Key takeaways
- Federal agencies awarded $812.8 billion in contracts in FY 2025, and $172.6 billion, about 21%, went to small businesses.
- NAICS 541519, Other Computer Related Services, led all codes in small-business dollars at $16.4 billion.
- Engineering services (541330) was the largest code in this list by total awards, at $52.3 billion.
- The 15 codes below account for about $99 billion of small-business awards, more than half the total.
NAICS codes tell you where federal money goes and which size standard applies to each bid. This ranking shows the codes where small businesses won the most in fiscal 2025 (Oct. 1, 2024, to Sept. 30, 2025), so you can see where demand and set-aside opportunity are concentrated.
Top 15 NAICS codes by small-business awards, FY 2025
| NAICS | Description | Total FY 2025 | Small-business awards | Small-business share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 541519 | Other computer related services | $25.07B | $16.39B | 65.4% |
| 236220 | Commercial and institutional building construction | $30.64B | $13.49B | 44.0% |
| 541330 | Engineering services | $52.27B | $11.54B | 22.1% |
| 541715 | R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences (except nanotechnology and biotechnology) | $48.41B | $11.16B | 23.1% |
| 541512 | Computer systems design services | $32.04B | $7.54B | 23.5% |
| 561210 | Facilities support services | $38.26B | $5.62B | 14.7% |
| 541511 | Custom computer programming services | $10.36B | $5.27B | 50.9% |
| 541611 | Administrative management and general management consulting services | $11.31B | $5.19B | 45.9% |
| 423850 | Service establishment equipment and supplies merchant wholesalers | $4.54B | $4.48B | 98.8% |
| 339999 | All other miscellaneous manufacturing | $4.30B | $4.09B | 95.2% |
| 541712 | R&D in the physical, engineering and life sciences (legacy code) | $9.05B | $3.32B | 36.7% |
| 336413 | Other aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing | $19.77B | $3.13B | 15.8% |
| 62 | Health care and social assistance (sector total) | $16.40B | $2.80B | 17.1% |
| 336611 | Ship building and repairing | $37.18B | $2.60B | 7.0% |
| 562910 | Remediation services | $6.99B | $2.55B | 36.5% |
Source: GovSpend, "FY25 Federal Spending Trends: Small Business Awards Decline Despite Market Growth," May 27, 2026, based on FPDS spending data. Ranked by small-business award dollars. Codes 541712 and 62 appear as reported by GovSpend; 541712 is a pre-2017 code still found in older contract records, and 62 is the health care sector total rather than a single code. Dollar figures are rounded.
The biggest codes by total spending
- 541330 Engineering services: $52.3 billion. The largest code on this list, driven heavily by defense work. Small businesses won 22.1%.
- 541715 Research and development: $48.4 billion. Physical, engineering and life sciences R&D, with 23.1% to small businesses.
- 561210 Facilities support services: $38.3 billion. Base operations and facility management, where small businesses won 14.7%.
- 336611 Ship building and repairing: $37.2 billion. Dominated by large shipyards; small businesses won 7%.
- 541512 Computer systems design: $32.0 billion. The largest IT services code by total dollars.
This list is ranked by small-business dollars, so some very large codes dominated by major prime contractors, such as aircraft manufacturing, aren't included. See our largest federal contractors list for where those dollars go.
Where small businesses win the biggest share
- 423850 Service establishment equipment wholesalers: 98.8%. Nearly all of the $4.5 billion went to small firms.
- 339999 Miscellaneous manufacturing: 95.2%. $4.1 billion of $4.3 billion.
- 541519 Other computer related services: 65.4%. The largest small-business code in dollars, at $16.4 billion.
- 541511 Custom computer programming: 50.9%. About half of $10.4 billion.
- 541611 Management consulting: 45.9%. $5.2 billion of $11.3 billion.
- 236220 Commercial and institutional construction: 44.0%. $13.5 billion, the second-largest small-business total.
How to use NAICS codes in your federal sales
- Register every code you can perform. Your SAM.gov registration should list all relevant codes, with a primary code for your main line of business. See our SAM registration guide.
- Check the size standard for each code. Each solicitation is assigned one NAICS code, and its SBA size standard decides whether you can compete as small. See our SBA size standards guide.
- Search opportunities by code. Filter SAM.gov contract opportunities and agency forecasts by your NAICS codes to spot recurring buyers.
- Study who wins. Look at past awards in your codes to find the agencies, contract vehicles and incumbents to target.
- Watch the budget. Agency budgets and funding timing affect when awards in each code are made; see our largest federal agencies by budget.
How KSG helps
Kensington Sales Group's SDRs book meetings with public agencies across Federal, SLED, K-12 & Higher Ed, Healthcare, Tribal, Special Districts and Utilities. We target the program offices and buyers that spend in your NAICS codes and get you in front of them before solicitations drop. See how our federal sales development works.