Spending Trends

Competed vs Sole Source Spending Trends

Competed vs Sole Source Spending Trends shows how federal contract spending changes across the visible time series in FPDS-derived procurement data.

The latest visible point is 2025 at 221.8.

Federal Contract Spending Spending Trends Spending Series Series

Updated 03/20/2026

Latest Period
2025
221.8
Visible Change
221.8
Peak Period
2024
562.13
Trend Direction
Up
Unknown

Analysis

The latest visible point is 2025 at 221.8.

Why it matters: Use this page to evaluate how federal contract spending levels shift over time and identify inflection points.

Methodology: The query returns a structured time series, detects a period column and a primary numeric metric, and computes visible-series statistics such as latest value, peak, low, and overall change.

Commentary

Competed vs Sole Source Spending Trends tracks federal contract spending over time in FPDS-derived data.

Key takeaway: The latest visible point is 2025 at 221.8.

Analyst note: This page is best used for directional review, turning points, and quick comparison against related time windows or scopes.

Trend Chart

This chart plots Federal Contract Spending over the visible time series returned by the query.

Query Used

-- Competed vs Sole Source Spending Trends
SELECT
    fiscal_year,
    competition_group,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / 1000000000, 2) AS spending_billion_usd,
    count() AS award_count,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / count(), 0) AS avg_award_size
FROM
(
    SELECT
        if(
            toUInt8(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 6, 2)) >= 10,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4)) + 1,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4))
        ) AS fiscal_year,
        content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount AS obligated_amount,
        content__award__competition__extentCompeted__description AS competition_type,
        if(
            positionCaseInsensitive(competition_type, 'not competed') > 0
            OR positionCaseInsensitive(competition_type, 'sole') > 0,
            'Sole Source / Not Competed',
            'Competed'
        ) AS competition_group
    FROM fpds.data
    WHERE
        contract_type = 1
        AND content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate != ''
        AND content__award__competition__extentCompeted__description IS NOT NULL
)
WHERE fiscal_year < toYear(today())
GROUP BY
    fiscal_year,
    competition_group
ORDER BY
    fiscal_year ASC,
    competition_group ASC

Trend Table

This table shows the structured time series returned by the query.

