What does the do?

Updated annually

The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency responsible for managing and supporting the basic functioning of federal agencies. Its primary mission includes supplying products and services for US government offices, including real estate, acquisition, and technology services. It was established in 1949.

In FY 2024,

-$247M

in net spending was recorded by the General Services Administration

How much does the General Services Administration spend?

The General Services Administration spent -$247.5 million in fiscal year (FY) 2024. The department ranked 136th among federal agencies in total spending.

The General Services Administration accounted for <0.1% of all federal spending in FY 2024.

Share of GSA net spending compared to the top ten highest spending agencies in FY 2024

Federal spending may shift over time due to population growth, changes in policy and programs, and emerging problems to address. Adjusting for inflation, the General Services Administration’s federal spending has decreased from $2.23 billion in 1980 to -$247.5 million in 2024.

The General Services Administration’s federal spending in FY 2024 was lower than in FY 1980.

Yearly federal net spending by GSA, adjusted for inflation (2024 dollars), FYs 1980–2024

Since 1980, the General Services Administration's net spending has decreased by $2.48 billion, while overall federal spending has increased from $2.31 trillion (in 2024 dollars) to $6.78 trillion, or 193.7%.
As a percentage of the overall federal budget, a positive figure means agency net spending made up some positive portion of total spending; a negative number means that generated revenue offset a portion of spending. In 2024, the General Services Administration offset 0.0037% of all federal spending.
Major legislation, internal or global economic conditions, and acute events like the COVID-19 pandemic can affect spending year to year. For example, the federal budget fluctuated during the pandemic, rising from $5.3 trillion (in 2023 dollars) in 2019 to $7.7 trillion in 2020 and $7.8 trillion in 2021.

The General Services Administration offset 0.0037% of overall federal spending in FY 2024.

Percentage of federal budget dedicated to GSA, FYs 1980–2024

Most federal spending can be categorized as direct or indirect. Direct spending refers to money the federal government spends on budget items such as federal programs, employee salaries, and debt interest. Indirect spending refers to federal transfers to state and local governments.
In FY 2024, all of the General Services Administration's spending was direct.
The chart below outlines all net GSA spending.

How did the General Services Administration spend its budget in 2024?

Federal government net spending isolated to GSA, FY 2024

How many people work for the General Services Administration?

Some 13,371 of the 2.31 million total civilian federal employees work for the General Services Administration as of September 2024. This is 4.9% more people than the agency staffed in 2010.

The number of federal employees working for the General Services Administration has increased 4.9% since 2010.

Number of federal employees working for GSA, September 2010–2024

GSA accounts for 0.6% of the overall federal workforce. As the number of federal employees has changed, so too has the way the workforce is organized, with resources allocated to agencies depending on government priorities. GSA constituted a similar share of the overall federal workforce in September 2024 than in 2010 (0.6%).
While the number of employees on an agency’s payroll contributes to that agency’s expenditures, some agencies have relatively few employees compared to their budget or vice versa, giving them an outsized share of either the budget or the workforce. According to the most recent data, the General Services Administration’s share of the workforce (0.6%) is larger than its share of the budget (0.0037%).

Who leads the General Services Administration?

The GSA is led by an Administrator. This individual is nominated by the President and must be confirmed by the Senate. The Administrator serves at the discretion of the President. The term of the Administrator typically ends when the appointee resigns, is replaced, or when a new President takes office and appoints a new Administrator.

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Methodology

USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.

The analysis was generated with the help of AI and reviewed by USAFacts for accuracy.

Page sources

USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.