Top federal sub-agencies by spending: FY2020
≈ computed · obligationsCenters for Medicare and Medicaid Services obligated $1.4T in FY2020, the largest of any federal sub-agency. The bureaus, commands and administrations INSIDE the departments: the level at which spending decisions are actually made, and the level most spending coverage skips. ≈ computed
Ranked from USASpending records, data current as of 2026-07-12. FY2020 to FY2025 are loaded.
- 1Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serviceswithin Health and Human Services$1.4T
- 2Social Security Administrationwithin Social Security Administration$1.1T
- 3Small Business Administrationwithin Small Business Administration$580.4B
- 4Departmental Officeswithin the Treasury$176.2B
- 5Department of the Navywithin Defense$151.2B
- 6Food and Nutrition Servicewithin Agriculture$122.9B
- 7Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administrationwithin Veterans Affairs$118.2B
- 8Health Resources and Services Administrationwithin Health and Human Services$115B
- 9Department of Educationwithin Education$110.3B
- 10Department of the Armywithin Defense$105.7B
- 11Department of the Air Forcewithin Defense$79.4B
- 12Federal Emergency Management Agencywithin Homeland Security$76.6B
- 13Under Secretary for Health/Veterans Health Administrationwithin Veterans Affairs$68.9B
- 14Administration for Children and Familieswithin Health and Human Services$65.1B
- 15Federal Highway Administrationwithin Transportation$47.9B
- 16Defense Logistics Agencywithin Defense$42.2B
- 17Department of Energywithin Energy$39.6B
- 18Department of Veterans Affairswithin Veterans Affairs$39.5B
- 19National Institutes of Healthwithin Health and Human Services$39.4B
- 20Federal Transit Administrationwithin Transportation$38.9B
- 21Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housingwithin Housing and Urban Development$34.3B
- 22Federal Communications Commissionwithin Federal Communications Commission$33.1B
- 23Centers for Disease Control and Preventionwithin Health and Human Services$26.3B
- 24Agency for International Developmentwithin Agency for International Development$21.2B
- 25National Aeronautics and Space Administrationwithin National Aeronautics and Space Administration$20.1B
- 26Federal Aviation Administrationwithin Transportation$18.5B
- 27Department of Statewithin State$18.3B
- 28Farm Service Agencywithin Agriculture$15.7B
- 29Defense Health Agencywithin Defense$15.5B
- 30Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Developmentwithin Housing and Urban Development$15B
- 31Federal Acquisition Servicewithin General Services Administration$14.4B
- 32Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Responsewithin Health and Human Services$13.8B
- 33Railroad Retirement Boardwithin Railroad Retirement Board$13.5B
- 34Missile Defense Agencywithin Defense$12.3B
- 35Employment and Training Administrationwithin Labor$12.1B
- 36Agricultural Marketing Servicewithin Agriculture$8.5B
- 37National Science Foundationwithin National Science Foundation$8B
- 38Defense Information Systems Agencywithin Defense$7.7B
- 39Natural Resources Conservation Servicewithin Agriculture$7.1B
- 40Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationwithin Health and Human Services$6.5B
- 41Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissionerwithin Housing and Urban Development$6.4B
- 42Environmental Protection Agencywithin Environmental Protection Agency$6B
- 43Indian Health Servicewithin Health and Human Services$5.4B
- 44U.S. Special Operations Commandwithin Defense$4.8B
- 45Ustranscomwithin Defense$4.4B
- 46U.S. Customs and Border Protectionwithin Homeland Security$3.9B
- 47Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Educationwithin the Interior$3.8B
- 48Federal Railroad Administrationwithin Transportation$3.5B
- 49Office of Justice Programswithin Justice$3.5B
- 50Administration for Community Livingwithin Health and Human Services$3.4B
- 51U.S. Coast Guardwithin Homeland Security$3.4B
- 52Office of Procurement Operationswithin Homeland Security$3.3B
- 53Forest Servicewithin Agriculture$3.2B
- 54National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationwithin Commerce$3.1B
- 55United States Mintwithin the Treasury$3.1B
- 56Public Buildings Servicewithin General Services Administration$3B
- 57Offices, Boards and Divisionswithin Justice$2.7B
- 58Washington Headquarters Serviceswithin Defense$2.5B
- 59U.S. Census Bureauwithin Commerce$2.5B
- 60$2.5B
- 61Internal Revenue Servicewithin the Treasury$2.4B
- 62U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementwithin Homeland Security$2.3B
- 63Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisonswithin Justice$2.2B
- 64Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administrationwithin Health and Human Services$2.2B
- 65U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicewithin the Interior$2B
- 66Rural Housing Servicewithin Agriculture$2B
- 67Federal Bureau of Investigationwithin Justice$2B
- 68Food and Drug Administrationwithin Health and Human Services$1.9B
- 69Risk Management Agencywithin Agriculture$1.9B
- 70Transportation Security Administrationwithin Homeland Security$1.9B
- 71Rural Utilities Servicewithin Agriculture$1.9B
- 72Maritime Administrationwithin Transportation$1.8B
- 73National Institute of Food and Agriculturewithin Agriculture$1.7B
- 74Departmental Officeswithin the Interior$1.6B
- 75Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencywithin Defense$1.6B
- 76Economic Development Administrationwithin Commerce$1.5B
- 77National Park Servicewithin the Interior$1.3B
- 78U.S. Marshals Servicewithin Justice$1.2B
- 79Defense Microelectronics Activitywithin Defense$1.1B
- 80Office of the Chief Financial Officerwithin Agriculture$1.1B
- 81Defense Threat Reduction Agencywithin Defense$1B
- 82National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationwithin Transportation$926M
- 83Bureau of Reclamationwithin the Interior$922.2M
- 84U.S. Patent and Trademark Officewithin Commerce$875.2M
- 85Election Assistance Commissionwithin Election Assistance Commission$823.9M
- 86Drug Enforcement Administrationwithin Justice$791.9M
- 87U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serviceswithin Homeland Security$776.8M
- 88Department of Housing and Urban Developmentwithin Housing and Urban Development$728.5M
- 89Corporation for National and Community Servicewithin Corporation for National and Community Service$670.9M
- 90Agricultural Research Servicewithin Agriculture$653.4M
- 91Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportationwithin Transportation$648.3M
- 92Bureau of Land Managementwithin the Interior$635.8M
- 93Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servicewithin Agriculture$624.9M
- 94National Institute of Standards and Technologywithin Commerce$601.1M
- 95U.S. Geological Surveywithin the Interior$545.2M
- 96Community Development Financial Institutions Fundwithin the Treasury$544.3M
- 97Federal Prison Industries / Unicorwithin Justice$543.4M
- 98Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agencywithin Defense$534.2M
- 99Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporationwithin Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation$531.7M
- 100Securities and Exchange Commissionwithin Securities and Exchange Commission$521.5M
Sub-agencies have no page of their own; each row opens its parent department, where the full sub-agency breakdown lives. Not every loaded year carries this breakdown.
Questions
- Which federal sub-agency spends the most in FY2020?
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, with $1.4T obligated in FY2020.
- What counts as a sub-agency?
- A sub-tier organisation reporting to a cabinet department or independent agency: a bureau, a military command, an administration. USASpending records both tiers on every award.
- 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 sub-agency's obligations for FY2020. TheFiscalFinder does the ranking; the underlying figures are the government's own.
- How many sub-agencies are shown?
- The top 100 for FY2020. Each row opens that sub-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.
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