USAspending Scraper: Federal Spending Trends by Category

Find out which federal contract categories and agencies are growing or shrinking, who is winning the money, and which companies are new entrants. All of it is computed from official USAspending.gov contract obligations. You don't need an API key.

What you get (one row per signal)

signalType	What it tells you
category_trend	Category dollars in the window versus the same window a year earlier and the immediately prior window. Includes growth %, a rising/flat/falling label, rank, the top recipient and their share, and a concentration flag (one firm ≥25%).
agency_driver	The agencies adding or cutting the most dollars inside each category.
top_recipient	The top N contractors per category in the window.
new_entrant	Firms in a category's current top 100 that were absent from the prior 12 months' top 500. Matched by UEI or name.

There are 13 plain-English categories, defined by PSC code families. They match the Federal Contract Opportunities Monitor's groups, minus Security & Guard Services, Equipment & Supplies and Other.

Example input

{ "categories": ["IT & Cyber", "Construction", "Telecom"], "windowDays": 90, "lagDays": 95, "growthThresholdPct": 15 }

lagDays shifts every window back, because agencies report obligations to USAspending late (DoD reports with an extra 90-day delay). Comparing a window that is still filling in would look like a false decline.

Example output

{
  "signalType": "category_trend", "category": "IT & Cyber",
  "currentAmount": 24644942996.4, "yearAgoAmount": 19304514264.0,
  "growthYoYPct": 27.7, "growthVsPriorPct": 25.4, "trend": "rising",
  "topRecipient": "DELL FEDERAL SYSTEMS L.P", "topRecipientSharePct": 5.7, "concentrated": false,
  "windows": {"current": ["2026-04-27","2026-07-25"], "yearAgo": ["2025-04-28","2025-07-26"]}
}

{ "signalType": "agency_driver", "category": "IT & Cyber", "agency": "Department of Homeland Security",
  "currentAmount": 2541736182.53, "yearAgoAmount": 916904758.95, "growthYoYPct": 177.2, "trend": "rising" }

A live run on Oct 28, 2026 (90-day window ending Jul 25, 2026) returned 315 signals in about 90 seconds. Highlights: Construction +194% YoY, led by DHS; Telecom +90%; IT & Cyber +28% and broad-based; Medical & Health −32%.

Use cases

• GovCon BD teams choosing which agencies and categories to target next quarter.
• Investors and analysts following defense, IT and construction contractors.
• Consultants and newsletter writers producing "where the federal money is moving" reports.

Data source and caveats

The data comes from the USAspending.gov API (U.S. Department of the Treasury). It is public U.S. government data, and no key is required. Obligations include modifications and deobligations, so large one-off awards can swing a category. Recent periods are incomplete until agencies finish reporting. Category groupings are this Actor's own mapping of PSC codes. Recipient names come from USAspending as-is, so one parent company can appear under several entities. This is not investment advice.

Scheduling

The underlying data changes slowly, so run it weekly or monthly. Keep windowDays at 90 for momentum or 365 for structural trends.

How much does it cost?

Pay per event: you pay only for the events below plus Apify's $0.00005 run-start fee. Platform compute is included in the price.

• $0.01 per signal row delivered.

Real examples from our test runs:

• Quick-start input (Telecom, 3 agencies, 3 recipients): about 10 rows × $0.01 = about $0.10.
• All 13 categories with default settings: 315 rows in our Oct 28 test = about $3.15. Pick a few categories to spend less.
• Monthly is enough for most users: spending data changes slowly.

Use the filters above and Apify's per-run spending limit to cap spend; the Actor stops cleanly when the limit is reached.

Limits

• Obligations include modifications and deobligations, so one large award can swing a category.
• Recent months are incomplete until agencies finish reporting.
• Signals only; there is no raw award search mode.

FAQ

Why does the window end about three months ago?
Agencies report obligations late (DoD adds a 90-day delay). lagDays (default 95) avoids comparing a period that is still filling in.

Is this a raw award export?
No. It returns computed signals (trends, drivers, top recipients, new entrants), not individual award records.

What do the categories mean?
13 plain-English groups defined by PSC code families. They match our SAM.gov opportunities Actor's groups, minus Security & Guard Services, Equipment & Supplies and Other.

Can one company appear twice?
Yes. Recipient names come from USAspending as-is, so one parent company can appear under several entities.

Reliability

Measured on Apify as of Oct 29, 2026: 3 of 3 of our own test runs succeeded (100%), with a median run time of 6 seconds (longest 9 s) on small test inputs. It is a small sample from a new Actor; we will update it as runs accumulate. Local tests: a full run (all categories, 90-day window) returned 315 signals in about 90 seconds with 0 API errors.

Use it from AI agents (MCP)

Add this Actor as a tool in Claude Desktop, Cursor or any MCP client through the Apify MCP server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "federal-spending-signals": {
      "url": "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=fedsignals/federal-spending-signals",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" }
    }
  }
}

Use it from code (API)

One call runs the Actor and returns the dataset items. maxTotalChargeUsd caps what the run can charge.

Python:

import requests

items = requests.post(
    "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fedsignals~federal-spending-signals/run-sync-get-dataset-items",
    params={"maxTotalChargeUsd": 1},
    headers={"Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN"},
    json={"categories": ["Telecom"], "agenciesPerCategory": 3, "topRecipientsPerCategory": 3, "newEntrantLookbackPages": 1},
    timeout=300,
).json()
print(len(items), "items")

JavaScript (Node 18+):

const res = await fetch(
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/fedsignals~federal-spending-signals/run-sync-get-dataset-items?maxTotalChargeUsd=1",
  {
    method: "POST",
    headers: { Authorization: "Bearer YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN", "Content-Type": "application/json" },
    body: JSON.stringify({"categories": ["Telecom"], "agenciesPerCategory": 3, "topRecipientsPerCategory": 3, "newEntrantLookbackPages": 1}),
  }
);
const items = await res.json();
console.log(items.length, "items");

Related FedSignals Actors

• SAM.gov Scraper: Federal Contract Opportunities Monitor: new SAM.gov contract opportunities, filtered and deduplicated
• Expiring Federal Contracts: Recompete Finder (USAspending): federal contracts expiring soon, with incumbents
• SEC Form D Scraper: New Startup Funding Rounds: new private funding rounds from SEC Form D filings
• Building Permits Scraper: New Construction Leads by City: new building permits as construction leads

Feedback

Found a bug or need a filter or source? Open an issue on the Issues tab or email fedsignals.alerts@gmail.com.

This Actor is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government or USAspending.gov. Nothing here is investment advice.