Challenge Corporation7 recipients | $670.3M | $315.4M | +112% | ▲ 5 |
| 29 | U.S. Agency for Global Media3 recipients | $515.5M | $490.2M | +5% | same |
| 30 | Office of Personnel Management12 recipients | $496.4M | $460.7M | +8% | same |
| 31 | Smithsonian Institution0 recipients | $493.4M | $396.4M | +24% | same |
| 32 | Executive Office of the President14 recipients | $380.6M | $329.3M | +16% | same |
| 33 | Institute of Museum and Library Services17 recipients | $280.6M | $272.1M | +3% | ▲ 1 |
| 34 | National Archives and Records Administration11 recipients | $274.5M | $205.6M | +33% | ▲ 2 |
| 35 | Appalachian Regional Commission5 recipients | $273.8M | $194.8M | +41% | ▲ 3 |
| 36 | Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council4 recipients | $219.2M | $149.4M | +47% | ▲ 4 |
| 37 | Nuclear Regulatory Commission8 recipients | $199.4M | $185.1M | +8% | ▲ 2 |
| 38 | National Endowment for the Humanities18 recipients | $167.8M | $196.8M | −15% | ▼ 1 |
| 39 | National Endowment for the Arts6 recipients | $162.2M | $225.2M | −28% | ▼ 4 |
| 40 | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau9 recipients | $148.6M | $125M | +19% | ▲ 2 |
| 41 | Government Accountability Office4 recipients | $132M | $101.6M | +30% | ▲ 2 |
| 42 | Peace Corps3 recipients | $126.9M | $146.1M | −13% | ▼ 1 |
| 43 | Federal Trade Commission2 recipients | $112.5M | $90.2M | +25% | ▲ 1 |
| 44 | Commodity Futures Trading Commission1 recipient | $87.5M | $82.6M | +6% | ▲ 1 |
| 45 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission6 recipients | $63.6M | $62.5M | +2% | ▲ 2 |
| 46 | Election Assistance Commission1 recipient | $61.5M | $54.7M | +12% | ▲ 2 |
| 47 | National Gallery of Art0 recipients | $57.1M | $74.3M | −23% | ▼ 1 |
| 48 | Consumer Product Safety Commission28 recipients | $55.2M | $48.9M | +13% | ▲ 1 |
| 49 | Denali Commission4 recipients | $46.9M | $20.9M | +124% | ▲ 6 |
| 50 | Small Business Administration25 recipients | $46.6M | $21.2B | −100% | ▼ 35 |
| 51 | District of Columbia Courts2 recipients | $36.9M | $40.4M | −9% | same |
| 52 | National Labor Relations Board0 recipients | $30.7M | $24.1M | +28% | ▲ 2 |
| 53 | Inter-American Foundation0 recipients | $30.5M | $26.5M | +15% | same |
| 54 | Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency6 recipients | $29.4M | $47.3M | −38% | ▼ 4 |
| 55 | United States Trade and Development Agency0 recipients | $25.8M | $19.2M | +35% | ▲ 1 |
| 56 | Delta Regional Authority0 recipients | $18.4M | $35.6M | −48% | ▼ 4 |
| 57 | National Transportation Safety Board2 recipients | $17.9M | $12.8M | +40% | ▲ 3 |
| 58 | Federal Election Commission1 recipient | $17.5M | $13.6M | +29% | ▲ 1 |
| 59 | International Trade Commission1 recipient | $15.7M | $14.8M | +6% | ▼ 1 |
| 60 | John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts0 recipients | $8.7M | $0 | — | ▲ 17 |
| 61 | Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service0 recipients | $7.9M | $4.9M | +62% | ▲ 2 |
| 62 | Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board0 recipients | $6.8M | $7.5M | −9% | ▼ 1 |
| 63 | Selective Service System0 recipients | $6.8M | $5.3M | +29% | ▼ 1 |
| 64 | Merit Systems Protection Board1 recipient | $4.9M | $3.9M | +27% | ▲ 1 |
| 65 | Federal Maritime Commission1 recipient | $4.4M | $4.9M | −9% | ▼ 1 |
| 66 | Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled0 recipients | $4.1M | $2.1M | +97% | ▲ 1 |
| 67 | Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency0 recipients | $2.8M | $3M | −5% | ▼ 1 |
| 68 | National Credit Union Administration0 recipients | $2.7M | $1.3M | +109% | ▲ 2 |
| 69 | Federal Labor Relations Authority0 recipients | $2.5M | $1.7M | +44% | ▼ 1 |
| 70 | United States Chemical Safety Board0 recipients | $2.4M | $1M | +132% | ▲ 3 |
| 71 | Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $1.8M | $1.2M | +45% | same |
| 72 | Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation1 recipient | $1.8M | $1.1M | +60% | same |
| 73 | Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $859.9K | $1.7M | −48% | ▼ 4 |
| 74 | Federal Housing Finance Agency0 recipients | $723.1K | $992.1K | — | same |
| 75 | Administrative Conference of the U.S.0 recipients | $93.3K | $154.8K | — | ▲ 1 |
| 76 | Library of Congress0 recipients | $87K | $0 | — | ▲ 2 |
| 77 | Export-Import Bank of the United States1 recipient | $0 | $16.7M | −100% | ▼ 20 |
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 FY2023?
- Department of Health and Human Services, with $1.8T obligated in FY2023, ahead of Social Security Administration at $1.4T.
- 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 FY2023. TheFiscalFinder does the ranking; the underlying figures are the government's own.
- How many agencies are shown?
- The top 77 for FY2023. 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 FY2023, 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.