FPDS Query Library
About Us
Contact Us

Principal NAICS Code Description

Human-readable description of the procurement's principal NAICS code. It is the text label paired with the coded Principal NAICS Code field and identifies the main industry classification associated with the award.

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

Variable Overview

FPDS Query Variable
content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description
Title
Principal NAICS Code Description
FPDS Path
award/productOrServiceInformation/principalNAICSCode/description
Description
Human-readable description of the procurement's principal NAICS code. It is the text label paired with the coded Principal NAICS Code field and identifies the main industry classification associated with the award.
Business Meaning
This field helps analysts interpret the economic sector of an award without relying on numeric NAICS codes alone. It supports spend classification, industry trend analysis, market research, and validation of award coding across contracts and assistance records.
Example Value
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE PHYSICAL, ENGINEERING, AND LIFE SCIENCES
Observed Non-Null Count
98,221,601

FPDS Compare

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

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

  • Classifying awards by industry sector
  • Joining or validating against NAICS-based reporting
  • Reviewing market concentration and category spend

Common Mistakes

  • Treating the description as a stable identifier instead of a label
  • Grouping only by description when the paired code is available and more reliable

Query Guidance

Select and group by the principal NAICS code for analysis, and include this description field for readability in outputs. In SQL, use it as a display label or validation check; if codes and descriptions disagree, flag the record and investigate the source data.

SQL Examples

Preview values

SELECT
    content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description AS principal_n_a_i_c_s_code_description
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description IS NOT NULL
LIMIT 25

Top values

SELECT
    content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description AS value,
    count() AS record_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode__description 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.