Top federal agencies by spending: FY2025
≈ computed · obligationsFY2025 · complete year · data as of 2026-09-01
Department of Health and Human Services obligated $2T in FY2025, 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 FY2024 is each name's change in position from FY2024; a dash means the name was not in FY2024's data.
Quick findings
Computed- The top 10 account for 95% of the $5.3T combined total of all 77 agencies listed.
- Export-Import Bank of the United States rose the most, from #77 in FY2024 to #55 in FY2025.
- Inter-American Foundation fell the most among those listed, from #55 in FY2024 to #77 in FY2025.
| # | Name | FY2025 | FY2024 | Change | Rank vs FY2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Health and Human Services575 recipients | $2T | $1.9T | +9% | same |
| 2 | Social Security Administration74 recipients | $1.6T | $1.5T | +8% | same |
| 3 | Department of Defense680 recipients | $501.6B | $456.8B | +10% | same |
| 4 | Department of Veterans Affairs181 recipients | $288B | $238.4B | +21% | same |
| 5 | Department of Agriculture370 recipients | $186.9B | $173.2B | +8% | same |
| 6 | Department of Transportation307 recipients | $134.9B | $119.6B | +13% | same |
| 7 | Department of Education267 recipients | $96B | $92.3B | +4% | same |
| 8 | Department of Energy329 recipients | $81.3B | $64.5B | +26% | ▲ 1 |
| 9 | Department of Housing and Urban Development162 recipients | $77.8B | $75.2B | +3% | ▼ 1 |
| 10 | Department of Homeland Security364 recipients | $73.3B | $62.2B | +18% | same |
| 11 | Environmental Protection Agency210 recipients | $27.3B | $46.7B | −42% | same |
| 12 | Department of Commerce239 recipients | $25.1B | $34.7B | −28% | same |
| 13 | General Services Administration236 recipients | $24.3B | $27B | −10% | ▲ 1 |
| 14 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration218 recipients | $22.9B | $21.4B | +7% | ▲ 2 |
| 15 | Department of the Interior267 recipients | $18.6B | $20.6B | −10% | ▲ 2 |
| 16 | Railroad Retirement Board3 recipients | $14.6B | $14.4B | +1% | ▲ 4 |
| 17 | Department of State127 recipients | $14B | $23.6B | −41% | ▼ 2 |
| 18 | Agency for International Development47 recipients | $12.6B | $30.3B | −59% | ▼ 5 |
| 19 | Department of Labor150 recipients | $11.5B | $10.6B | +8% | ▲ 3 |
| 20 | Department of Justice247 recipients | $11.4B | $14.3B | −20% | ▲ 1 |
| 21 | Department of the Treasury113 recipients | $9B | $9.8B | −8% | ▲ 2 |
| 22 | National Science Foundation150 recipients | $8.9B | $8.9B | 0% | ▲ 2 |
| 23 | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation16 recipients | $6.6B | $15B | −56% | ▼ 4 |
| 24 | Federal Communications Commission39 recipients | $6.3B | $15.7B | −60% | ▼ 6 |
| 25 | Small Business Administration22 recipients | $1.1B | $997.5M | +15% | ▲ 2 |
| 26 | Corporation for National and Community Service30 recipients | $700.2M | $831.2M | −16% | ▲ 2 |
| 27 | Securities and Exchange Commission7 recipients | $498.2M | $552.4M | −10% | ▲ 2 |
| 28 | Smithsonian Institution0 recipients | $432.2M | $496.8M | −13% | ▲ 3 |
| 29 | U.S. Agency for Global Media3 recipients | $375.8M | $492.3M | −24% | ▲ 3 |
| 30 | Executive Office of the President11 recipients | $352.7M | $374.7M | −6% | ▲ 3 |
| 31 | Millennium Challenge Corporation2 recipients | $291.4M | $1.6B | −82% | ▼ 5 |
| 32 | Appalachian Regional Commission9 recipients | $269.9M | $278.6M | −3% | ▲ 3 |
| 33 | Institute of Museum and Library Services23 recipients | $257.7M | $280M | −8% | ▲ 1 |
| 34 | National Archives and Records Administration13 recipients | $209.4M | $267.1M | −22% | ▲ 2 |
| 35 | Office of Personnel Management9 recipients | $198.6M | $537.3M | −63% | ▼ 5 |
| 36 | Nuclear Regulatory Commission13 recipients | $184.7M | $216.1M | −15% | ▲ 2 |
| 37 | Denali Commission5 recipients | $177.9M | $60.3M | +195% | ▲ 11 |
| 38 | Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council3 recipients | $174.5M | $234.3M | −26% | ▼ 1 |
| 39 | National Endowment for the Arts12 recipients | $120.2M | $164.5M | −27% | ▲ 2 |
