About HowTheySpend
HowTheySpend is a free federal spending research tool built on data from USASpending.gov, the official source for U.S. government spending data.
What we show
Contracts, grants, loans, and direct payments awarded by federal agencies — searchable by state or ZIP code, broken down by agency and recipient.
What we don't do
- We don't require accounts or registration.
- We don't store your searches.
- We don't run ads or sell data.
- We don't editorialize on spending decisions.
Data source
All data comes from the USASpending.gov API, maintained by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It is the official federal source for government spending transparency.
A note on obligations vs. outlays
Amounts shown are obligations — the amount the government committed to spend. Actual payments (outlays) may differ and are tracked separately.
Who we are
HowTheySpend is a product of SagerOnline, a small software company that builds free public-data tools.