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 2026-08-14 Cites OBS-001 Cites OBS-002

39.9%

Government-wide participation

35,393

Active solicitations

14,136

Carry a set-aside

Agencies ranked (≥30 active)

Ranked by active-solicitation volume

#	Buyer (department)	Active	Set-aside	Participation
1	Dept Of Defense	24,247	9,384	38.7%
2	Veterans Affairs, Department Of	3,322	1,478	44.5%
3	Interior, Department Of The	1,582	809	51.1%
4	Agriculture, Department Of	989	740	74.8%
5	Homeland Security, Department Of	943	456	48.4%
6	State, Department Of	806	37	4.6%
7	Health And Human Services, Department Of	758	278	36.7%
8	Commerce, Department Of	590	246	41.7%
9	Justice, Department Of	469	303	64.6%
10	General Services Administration	402	72	17.9%
11	National Aeronautics And Space Administration	327	103	31.5%
12	Energy, Department Of	325	59	18.2%
13	Transportation, Department Of	203	73	36.0%
14	Environmental Protection Agency	75	15	20.0%
15	Treasury, Department Of The	63	27	42.9%
16	Labor, Department Of	30	14	46.7%

Minimum-volume floor. 38 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).