NAICS 541720: Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities — Federal Contracts

What NAICS 541720 covers

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard the federal government uses to classify the industry of every contractor and every procurement. NAICS 541720 identifies businesses primarily engaged in research and development in the social sciences and humanities. When a contracting officer publishes a solicitation on SAM.gov, they tag it with the NAICS code that best matches the work — which is why getting your NAICS portfolio right inside SAM is the single most important step for showing up in agency searches.

Who buys NAICS 541720?

The federal agencies awarding the most contract value to vendors in this NAICS, based on 23 contractors tracked in the Mindy contractor database:

1. 1Centers For Disease Control And Prevention
2. 2Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services
3. 3Administration For Children And Families
4. 4Departmental Offices
5. 5Agency For Healthcare Research And Quality

Source: aggregated from the Mindy contractor database (prime contractor disclosures via SBA + agency directories).

Top contractors in NAICS 541720

The largest prime contractors associated with NAICS 541720, ranked by total reported federal contract value. These are your most likely incumbents — and your most likely teaming partners on recompetes:

1. 1
   Peraton INC.

   $1.1B total reported value
2. 2
   Westat INC.

   $992.1M total reported value
3. 3
   Research Triangle Institute INC

   $546.0M total reported value
4. 4
   Unitedhealth Group Incorporated

   $422.6M total reported value
5. 5
   American Institutes For Research In The Behavioral Sciences

   $293.4M total reported value
6. 6
   Mathematica INC.

   $275.1M total reported value
7. 7
   The Lewin Group INC.

   $224.4M total reported value
8. 8
   National Opinion Research Center

   $208.2M total reported value

Values reflect each contractor's aggregate reported federal contract value (across all of their NAICS codes, not just 541720). Use as a ranking signal, not as a per-NAICS award total.