| 40 | Government Accountability Office5 recipients | $117.4M | $126M | −7% | ▲ 2 |
| 41 | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau6 recipients | $116.3M | $188.3M | −38% | ▼ 2 |
| 42 | Federal Trade Commission2 recipients | $93.1M | $105.6M | −12% | ▲ 1 |
| 43 | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation4 recipients | $77.9M | $1.9B | −96% | ▼ 18 |
| 44 | National Endowment for the Humanities15 recipients | $72.9M | $166.3M | −56% | ▼ 4 |
| 45 | Delta Regional Authority0 recipients | $72.9M | $67.4M | +8% | ▲ 2 |
| 46 | Peace Corps4 recipients | $68.6M | $100.1M | −31% | ▼ 1 |
| 47 | Commodity Futures Trading Commission2 recipients | $67.9M | $89.6M | −24% | ▼ 1 |
| 48 | District of Columbia Courts7 recipients | $62.6M | $101.5M | −38% | ▼ 4 |
| 49 | National Gallery of Art0 recipients | $54.6M | $54.7M | 0% | ▲ 1 |
| 50 | Equal Employment Opportunity Commission7 recipients | $48.6M | $51.8M | −6% | ▲ 1 |
| 51 | Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency1 recipient | $37M | $39M | −5% | ▲ 2 |
| 52 | Consumer Product Safety Commission22 recipients | $32.1M | $40.8M | −21% | same |
| 53 | National Transportation Safety Board0 recipients | $29.7M | $22.4M | +32% | ▲ 3 |
| 54 | National Labor Relations Board0 recipients | $27.3M | $25.7M | +6% | same |
| 55 | Export-Import Bank of the United States3 recipients | $24.2M | $0 | — | ▲ 22 |
| 56 | International Trade Commission0 recipients | $17.8M | $16.3M | +9% | ▲ 2 |
| 57 | United States Trade and Development Agency1 recipient | $14.9M | $20.1M | −26% | same |
| 58 | Federal Election Commission1 recipient | $13.7M | $16.3M | −16% | ▲ 1 |
| 59 | Election Assistance Commission0 recipients | $13.5M | $58M | −77% | ▼ 10 |
| 60 | Selective Service System0 recipients | $7.4M | $1.8M | +324% | ▲ 12 |
| 61 | Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board0 recipients | $5.9M | $4.5M | +32% | ▲ 4 |
| 62 | Federal Maritime Commission0 recipients | $5.1M | $6.5M | −21% | ▲ 1 |
| 63 | Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency0 recipients | $4.6M | $2.2M | +112% | ▲ 5 |
| 64 | Merit Systems Protection Board0 recipients | $3.2M | $4.6M | −30% | same |
| 65 | Committee for Purchase from People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled1 recipient | $2.1M | $2.2M | −7% | ▲ 2 |
| 66 | Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service0 recipients | $1.7M | $8.1M | −79% | ▼ 5 |
| 67 | United States Chemical Safety Board0 recipients | $1.6M | $2M | −18% | ▲ 2 |
| 68 | Federal Labor Relations Authority0 recipients | $1.6M | $1.5M | +9% | ▲ 5 |
| 69 | Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $1.6M | $1.9M | −16% | ▲ 2 |
| 70 | National Credit Union Administration0 recipients | $438.6K | $3.3M | −87% | ▼ 4 |
| 71 | Federal Housing Finance Agency0 recipients | $387.8K | $733.7K | — | ▲ 3 |
| 72 | Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation0 recipients | $346K | $1.9M | −82% | ▼ 2 |
| 73 | American Battle Monuments Commission0 recipients | $278K | — | — | — |
| 74 | Administrative Conference of the U.S.0 recipients | $26.5K | $102.4K | — | ▲ 1 |
| 75 | Library of Congress0 recipients | $7K | $6K | — | ▲ 1 |
| 76 | Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission0 recipients | $0 | $0 | — | ▲ 2 |
| 77 | Inter-American Foundation0 recipients | $0 | $24.9M | −100% | ▼ 22 |
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 FY2025?
- Department of Health and Human Services, with $2T obligated in FY2025, ahead of Social Security Administration at $1.6T.
- 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 FY2025. TheFiscalFinder does the ranking; the underlying figures are the government's own.
- How many agencies are shown?
- The top 77 for FY2025. 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 FY2025, computed from public records. It is not an allegation about anyone on it.
Related rankings
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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 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.