Research · Benchmark

Small-Business Participation Benchmark

Which federal buyers actually set aside their work for small business? This benchmark ranks agencies by the share of their active solicitations that carry a small-business set-aside — every figure an exact head-count.

Edition 2026 v1.0 Generated 2026-09-28 Cites OBS-001 Cites OBS-002

39.5%

Government-wide participation

33,194

Active solicitations

13,097

Carry a set-aside

Agencies ranked (≥30 active)

Ranked by active-solicitation volume

#	Buyer (department)	Active	Set-aside	Participation
1	Dept Of Defense	23,777	9,429	39.7%
2	Veterans Affairs, Department Of	2,451	1,118	45.6%
3	Interior, Department Of The	1,874	526	28.1%
4	Agriculture, Department Of	1,025	735	71.7%
5	Homeland Security, Department Of	931	445	47.8%
6	Health And Human Services, Department Of	583	152	26.1%
7	Justice, Department Of	445	249	56.0%
8	General Services Administration	428	62	14.5%
9	State, Department Of	373	26	7.0%
10	Commerce, Department Of	349	142	40.7%
11	Energy, Department Of	252	38	15.1%
12	National Aeronautics And Space Administration	176	37	21.0%
13	Transportation, Department Of	171	68	39.8%
14	Treasury, Department Of The	71	27	38.0%
15	Environmental Protection Agency	68	13	19.1%

Minimum-volume floor. 41 departments are excluded from this ranking for having fewer than 30 active solicitations — a participation percentage computed on a handful of notices is statistical noise, not a signal, so it is left out rather than shown alongside the large buyers. Excluded ≠ hidden: they are simply below the threshold at which a rate is meaningful.

Methodology

What this measures. For each federal department, the share of its currently-active SAM.gov solicitations that carry a small-business set-aside (any 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, or total/partial small-business designation). This is a measure of opportunity set aside for small business, not of dollars ultimately awarded.

How it is computed. Exact head-counts — for every department we count all active solicitations and, of those, how many carry a set-aside code. The percentage is that ratio. No sampling, no estimation. Departments are ranked by active-solicitation volume (market size), so the largest buyers anchor the list and a tiny high-percentage office cannot top it.

Cited Observatory metrics. This benchmark is derived directly from two production metrics in the Mindy Procurement Observatory: OBS-001 (Small-business participation) and OBS-002 (Awarded set-aside mix). A publication can only be as credible as the metrics it rests on; both are at Production maturity.

Limitations. "Active" is a point-in-time snapshot of open solicitations as of the generated date — it is not a fiscal-year total and it is not award dollars. A set-aside on a solicitation is an intent to reserve, not a completed award. Agencies below the minimum-volume floor are excluded (see above).