The Small Business Administration released its FY2025 Small Business Procurement Scorecard on June 25, and the top-line result is strong: the federal government earned an "A" and sent a record-adjacent share of prime contract dollars to small businesses. Look one layer down, though, and the picture is more mixed. Total prime dollars fell year over year for the first time in a decade, and two of the four socioeconomic goals were missed again.
Here is what the scorecard actually shows, category by category.
The headline: an "A" grade
Governmentwide, small businesses won nearly 28% of all federal prime contract dollars in FY2025, comfortably clearing the statutory 23% goal. That works out to about $179 billion in prime contracts. Add subcontracts and the total reaches $273 billion.
The SBA credits those awards with supporting roughly 793,400 jobs through prime contracts and another 418,000 through subcontracts.
One number cuts the other way. The $179 billion in prime awards is down from $183.5 billion in FY2024, a drop of about $4.5 billion. It is the first year-over-year decline in small business prime dollars in roughly ten years.
The SBA attributed the year's results to a shift toward merit-based competition and stricter oversight of its contracting programs.
Category by category
The governmentwide scorecard tracks four socioeconomic categories. Two met their goals in FY2025, and two missed.
| Category | FY25 achieved | FY24 | Statutory goal | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small disadvantaged business (SDB) | 11.6% / $75.3B | 12.3% / $78.3B | 5% | Met |
| Service-disabled veteran-owned (SDVOSB) | ~5.0% / $32.5B | 5.14% / $32.8B | 3% | Met |
| Women-owned (WOSB) | 4.2% | 4.97% | 5% | Missed |
| HUBZone | 2.66% | 2.75% | 3% | Missed |
Small disadvantaged business (SDB). SDB firms won 11.6% of prime dollars, about $75.3 billion. That clears the 5% statutory goal by a wide margin, but it is down from 12.3% and $78.3 billion the year before, the first decline in both the percentage and the dollar figure in a decade.
Service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB). SDVOSB firms won roughly 5.0% of prime dollars, about $32.5 billion, again clearing the 3% goal. That is a slight dip from 5.14% and $32.8 billion in FY2024.
Women-owned small business (WOSB). WOSB firms reached 4.2% of prime dollars, short of the 5% goal and down from 4.97% the year before. The governmentwide WOSB goal has now gone unmet for more than a decade. About 936 women-owned firms left the federal market over the year.
HUBZone. HUBZone firms reached 2.66% of prime dollars, below the 3% goal and down from 2.75% in FY2024. It is the sixth consecutive year the governmentwide HUBZone goal has been missed. The number of HUBZone firms active in the federal market fell by 80, to 2,619.
The 8(a) drop
Outside the four goaled categories, the scorecard's biggest single change came from the 8(a) Business Development Program. Awards to 8(a) firms fell by $1.5 billion to $24.3 billion, which the SBA described as the largest decrease in 8(a) contracting in more than ten years.
Two policy changes sit behind much of the movement in these numbers. In January 2025, the administration reset the small disadvantaged business goal from the 15% target used in prior years back to the 5% statutory level. Separately, the SBA reported removing roughly 800 firms from the 8(a) program following a program-wide audit, citing firms that failed requirements or declined financial document review.
What the scorecard measures
The Small Business Procurement Scorecard is the SBA's annual report card on how well federal agencies meet their small business contracting goals. It grades the government as a whole and each major agency, both on prime contracts and on subcontracts, and it breaks results out across the four socioeconomic categories above. The statutory governmentwide goals are 23% for small business overall, 5% for SDB, 5% for WOSB, 3% for SDVOSB, and 3% for HUBZone.
The bottom line
FY2025 was, by the grade, a strong year for small business contracting: an "A," nearly 28% of prime dollars, and $273 billion in total awards. It was also a year of movement. Prime dollars slipped for the first time in a decade, the WOSB and HUBZone goals went unmet again, and 8(a) and SDB awards fell after deliberate policy changes. For small businesses planning their FY2026 federal pipeline, the categories that moved are worth a close read, especially alongside the changes coming to the FY2026 scorecard methodology.
Small businesses looking to build relationships with agency buyers can find free matchmaking and training events through the SBA's events calendar. FEDCON also maintains a federal contracting events page that pulls together SBA sessions and offerings from other organizations.
If you want help mapping where your business fits in the federal set-aside landscape, talk to a FEDCON advisor. We help small businesses find, qualify for, and win federal contracts.
Frequently asked questions
What grade did the federal government get on the FY2025 SBA scorecard? The government earned an "A," awarding nearly 28% of prime contract dollars to small businesses against a 23% statutory goal.
How much did small businesses win in federal contracts in FY2025? About $179 billion in prime contracts and $273 billion including subcontracts. Prime dollars were down about $4.5 billion from FY2024.
Which small business goals did the government miss in FY2025? The women-owned small business (WOSB) goal and the HUBZone goal. WOSB reached 4.2% against a 5% goal, and HUBZone reached 2.66% against a 3% goal.