Government construction bid statistics (July 2026)

The dataset, honestly described

Every figure on this page is computed from the JobsiteBids live ingest: construction-NAICS solicitations from SAM.gov (federal) plus seven state and local procurement platforms — PlanetBids, Bonfire, COMMBUYS and its BuySpeed siblings, the Texas ESBD, the NY Contract Reporter, MyFloridaMarketplace, and JAGGAER statewide portals. That's a large live sample, not a census: our state & local coverage is deepest where our customers bid (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, California, New York), and set-aside data exists only on the federal side, where SAM.gov reports it as structured data.

Bid windows are measured from posted date to due date and clamped to 1–120 days to exclude data artifacts. We recompute these figures from the JobsiteBids database on a quarterly basis and update the date above when we do.

Finding 1 — the two-week federal scramble

Federal construction moves fast: the median federal solicitation gives bidders 15 days from posting to bid opening, and 49% give 14 days or less. State and local buyers run meaningfully longer windows — a 22-day median, with only 26% at two weeks or under.

For a sub, the implication is mechanical: find a federal bid a week after it posts and half the runway is gone before the site visit, the bond request, and the takeoff. This is why shops that win treat bid-finding as a daily habit (see how to find government construction bids) — and why state & local work, besides being the bigger market, is also the more forgiving one on the clock.

Finding 2 — set-asides are the rule, not the exception

Of the 4,322 federal construction solicitations in the sample, 67% carry a set-aside — the job is closed to firms outside the designated program before bidding starts. Total small-business set-asides alone are half of all federal construction solicitations, and service-disabled-veteran-owned (SDVOSB) set-asides are one in eight.

If you run a small shop and assumed federal construction belongs to giants, the data says the opposite: the government reserves most of its construction solicitation volume for firms your size. What the programs are and how eligibility works is covered in set-asides explained; if you're eligible for SDVOSB, WOSB, HUBZone, or 8(a) and not certified, you are ignoring a measurable slice of the market.

Finding 3 — where the volume is, by trade

A third of federal construction solicitations are general commercial-and-institutional building work (NAICS 236220) — packages that flow down to every specialty trade as subcontracts. But the direct-solicitation volume for specialty codes is substantial in its own right: plumbing/HVAC (238220) and electrical (238210) together are over a fifth of coded solicitations, and roofing, site work, and water/sewer each hold a steady direct lane.

The practical read: if you're a mechanical, electrical, or roofing sub, the government solicits your trade directly — you don't have to wait for a GC. The bids-by-trade pages map each trade to its codes with live counts, and the NAICS directory covers what every code includes.

Finding 4 — government posts on Thursdays

Posting volume climbs through the week and peaks on Thursday, which alone carries a quarter of all solicitations; weekends are near-zero. A contractor who checks portals "when I get a chance, usually Monday" sees Thursday's wave four days late — on a 15-day median federal window, that's more than a quarter of the runway spent before the first read.

The fix is boring and effective: a five-minute daily scan, or a 6 AM digest that does the scan for you and ranks what fits.

Use the data, don't admire it

Four numbers to run a bid desk by: expect 15 days on federal work (so scan daily), know your set-aside eligibility (two-thirds of the market cares), watch your trade's direct codes (the volume is there), and never let a Thursday pass unread. If you'd rather have software hold that discipline, that's what JobsiteBids is — the same feed this study is computed from, scored against your shop and delivered every morning.

Journalists and researchers: we're happy to cut this data by trade or state — contact us. Cite this page as "JobsiteBids public construction bid data, July 2026."

Frequently asked questions

How long do contractors get to bid on government construction jobs?

In the JobsiteBids sample of 6,324 live solicitations (July 2026), the median federal construction solicitation allows 15 days from posting to bid opening, and 49% allow 14 days or less. State and local solicitations run longer: a 22-day median, with 26% at two weeks or under.

What percentage of federal construction contracts are set aside for small business?

In the same sample, 67% of federal construction solicitations carry some set-aside; total small-business set-asides alone account for 50.5%, and SDVOSB set-asides for 12.6%. Only about a third of federal construction solicitations are full and open.

What day of the week do government bids post?

Posting volume peaks on Thursday — 24.7% of all solicitations in our sample — building through the week from Monday's 15.4%. Weekend posting is close to zero (1.3% combined).