This NAICS page summarizes federal obligations to colleges, universities, and professional schools over the last 5 years. The largest shares went to the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of Energy, while Princeton University, the University of California, and the University of Maryland were among the top vendors.
NAICS Industry
NAICS 611310 Federal Contract Obligations (Last 5 Years)
Federal procurement activity under NAICS 611310 covers colleges, universities, and professional schools, with $3.86 billion obligated across 22,215 award actions in the last 5 years.
Annual obligations ranged from $701.90 million in 2022 to $813.36 million in 2021, with 2025 through 2023 remaining near the $747 million to $805 million range.
NAICS Code
611310
Industry
COLLEGES, UNIVERSITIES, AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
Total Obligated
3.86 billion
3,859,433,358.56
Award Actions
22,215
Average Action Value
173,730.96
About NAICS 611310 federal contract activity
NAICS 611310, Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools, recorded $3.86 billion in obligated federal spending across 22,215 awards over the last 5 years. The average award value was $173,730.96, indicating a mix of high-volume, lower-dollar transactions and fewer large research or service awards.
Agency demand and leading federal buyers
The Department of Veterans Affairs led obligations in this NAICS at $1.10 billion across 6,329 awards, followed closely by the Department of the Navy at $1.03 billion across 10,117 awards. The Department of Energy was a distant third by award count but still obligated $986.31 million across 202 awards, showing a concentration of larger awards. The Department of the Army and Washington Headquarters Services also appear among the top buyers, but at materially lower obligation levels.
Vendor concentration and leading contractors
The Trustees of Princeton University, The was the largest vendor recipient by a wide margin, with $847.18 million across 148 awards. Other major recipients included the Regents of the University of California, the University of Maryland, CUBRC, Inc., and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, each reflecting recurring federal demand for higher education and research capability. Award counts vary substantially across vendors, suggesting different procurement patterns ranging from a small number of large awards to many smaller actions.
Annual contract trend over the analysis window
Annual obligations remained consistently high throughout the period, ranging from $701.90 million in 2022 to $813.36 million in 2021. Awards peaked in 2024 at 4,810, while 2025 shows $791.95 million across 3,898 awards, continuing the same general scale of activity seen in prior years. The series does not show a sustained directional decline or increase, but rather a stable funding profile with year-to-year variation.
How to interpret this page
This summary uses FPDS obligations associated with NAICS 611310 for the last 5 years and aggregates award-level data by fiscal year, agency, and vendor. Obligated dollars reflect the total recorded federal funding tied to this NAICS in the selected period, and award counts represent the number of reported actions in the dataset. Vendor and agency rankings are based on total obligated amount.
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 = '611310'
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3600 | VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF | 1,097,075,740.52 | 1.10 billion | 6,329 |
| 1700 | DEPT OF THE NAVY | 1,032,350,760.40 | 1.03 billion | 10,117 |
| 8900 | ENERGY, DEPARTMENT OF | 986,306,055.31 | 986.31 million | 202 |
| 2100 | DEPT OF THE ARMY | 168,981,093.83 | 168.98 million | 857 |
| 97F5 | WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES (WHS) | 143,129,177.12 | 143.13 million | 247 |
| 8000 | NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION | 84,247,847.26 | 84.25 million | 621 |
| 5700 | DEPT OF THE AIR FORCE | 81,531,625.01 | 81.53 million | 209 |
| 7523 | CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION | 63,533,492.02 | 63.53 million | 340 |
| 97AE | DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY (DARPA) | 38,353,463.96 | 38.35 million | 121 |
| 7529 | NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH | 23,576,295.53 | 23.58 million | 529 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 611310 obligations totaled $3.86 billion across 22,215 awards, with an average award value of $173,730.96. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of the Navy accounted for the largest shares of obligated dollars, at $1.10 billion and $1.03 billion respectively, while the Department of Energy was also a major spender at $986.31 million but with far fewer awards (202), indicating a more concentrated award pattern. The remaining top agencies each obligated less than $170 million, suggesting spending is heavily concentrated among a small number of agencies, with a long tail of lower-volume activity.
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 = '611310'
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRUSTEES OF PRINCETON UNIVERSITY, THE | 4B486 | 847,182,789.71 | 847.18 million | 148 |
| REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA THE (7788) | 1GGD0 | 137,850,084.00 | 137.85 million | 11 |
| UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND | 0UB92 | 137,082,662.14 | 137.08 million | 438 |
| CUBRC, INC. | 8Y166 | 93,752,317.11 | 93.75 million | 42 |
| VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER | 7HUA5 | 86,378,247.14 | 86.38 million | 191 |
| UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA FAIRBANKS | 3R2B4 | 70,908,774.62 | 70.91 million | 89 |
| MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY | 80230 | 55,415,660.92 | 55.42 million | 129 |
| UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA | 0LJH3 | 46,833,570.53 | 46.83 million | 77 |
| UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE | 48825 | 44,591,438.56 | 44.59 million | 145 |
| ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY | 4B293 | 40,893,633.50 | 40.89 million | 134 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 611310 has obligated $3.86 billion across 22,215 awards, with a relatively low average award value of $173,730.96, indicating a high volume of comparatively small transactions. Obligations are concentrated among a few vendors, led by Trustees of Princeton University at $847.18 million, which alone represents about 22% of total obligated dollars in this NAICS. The remaining top vendors are distributed across multiple universities and research institutions, with award counts ranging from 11 to 438, suggesting a broad vendor base but material dollar concentration at the top.
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 = '611310'
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 | 791,953,875.73 | 791.95 million | 3,898 |
| 2024 | 746,970,583.11 | 746.97 million | 4,810 |
| 2023 | 805,250,347.22 | 805.25 million | 4,521 |
| 2022 | 701,900,250.25 | 701.90 million | 4,401 |
| 2021 | 813,358,302.25 | 813.36 million | 4,585 |
Insight
Over the last 5 years, NAICS 611310 has obligated $3.86 billion across 22,215 awards, with an average award value of $173,730.96. Annual obligations are relatively stable, ranging from a low of $701.90 million in 2022 to a high of $813.36 million in 2021, indicating consistent procurement activity rather than sharp year-to-year volatility. Award counts also remain broadly steady, with a peak of 4,810 in 2024 and a low of 3,898 in 2025, suggesting the workload is distributed across a large number of moderately sized awards.
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