Agency budgets × USAspending
Largest agencies by budget authority
Federal agencies ranked by budget authority — the legal amount each is authorized to commit to spending. This shows agency size itself, not procurement.
An organization of public government data, not an official U.S. government site. Aggregates cover collected data, and rankings are based on name-level aggregation.
What the data shows
By budget authority, Health & Human Services (Medicare, Medicaid), the Treasury (including debt interest), and the Social Security Administration (pensions) lead — benefit-driven agencies whose lineup differs sharply from the contracts ranking (where Defense dominates). Government spending has two natures: buying (procurement) and giving (benefits/transfers). Obligated amounts (what has actually been committed) are shown alongside.
Top 50 of 98
| # | Agency | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Department of Health and Human Services ≈$1.84T obligated | |
| 2 | Department of the Treasury ≈$1.29T obligated | |
| 3 | Department of Defense ≈$966.47B obligated | |
| 4 | Social Security Administration ≈$1.06T obligated | |
| 5 | Department of Veterans Affairs ≈$264.39B obligated | |
| 6 | Department of Homeland Security ≈$281.28B obligated | |
| 7 | Department of Agriculture ≈$147.56B obligated | |
| 8 | Office of Personnel Management ≈$127.96B obligated | |
| 9 | Department of Housing and Urban Development ≈$49.33B obligated | |
| 10 | Department of Transportation ≈$73.83B obligated | |
| 11 | Department of Education ≈$60.09B obligated | |
| 12 | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ≈$2.51B obligated | |
| 13 | Department of Energy ≈$50.35B obligated | |
| 14 | Department of State ≈$17.63B obligated | |
| 15 | Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ≈$7.94B obligated | |
| 16 | Department of the Interior ≈$19.67B obligated | |
| 17 | Department of Justice ≈$34.2B obligated | |
| 18 | Corps of Engineers - Civil Works ≈$24.98B obligated | |
| 19 | Department of Labor ≈$39.45B obligated | |
| 20 | Department of Commerce ≈$9.64B obligated | |
| 21 | National Aeronautics and Space Administration ≈$13.28B obligated | |
| 22 | Railroad Retirement Board ≈$10.4B obligated | |
| 23 | Agency for International Development ≈$6.25B obligated | |
| 24 | National Science Foundation ≈$1.43B obligated | |
| 25 | U.S. International Development Finance Corporation ≈$272.8M obligated | |
| 26 | Farm Credit System Insurance Corporation ≈$229.4M obligated | |
| 27 | Small Business Administration ≈$1.17B obligated | |
| 28 | Securities and Exchange Commission ≈$1.12B obligated | |
| 29 | Millennium Challenge Corporation ≈$140.1M obligated | |
| 30 | Corporation for National and Community Service ≈$452.4M obligated | |
| 31 | Executive Office of the President ≈$375.1M obligated | |
| 32 | Commodity Futures Trading Commission ≈$168.8M obligated | |
| 33 | Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund ≈$739.1M obligated | |
| 34 | Nuclear Regulatory Commission ≈$509.5M obligated | |
| 35 | Government Accountability Office ≈$514.9M obligated | |
| 36 | U.S. Agency for Global Media ≈$311.5M obligated | |
| 37 | National Archives and Records Administration ≈$379.3M obligated | |
| 38 | Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ≈$256.2M obligated | |
| 39 | Presidio Trust ≈$238.6M obligated | |
| 40 | Peace Corps ≈$245.9M obligated | |
| 41 | Federal Trade Commission ≈$214.9M obligated | |
| 42 | National Endowment for the Humanities ≈$100.7M obligated | |
| 43 | District of Columbia Courts ≈$200.7M obligated | |
| 44 | Export-Import Bank of the United States ≈$74.6M obligated | |
| 45 | Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency ≈$137.8M obligated | |
| 46 | Institute of Museum and Library Services ≈$188.7M obligated | |
| 47 | National Labor Relations Board ≈$154.8M obligated | |
| 48 | National Endowment for the Arts ≈$73M obligated | |
| 49 | Armed Forces Retirement Home ≈$80.3M obligated | |
| 50 | American Battle Monuments Commission ≈$107M obligated |
Aggregates cover each source's collected data. Names use the original data as-is.
FAQ
What does this ranking show?
Federal agencies ordered by budget authority — the legal amount an agency is authorized to commit to spending. It is the best single measure of an agency's size.
How does it differ from the contracts ranking?
This is the agency's total budget; the contracts ranking is what it spent on procurement. HHS and the Social Security Administration have enormous budgets, but most goes to benefits (Medicare, pensions), so their procurement is relatively small.
What is "obligated"?
The portion of budget authority that has actually been committed (contracts, benefit decisions, etc.) — a gauge of how much of the budget has been used.
What is the source?
Agency budget authority from U.S. spending data (USAspending). Curated agencies link to their profile.