The last 5 years show steady federal buying in NAICS 541720, led by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Education, and the Missile Defense Agency. Large obligations are concentrated among a small set of vendors, including Lockheed Martin Corporation, RAND Corporation, The, and Westat, Inc.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 541720 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 5 Years)
Federal procurement activity under NAICS 541720 covers research and development in the social sciences and humanities, with 11,612 award actions totaling $5.48 billion over the last 5 years.
Annual obligations peaked in 2024 at $1.31 billion after a 2025 total of $650.98 million, while award counts remained above 2,000 each year from 2021 through 2025.
NAICS Code
541720
Industry
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES
Total Obligated
5.48 billion
5,478,731,076.73
Award Actions
11,612
Average Action Value
471,816.31
About NAICS 541720 federal contract activity
NAICS 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities, captured $5.48 billion in obligated FPDS awards across 11,612 actions over the last 5 years, with an average award value of $471,816.31. The award base is broad, but spend is concentrated in a relatively small number of large programs and recurring research contractors, indicating sustained federal demand for policy, social science, and humanities research support.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services led all agencies with $1.66 billion across 1,582 awards, followed by the Department of Education with $1.13 billion across 1,445 awards. The Missile Defense Agency, Department of the Air Force, and National Institute of Standards and Technology round out the top five, showing that this NAICS code is used not only for civilian policy research but also for defense-related analytical support and specialized studies.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
Lockheed Martin Corporation received the largest share of obligations at $687.81 million across 268 awards, while The RAND Corporation had the highest award volume among the top vendors with 1,194 awards totaling $567.06 million. Westat, Mathematica Inc., and Research Triangle Institute also ranked prominently, reflecting a vendor mix dominated by established research and systems-support firms with repeated task-order activity.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations were highest in 2024 at $1.31 billion, followed by 2023 at $1.18 billion, 2021 at $1.19 billion, and 2022 at $1.14 billion, before declining to $650.98 million in 2025. Award counts remained above 2,000 in every year, peaking at 2,564 in 2021 and 2,527 in 2022, which suggests consistently high transaction volume even as total obligated dollars moved materially year to year.
How to interpret this page
This page summarizes FPDS obligations reported under NAICS 541720 for the last 5 years and aggregates total obligated dollars, award counts, and average award value. Agency, vendor, and annual trend sections are based on the highest reported obligated amounts in the dataset for the selected analysis window.
Top Agencies
SELECT
agency_id,
agency_name,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID AS agency_id,
anyHeavy(content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__name) AS agency_name,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541720'
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY agency_id
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Agency ID | Agency Name | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7530 | CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES | 1,659,964,594.52 | 1.66 billion | 1,582 |
| 9100 | EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF | 1,131,678,834.17 | 1.13 billion | 1,445 |
| 97JC | MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY (MDA) | 687,898,066.69 | 687.90 million | 262 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 319,305,050.12 | 319.31 million | 512 |
| 1341 | NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY | 151,455,792.57 | 151.46 million | 132 |
| 7022 | FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY | 135,337,426.30 | 135.34 million | 160 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 134,021,183.59 | 134.02 million | 1,251 |
| 4732 | FEDERAL ACQUISITION SERVICE | 129,217,142.95 | 129.22 million | 434 |
| 7001 | OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS | 126,894,880.72 | 126.89 million | 480 |
| 7523 | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION | 116,796,085.43 | 116.80 million | 262 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541720 obligated $5.48 billion across 11,612 awards, with activity concentrated in a few agencies. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services led by obligated dollars at $1.66 billion, followed by the Department of Education at $1.13 billion; together they accounted for roughly half of total obligations in this category. The remaining top agencies were more distributed, with the Missile Defense Agency ($687.90 million) and the Department of the Air Force ($319.31 million) showing materially lower but still significant spend, while award volumes were highest at CMS, Education, and the Department of the Army.
Top Vendors
SELECT
vendor_name,
cage_code,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName AS vendor_name,
anyHeavy(content__award__vendor__vendorSiteDetails__entityIdentifiers__cageCode) AS cage_code,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541720'
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName IS NOT NULL
AND content__award__vendor__vendorHeader__vendorName != ''
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY vendor_name
)
ORDER BY total_obligated DESC
LIMIT 10| Vendor | CAGE Code | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION | 06887 | 687,811,663.31 | 687.81 million | 268 |
| RAND CORPORATION, THE | 11578 | 567,056,514.84 | 567.06 million | 1,194 |
| WESTAT, INC. | 1D075 | 421,290,771.84 | 421.29 million | 166 |
| MATHEMATICA INC. | 1EFX9 | 402,819,445.10 | 402.82 million | 243 |
| RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE | 3A730 | 351,469,856.63 | 351.47 million | 269 |
| NATIONAL OPINION RESEARCH CENTER | 8A395 | 307,958,974.41 | 307.96 million | 259 |
| AMERICAN INSTITUTES FOR RESEARCH IN THE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES | 9B514 | 235,678,930.03 | 235.68 million | 230 |
| EDUCATIONAL TESTING SERVICE | 9A596 | 230,680,652.97 | 230.68 million | 89 |
| LEWIN GROUP, INC., THE | 09UQ3 | 173,491,912.32 | 173.49 million | 185 |
| MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH, INC. | 1EFU9 | 169,088,934.90 | 169.09 million | 252 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541720 obligations totaled $5.48 billion across 11,612 awards, with an average award value of $471.8K, indicating a broad but moderately concentrated award base. The top 10 vendors account for a material share of obligations, led by Lockheed Martin Corporation at $687.8 million and RAND Corporation at $567.1 million, with several other vendors in the $169 million to $421 million range. Award counts are more dispersed than dollars, with RAND and Mathematica Policy Research each receiving more than 250 awards while some higher-obligation vendors, such as Westat and Educational Testing Service, received fewer awards, suggesting larger individual awards among leading recipients.
Annual Trend
SELECT
year,
total_obligated,
award_count,
formatReadableQuantity(total_obligated) AS total_obligated_readable
FROM
(
SELECT
toYear(parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate)) AS year,
sum(content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount) AS total_obligated,
count() AS award_count
FROM fpds.data
WHERE
contract_type = 1
AND content__award__productOrServiceInformation__principalNAICSCode = '541720'
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) >= toStartOfYear(now()) - INTERVAL 5 YEAR
AND parseDateTimeBestEffortOrNull(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate) < toStartOfYear(now())
GROUP BY year
)
ORDER BY year DESC| Year | Total Obligated | Readable | Award Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 650,980,999.53 | 650.98 million | 2,032 |
| 2024 | 1,312,942,234.76 | 1.31 billion | 2,260 |
| 2023 | 1,183,074,514.25 | 1.18 billion | 2,229 |
| 2022 | 1,138,257,826.89 | 1.14 billion | 2,527 |
| 2021 | 1,193,475,501.30 | 1.19 billion | 2,564 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 541720 obligations totaled $5.48 billion across 11,612 awards, with an average award value of $471,816. Obligations were relatively elevated and stable from 2021 through 2024, ranging from $1.14 billion to $1.31 billion annually, before declining to $650.98 million in 2025. Award counts also tapered in 2025 to 2,032 from a high of 2,564 in 2021, indicating a recent contraction in both obligation volume and award activity.
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