FPDS Query Library
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Principal NAICS Code

Coded field that records the principal North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code associated with the award. It represents the primary industry category for the contracted work, not a free-text description.

Family: Award
Category: Product Or Service Information
Data Type: identifier_or_code
Semantic Type: identifier
Mapping: flattened_fpds_xml_field
AI Confidence: high

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode
Title
Principal NAICS Code
FPDS Path
award/productOrServiceInformation/principalNAICSCode
Description
Coded field that records the principal North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code associated with the award. It represents the primary industry category for the contracted work, not a free-text description.
Business Meaning
This field is a core market classification used to group awards by industry, support spend analysis, and evaluate set-aside or competition patterns by sector. It helps analysts identify where procurement activity is concentrated and compare obligations across industries consistently.
Example Value
541710
Observed Non-Null Count
98,221,601

FPDS Compare

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode
FPDS XML Path
award/productOrServiceInformation/principalNAICSCode
Mapping Type
flattened_fpds_xml_field
Comparison Summary
FPDS Query flattens the original nested FPDS XML path 'award/productOrServiceInformation/principalNAICSCode' into the SQL-ready variable 'content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode'.

Use Cases

  • Dictionary lookup and field explanation
  • SQL filtering and grouping
  • Analytical reporting and reusable query building
  • Market segmentation by industry or PSC

Common Usage

  • Industry-level spend and obligation reporting
  • Vendor or award segmentation by sector
  • Market research and NAICS-based trend analysis

Common Mistakes

  • Assuming the code is a description instead of a classification key
  • Grouping without normalizing code format or checking for null/invalid values

Query Guidance

Select and group by this field directly for NAICS-based analysis, and join to a lookup table when a descriptive industry label is needed. In SQL, standardize the datatype as text if necessary to avoid losing leading zeros, and filter for non-null values before aggregating.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode AS principal_n_a_i_c_s_code
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode IS NOT NULL
GROUP BY value
ORDER BY record_count DESC
LIMIT 25

Each dictionary item includes SQL-ready examples generated alongside the variable metadata, allowing immediate use in FPDS Query for filtering, aggregation, and analysis.