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.

Rankings

Top federal sub-agencies by spending: FY2020

FY2020 · complete year · data as of 2026-07-12

≈ computed · obligations

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Centers 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. FY2020 to FY2026 are loaded.

Quick findings

Computed

The top 10 account for 80% of the $5T combined total of all 100 sub-agencies listed.

Rank	Name	FY2020
01	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Serviceswithin Health and Human Services	$1.4T
02	Social Security Administrationwithin Social Security Administration	$1.1T
03	Small Business Administrationwithin Small Business Administration	$580.4B
04	Departmental Officeswithin the Treasury	$176.2B
05	Department of the Navywithin Defense	$151.2B
06	Food and Nutrition Servicewithin Agriculture	$122.9B
07	Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administrationwithin Veterans Affairs	$118.2B
08	Health Resources and Services Administrationwithin Health and Human Services	$115B
09	Department of Educationwithin Education	$110.3B
10	Department of the Armywithin Defense	$105.7B
11	Department of the Air Forcewithin Defense	$79.4B
12	Federal Emergency Management Agencywithin Homeland Security	$76.6B
13	Under Secretary for Health/Veterans Health Administrationwithin Veterans Affairs	$68.9B
14	Administration for Children and Familieswithin Health and Human Services	$65.1B
15	Federal Highway Administrationwithin Transportation	$47.9B
16	Defense Logistics Agencywithin Defense	$42.2B
17	Department of Energywithin Energy	$39.6B
18	Department of Veterans Affairswithin Veterans Affairs	$39.5B
19	National Institutes of Healthwithin Health and Human Services	$39.4B
20	Federal Transit Administrationwithin Transportation	$38.9B
21	Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housingwithin Housing and Urban Development	$34.3B
22	Federal Communications Commissionwithin Federal Communications Commission	$33.1B
23	Centers for Disease Control and Preventionwithin Health and Human Services	$26.3B
24	Agency for International Developmentwithin Agency for International Development	$21.2B
25	National Aeronautics and Space Administrationwithin National Aeronautics and Space Administration	$20.1B
26	Federal Aviation Administrationwithin Transportation	$18.5B
27	Department of Statewithin State	$18.3B
28	Farm Service Agencywithin Agriculture	$15.7B
29	Defense Health Agencywithin Defense	$15.5B
30	Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Developmentwithin Housing and Urban Development	$15B
31	Federal Acquisition Servicewithin General Services Administration	$14.4B
32	Office of Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Responsewithin Health and Human Services	$13.8B
33	Railroad Retirement Boardwithin Railroad Retirement Board	$13.5B
34	Missile Defense Agencywithin Defense	$12.3B
35	Employment and Training Administrationwithin Labor	$12.1B
36	Agricultural Marketing Servicewithin Agriculture	$8.5B
37	National Science Foundationwithin National Science Foundation	$8B
38	Defense Information Systems Agencywithin Defense	$7.7B
39	Natural Resources Conservation Servicewithin Agriculture	$7.1B
40	Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationwithin Health and Human Services	$6.5B
41	Assistant Secretary for Housing--Federal Housing Commissionerwithin Housing and Urban Development	$6.4B
42	Environmental Protection Agencywithin Environmental Protection Agency	$6B
43	Indian Health Servicewithin Health and Human Services	$5.4B
44	U.S. Special Operations Commandwithin Defense	$4.8B
45	Ustranscomwithin Defense	$4.4B
46	U.S. Customs and Border Protectionwithin Homeland Security	$3.9B
47	Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Educationwithin the Interior	$3.8B
48	Federal Railroad Administrationwithin Transportation	$3.5B
49	Office of Justice Programswithin Justice	$3.5B
50	Administration for Community Livingwithin Health and Human Services	$3.4B
51	U.S. Coast Guardwithin Homeland Security	$3.4B
52	Office of Procurement Operationswithin Homeland Security	$3.3B
53	Forest Servicewithin Agriculture	$3.2B
54	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationwithin Commerce	$3.1B
55	United States Mintwithin the Treasury	$3.1B
56	Public Buildings Servicewithin General Services Administration	$3B
57	Offices, Boards and Divisionswithin Justice	$2.7B
58	Washington Headquarters Serviceswithin Defense	$2.5B
59	U.S. Census Bureauwithin Commerce	$2.5B
60	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Managementwithin Labor	$2.5B
61	Internal Revenue Servicewithin the Treasury	$2.4B
62	U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcementwithin Homeland Security	$2.3B
63	Federal Prison System / Bureau of Prisonswithin Justice	$2.2B
64	Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administrationwithin Health and Human Services	$2.2B
65	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Servicewithin the Interior	$2B
66	Rural Housing Servicewithin Agriculture	$2B
67	Federal Bureau of Investigationwithin Justice	$2B
68	Food and Drug Administrationwithin Health and Human Services	$1.9B
69	Risk Management Agencywithin Agriculture	$1.9B
70	Transportation Security Administrationwithin Homeland Security	$1.9B
71	Rural Utilities Servicewithin Agriculture	$1.9B
72	Maritime Administrationwithin Transportation	$1.8B
73	National Institute of Food and Agriculturewithin Agriculture	$1.7B
74	Departmental Officeswithin the Interior	$1.6B
75	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agencywithin Defense	$1.6B
76	Economic Development Administrationwithin Commerce	$1.5B
77	National Park Servicewithin the Interior	$1.3B
78	U.S. Marshals Servicewithin Justice	$1.2B
79	Defense Microelectronics Activitywithin Defense	$1.1B
80	Office of the Chief Financial Officerwithin Agriculture	$1.1B
81	Defense Threat Reduction Agencywithin Defense	$1B
82	National Highway Traffic Safety Administrationwithin Transportation	$926M
83	Bureau of Reclamationwithin the Interior	$922.2M
84	U.S. Patent and Trademark Officewithin Commerce	$875.2M
85	Election Assistance Commissionwithin Election Assistance Commission	$823.9M
86	Drug Enforcement Administrationwithin Justice	$791.9M
87	U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Serviceswithin Homeland Security	$776.8M
88	Department of Housing and Urban Developmentwithin Housing and Urban Development	$728.5M
89	Corporation for National and Community Servicewithin Corporation for National and Community Service	$670.9M
90	Agricultural Research Servicewithin Agriculture	$653.4M
91	Immediate Office of the Secretary of Transportationwithin Transportation	$648.3M
92	Bureau of Land Managementwithin the Interior	$635.8M
93	Animal and Plant Health Inspection Servicewithin Agriculture	$624.9M
94	National Institute of Standards and Technologywithin Commerce	$601.1M
95	U.S. Geological Surveywithin the Interior	$545.2M
96	Community Development Financial Institutions Fundwithin the Treasury	$544.3M
97	Federal Prison Industries / Unicorwithin Justice	$543.4M
98	Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agencywithin Defense	$534.2M
99	Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporationwithin Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation	$531.7M
100	Securities 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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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.