Top 10 Agencies in FY2025 Small-Business Contracting — and What It Means for You
The federal government is once again on track to blow past its small-business contracting goals in FY2025, with year-to-date spending already pointing toward a record high. The latest analysis of FPDS and USAspending data through August 11, 2025, reveals the ten agencies driving most of this momentum. If you’re in the government contracting business — or want to be — this list should guide your capture strategy for the rest of the year and into FY2026.
Here’s the plain-English breakdown.
The Department of Defense (DoD) still dominates, with roughly $55–$60B already obligated to small firms — about one-third of all federal small-business dollars. VA comes in strong with about $22B, fueled by its veteran-focused “Vets First” program. DHS, HHS, DOE, and NASA round out the mid-tier billion-dollar spenders, while DOT, USDA, GSA, and DOJ maintain top-10 spots through a mix of high percentages or high total obligations.
Why this matters: For contractors, this isn’t just a scoreboard — it’s a roadmap. These agencies represent the biggest and most reliable sources of small-business opportunities in federal procurement. Whether you’re chasing 8a contracts services, women owned small business certification advantages, or targeting disabled veteran government contracts, knowing where the dollars flow helps you prioritize.
Some standout trends:
DoD is unmatched in absolute dollars, but only awards ~25% of its eligible contracts to small businesses. It’s still the largest source for SDB, SDVOSB, and HUBZone work.
VA is the go-to for service-disabled veteran small business certification holders, with SDVOSB obligations making up about 45% of its small-business total.
DHS has one of the highest small-business percentages (near 40%), excelling across all socio-economic categories.
HHS leans heavily on small firms for R&D and health IT, making it fertile ground for SBIR Grant Assistance and related R&D opportunities.
USDA and DOT award unusually high percentages (40–50%) to small businesses, with strong HUBZone and SDB participation.
What to do with this:
Align your contractor NAICS code with the top categories these agencies use. Use resources like the NAICS code for government contractors guide to ensure your primary and secondary codes match target agency needs.
Leverage your federal contracting certifications — SBA 8a certification, women business certification, HUBZone, SDVOSB — to align with agencies exceeding goals in your category.
Watch Q4 (July–September) for a spending surge. Historically, up to 40% of small-business obligations happen in the final quarter, with September as the peak.
Invest in capture and proposal readiness now. If you need help, consider Government Contract Proposal Writing support or SBA 8a certification services to position for set-aside opportunities.
Explore MAS and IDIQ vehicles managed by GSA or agency-specific GWACs where smaller firms can get subcontracting opportunities if not prime.
Big picture: Civilian agencies are collectively outpacing DoD in small-business percentage, but DoD’s raw dollar volume still matches the entire civilian side. Translation: If you want scale, DoD’s the place; if you want higher odds, target agencies with a higher small-business share like VA, DHS, USDA, and DOT.
Federal procurement will always have shifting priorities, but these top 10 agencies have shown consistent commitment to engaging small businesses. The smart move is to tailor your business development to where you fit best — by agency, NAICS code, and socio-economic certification — and ride the Q4 wave while laying the groundwork for FY2026.
If you want to dive deeper into NAICS targeting and opportunity alignment, check out our related post: The Most Competitive Federal Contracting NAICS Codes of 2024 — and How Small Businesses Can Still Win. It’ll help you pair today’s agency spending data with the right industry codes for your business.
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