Industries › NAICS 541710
Industry · NAICS 541710 · sector 54 Professional, scientific and technical services
Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences
Federal contract obligations classified under NAICS 541710, the organisations that win them and the agencies that award them.
USAspending caveat. Figures are obligations reported by federal agencies to USAspending.gov, not payments. In USAspending's words: "An outlay occurs when federal money is actually paid out, not just promised to be paid ('obligated')." "Every agency has a Senior Accountable Official who must officially certify that the quarterly financial data submitted by their agency is accurate and complete." "If there are any discrepancies in procurement data, FPDS is the authoritative source." Contract data for the Department of Defense and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is published with a 90-day delay. Data loaded 30 Sep 2026.
Federal agencies obligated $8.9B in contracts classified under NAICS 541710, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences, in FY2026, and $37B over the five fiscal years since FY2023; the industry ranks 21 of 526 on this site.
Obligations were about level on FY2025 ($8.6B), with $0 so far in FY2027.
The largest recipient organisations over FY2022–FY2025 were Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC ($13B), Battelle Memorial Institute ($6.3B) and Uchicago Argonne, LLC ($4.6B).
By place of performance, the most money went to CA, WA and IL.
Contract obligations by fiscal year
Compared with the largest industry FY2026
| Measure | This industry | Aircraft Manufacturing | All contracts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contract obligations, FY2026 | $8.9B | $45B | $716B |
| Five-year total | $37B | $211B | $3.0T |
| Share of all contract obligations, five years | 1.2% | 7.1% | 100% |
Top contractors obligations, FY2022–FY2025
Buying agencies $1.0M+ awards
Where the work is performed
Largest awards since FY2023
| Recipient | Awarding agency | Type | Award value | Begun | Place | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The MITRE Corporation | Department of the TreasuryBureau of the Fiscal Service | ContractDelivery Order | $3.2M | 28 Aug 2025 | VA | USAspending |
| The MITRE Corporation | Department of the TreasuryBureau of the Fiscal Service | ContractDelivery Order | $1.7M | 3 Sep 2024 | VA | USAspending |
| The MITRE Corporation | Department of the TreasuryBureau of the Fiscal Service | ContractDelivery Order | $1.2M | 27 Nov 2024 | VA | USAspending |
Other industries in sector 54: Professional, scientific and technical services
- 541330 Engineering Services $197B
- 541715 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) $181B
- 541512 Computer Systems Design Services $127B
- 541519 Other Computer Related Services $99B
- 541990 All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services $52B
- 541611 Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services $50B
- 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services $43B
- 541712 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology) $37B
- 541513 Computer Facilities Management Services $13B
- 541714 Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) $13B
- 541614 Process, Physical Distribution, and Logistics Consulting Services $12B
- 541690 Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services $8.6B
- 541810 Advertising Agencies $6.1B
- 541620 Environmental Consulting Services $5.2B
- 541211 Offices of Certified Public Accountants $4.8B
- 541711 Research and Development in Biotechnology $4.6B
- 541310 Architectural Services $4.1B
- 541720 Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities $3.9B
- 541612 Human Resources Consulting Services $3.4B
- 541618 Other Management Consulting Services $3.2B
- 541219 Other Accounting Services $3.1B
- 541380 Testing Laboratories and Services $2.4B
- 541199 All Other Legal Services $2.3B
- 541930 Translation and Interpretation Services $1.6B
Questions and answers
How much does the federal government spend on NAICS 541710?
$8.9B in contract obligations classified under Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences in FY2026, $37B over the five fiscal years since FY2023. Obligations are commitments, not payments.
Who are the top contractors in Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences?
Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC ($13B), Battelle Memorial Institute ($6.3B), Uchicago Argonne, LLC ($4.6B), The Regents of the University of California ($3.6B), The Leland Stanford Junior University ($2.7B), by contract obligations over FY2022–FY2025.
Which agencies buy in this industry?
By the value of $1.0M-plus contracts since FY2023: Department of the Treasury ($6.1M).
What is a NAICS code?
In USAspending's words: "NAICS stands for the North American Industrial Classification System. This 6-digit code tells you what industry the work falls into. Each contract record has a NAICS code." Assistance awards (grants, loans, direct payments) carry no NAICS code and are not counted here.
Provenance
Source: USAspending.gov API v2, spending by category (NAICS) by fiscal year, recipient cross-tabulation for FY2022–FY2025 and award search, loaded 30 Sep 2026. State figures come from each state's top-100 NAICS list, so small amounts in a state may be missing. See methodology.