Fiscal Year Competition Group Spending Billion Usd Award Count Avg Award Size
1962 Sole Source / Not Competed 0.00 1 5696246
1970 Sole Source / Not Competed 0.00 1 12164
1972 Competed 0.00 1 333682
1973 Competed 0.00 1 91809
1975 Competed 0.00 1 88000
1976 Competed 0.01 8 2350246
1977 Competed 0.00 2 3475559
1977 Sole Source / Not Competed 0.32 2 161539291
1978 Competed 0.02 5 5152514
1978 Sole Source / Not Competed 5.02 5 1004022983
1979 Competed 41.06 214245 191690
1979 Sole Source / Not Competed 41.29 157000 263050
1980 Competed 47.30 279001 169560
1980 Sole Source / Not Competed 54.98 227765 241428
1981 Competed 57.93 273661 211711
1981 Sole Source / Not Competed 63.57 200622 316885
1982 Competed 68.67 331034 207460
1982 Sole Source / Not Competed 67.87 202987 334361
1983 Competed 62.18 229970 270414
1983 Sole Source / Not Competed 75.37 152912 492919
1984 Competed 76.47 249748 306225
1984 Sole Source / Not Competed 77.20 142161 543073
1985 Competed 91.12 274203 332319
1985 Sole Source / Not Competed 86.36 132835 650169
1986 Competed 97.41 296173 328910
1986 Sole Source / Not Competed 73.96 98601 750191
1987 Competed 99.23 319272 310813
1987 Sole Source / Not Competed 69.03 82350 838330
1988 Competed 102.73 312597 328635
1988 Sole Source / Not Competed 72.92 71085 1025879
1989 Competed 92.86 268869 345405
1989 Sole Source / Not Competed 50.35 49873 1009639
1990 Competed 98.16 304934 321907
1990 Sole Source / Not Competed 49.35 57370 860373
1991 Competed 111.94 343196 326195
1991 Sole Source / Not Competed 52.87 68205 775213
1992 Competed 103.02 416554 247324
1992 Sole Source / Not Competed 49.74 63102 788300
1993 Competed 93.97 356809 263367
1993 Sole Source / Not Competed 43.57 53435 815534
1994 Competed 109.91 378945 290043
1994 Sole Source / Not Competed 55.15 55082 1001282
1995 Competed 115.66 440802 262401
1995 Sole Source / Not Competed 54.25 75719 716523
1996 Competed 118.78 497103 238947
1996 Sole Source / Not Competed 65.95 82863 795954
1997 Competed 129.24 434542 297435
1997 Sole Source / Not Competed 47.21 60975 774363
1998 Competed 134.31 434525 309099
1998 Sole Source / Not Competed 50.89 63861 796926
1999 Competed 138.29 450516 306964
1999 Sole Source / Not Competed 50.49 64784 779386
2000 Competed 151.11 495368 305048
2000 Sole Source / Not Competed 55.41 68618 807631
2001 Competed 158.88 537266 295732
2001 Sole Source / Not Competed 63.50 68961 920821
2002 Competed 192.43 685085 280896
2002 Sole Source / Not Competed 70.90 99575 712114
2003 Competed 225.00 976930 230316
2003 Sole Source / Not Competed 97.56 138490 704478
2004 Competed 233.36 1593689 146433
2004 Sole Source / Not Competed 96.60 263681 366387
2005 Competed 271.76 2285739 118898
2005 Sole Source / Not Competed 102.59 404329 253749
2006 Competed 292.94 2201044 133095
2006 Sole Source / Not Competed 116.28 630971 184300
2007 Competed 322.67 2058581 156748
2007 Sole Source / Not Competed 124.48 1008819 123395
2008 Competed 377.99 2458646 153739
2008 Sole Source / Not Competed 141.66 1187252 119318
2009 Competed 386.83 2643116 146354
2009 Sole Source / Not Competed 135.76 476539 284899
2010 Competed 404.02 2815248 143514
2010 Sole Source / Not Competed 128.42 513785 249961
2011 Competed 387.67 2669471 145225
2011 Sole Source / Not Competed 145.79 544714 267663
2012 Competed 377.28 2443930 154378
2012 Sole Source / Not Competed 138.00 497774 277254
2013 Competed 331.73 1875661 176865
2013 Sole Source / Not Competed 127.43 437305 291401
2014 Competed 328.50 1920074 171091
2014 Sole Source / Not Competed 112.73 410377 274711
2015 Competed 315.88 3616953 87334
2015 Sole Source / Not Competed 116.18 563053 206356
2016 Competed 330.86 4043617 81825
2016 Sole Source / Not Competed 133.61 579297 230650
2017 Competed 351.89 4124278 85324
2017 Sole Source / Not Competed 150.74 586228 257137
2018 Competed 389.86 4789277 81404
2018 Sole Source / Not Competed 156.77 617845 253744
2019 Competed 408.99 5666857 72172
2019 Sole Source / Not Competed 170.78 630021 271072
2020 Competed 450.50 5454465 82594
2020 Sole Source / Not Competed 208.32 595169 350031
2021 Competed 443.93 5646197 78625
2021 Sole Source / Not Competed 190.70 540760 352662
2022 Competed 508.27 5923647 85804
2022 Sole Source / Not Competed 173.63 502662 345430
2023 Competed 542.31 5950027 91144
2023 Sole Source / Not Competed 205.68 508993 404099
2024 Competed 562.13 5896672 95330
2024 Sole Source / Not Competed 179.90 543320 331129
2025 Competed 558.34 5786014 96499
2025 Sole Source / Not Competed 221.80 547426 405180

How This Trend Is Built

Measure how a selected procurement metric changes across time.

Query structure

  • The query selects a time dimension used as the x-axis for the trend.
  • It calculates or returns a numeric metric for each visible period.
  • The result is interpreted as a chronological series for trend analysis.
  • The metric focuses on obligated dollars or a directly related spending aggregate.

Included fields

  • fiscal_year — Defines the chronological unit used for the trend series.
  • spending_billion_usd — Defines the main value plotted and analyzed over time.
  • award_count — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.
  • avg_award_size — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.

How to use this trend

  • trend direction analysis
  • time-series review
  • federal procurement timing analysis
  • spending trajectory review
  • budget pattern review

Computed Metrics

Series Points
104
First Visible Point
1962
Mean
154.98
Median
110.93
Max
562.13
2024
Min
0.00
1962
Volatility
137.72
137.72
Rows Returned
104

Series Extremes

Largest Increase
378.44
2024 → 2025 · 210.36%
Largest Decrease
-382.23
2024 → 2024 · -68.00%

Related Pages

Method Notes

  • Trend interpretation is based on the returned query result set ordered by the detected period column.
  • Change metrics compare the first visible point and the latest visible point in the series.
  • Volatility is based on the standard deviation of the visible numeric series.

Use FPDS Query for deeper trend analysis

Go beyond the published time series with custom SQL, broader filters, saved queries, and deeper procurement analysis across agencies, vendors, industries, states, contract structures, and competitive segments.

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