Spending Trends

Department of Justice Contract Spending Trends

Department of Justice Contract 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 8.5. Across the visible range, the series changed by 9,344.44%.

Federal Contract Spending Spending Trends Spending Series Series

Updated 03/20/2026

Latest Period
2025
8.5
Visible Change
9,344.44%
8.41
Peak Period
2023
9.95
Trend Direction
Up
Very Strong

Analysis

The latest visible point is 2025 at 8.5. Across the visible range, the series changed by 9,344.44%.

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

Department of Justice Contract Spending Trends tracks federal contract spending over time in FPDS-derived data.

Key takeaway: The latest visible point is 2025 at 8.5. Overall visible change is 9,344.44%.

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

-- Department of Justice Contract Spending Trends
SELECT
    fiscal_year,
    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
    FROM fpds.data
    WHERE
        contract_type = 1
        AND content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate != ''
        AND content__award__purchaserInformation__contractingOfficeAgencyID__departmentName = 'JUSTICE, DEPARTMENT OF'
)
WHERE fiscal_year < toYear(today())
GROUP BY fiscal_year
ORDER BY fiscal_year ASC

Trend Table

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

Fiscal Year Spending Billion Usd Award Count Avg Award Size
1979 0.09 1387 66948
1980 0.11 1609 72804
1981 0.13 1766 78681
1982 0.15 1825 82369
1983 0.18 2169 84682
1984 0.21 2595 83580
1985 0.38 4347 88179
1986 0.30 1322 232754
1987 0.65 1634 402983
1988 0.56 2045 277849
1989 0.78 4182 187301
1990 0.93 6180 150999
1991 1.57 9292 169889
1992 1.39 8989 155558
1993 1.27 10209 124821
1994 2.02 15488 130855
1995 1.98 19335 102792
1996 2.17 20469 106042
1997 2.53 22981 110380
1998 2.91 28943 100718
1999 3.35 30433 110202
2000 3.31 30012 110533
2001 3.96 33031 120044
2002 4.28 36641 116869
2003 3.37 31410 107300
2004 3.95 35914 110139
2005 4.45 86215 51631
2006 4.76 93847 50753
2007 6.83 99932 68440
2008 5.53 108117 51188
2009 7.12 103554 68776
2010 6.40 118778 53939
2011 6.76 133945 50534
2012 6.28 144590 43471
2013 6.88 148661 46322
2014 6.99 154490 45287
2015 7.57 148806 50879
2016 7.18 133331 53868
2017 7.64 127089 60181
2018 7.79 130814 59585
2019 8.16 101803 80182
2020 8.58 95101 90238
2021 9.13 93336 97857
2022 9.00 94999 94766
2023 9.95 96691 102985
2024 9.38 100378 93482
2025 8.50 95375 89158

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
47
First Visible Point
1979
0.09
Mean
4.20
Median
3.95
Max
9.95
2023
Min
0.09
1979
Volatility
3.18
3.18
Rows Returned
47

Series Extremes

Largest Increase
2.07
2006 → 2007 · 43.49%
Largest Decrease
-1.3
2007 → 2008 · -19.03%

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.

Continue from this trend page into full FPDS Query workflows with deeper filtering, custom SQL, saved queries, and broader market comparison.