Many business owners ask, “Are there any government contracts near me?” The answer is yes—federal, state, and local governments award thousands of contracts every year that must be performed in specific geographic locations. From construction and IT services to public safety and infrastructure maintenance, there are opportunities for companies of all sizes, especially those located near the project site.
Where to Look for Government Contracts Near Me
Federal Opportunities
The federal government posts all contracts above $25,000 on SAM.gov. By using the Place of Performance filter when you are searching Contracting Opportunities, you can zero in on work located in your state, county, or even ZIP code. This is particularly useful for service-based work like facility management or IT support, where agencies often prefer vendors located nearby.
State and Local Opportunities
States, counties, and municipalities manage their own procurement systems and software and award billions of dollars each year for local projects. These include public works, transportation, healthcare, and school system contracts. Many of these opportunities are ideal for businesses looking for government contracts near me because proximity to the job site can be an advantage when competing against larger, out-of-state firms.
How to Make the Search Easier
- Use Online Tools
- SAM.gov for federal contracts
- Your state’s procurement portal for regional work
- City and county websites for municipal opportunities
Many of these platforms allow you to set up automatic alerts, ensuring you don’t miss new postings.
- SAM.gov for federal contracts
- Tap Into Free Local Support
- Some APEX Accelerators (formerly PTAC) offer free bid-matching services. Provide them with your business profile, and they’ll email you when relevant opportunities are posted. It’s like having a personal assistant constantly scanning for government contracts near me.
Filtering Opportunities by Geography, Industry, and Size
Government contract databases can produce thousands of results if you only search by keyword. To focus on the best opportunities for your business:
- Geography: Use “Place of Performance” filters on SAM.gov and state portals to find contracts in your county, city, or even ZIP code.
- Industry: Apply NAICS or NIGP commodity codes to ensure you only see relevant solicitations. For example, IT support firms use NAICS 541519, while construction paving contractors use NAICS 237310.
- Contract Value: Filter for contract size within your capacity. Smaller contracts are a great way to start building a government past-performance record before pursuing multi-million-dollar projects.
These filters turn a broad list of opportunities into a targeted list of realistic, winnable bids.
Monitoring New Opportunities Proactively
Even with great filters, you can miss out if you aren’t monitoring daily. Most solicitations close in 30 days or less. Avoid missed chances by:
- Saving Searches and Setting Alerts: On SAM.gov, you can often save searches and receive automatic notifications when a new opportunity matches your criteria.
- Set up an Opportunity Review Schedule: Sometimes automatic notifications aren’t available. When that’s the situation, be sure to schedule a regular time daily to review your saved searches.
- Vendor Profile Notifications: Some state and local procurement systems notify registered vendors whenever a relevant solicitation is posted. Simply being registered with the right commodity codes can generate automatic email alerts.
- Bid-Matching Services: Many APEX Accelerators provide free or low-cost tools that scan hundreds of procurement sites every day and send you personalized alerts.
- Agency Forecasts and Events: Agencies publish forecasts of upcoming procurements and announce new work at industry events and pre-bid meetings. Following agency social media accounts and attending outreach sessions often gives you an early look at upcoming opportunities.
Watch our video on how you can use SAM.GOV to search and get notifications.
Leveraging Optional Small Business Certifications
One way to stand out when bidding on government contracts near me is by leveraging small business certifications:
- 8(a) Business Development Program: Exclusive opportunities and even sole-source contracts for qualifying socially and economically disadvantaged firms.
- Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB): Contracts set aside for women-owned firms in designated industries.
- HUBZone: For companies in Historically Underutilized Business Zones, providing both set-aside eligibility and a 10% price preference.
- Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB): Access to veteran-specific contracts, especially in the VA and defense sectors.
Many states and municipalities also have MBE, WBE, and DBE certifications that create preferences in local awards. Obtaining these certifications opens access to opportunities unavailable to non-certified competitors and demonstrates your business’s alignment with government contracting goals.
How to Compete and Win
Finding a contract is only half the challenge—winning it requires preparation:
- Write proposals tailored to each specific opportunity, following every instruction in the RFP.
- Emphasize your local presence and proven ability to perform similar work.
- Network with agency representatives and attend industry outreach events to stay visible and learn about upcoming opportunities.
- Consider pursuing certifications to qualify for set-asides and increase competitiveness.
SAS-GPS specializes in helping contractors compete and win. We offer Proposal & Pricing Services that help ensure your bid is fully compliant and competitive. We also provide Federal Teaming Support to help smaller businesses partner with primes and build past performance, along with a full Resources Library for training and compliance tools.
Want a real-life scenario? Here’s how one local firm won:
A mid-sized electrical contractor in Texas had never bid on government work before but wanted to break into the public sector. They started by registering on the SAM.gov state procurement portal, using filters to target government contracts near me which focused on electrical and facility upgrades. With APEX Accelerator support, they received daily bid alerts tailored to their business profile.
Initially, they bid on small jobs, including a county courthouse lighting upgrade, leveraging their proximity to reduce mobilization costs. They also applied for HUBZone certification, which made them eligible for a restricted set-aside project upgrading federal office electrical systems. With help from SAS-GPS’s proposal team, they submitted a compliant, well-structured bid and won. And, within 12 months, they had secured three additional local contracts and built a federal past-performance record that positioned them for larger future awards.
Bottom Line
If you’ve ever asked, “Are there government contracts near me?” the answer is almost certainly yes. By using advanced filters, monitoring opportunities proactively, and leveraging small business certifications, you can build a pipeline of winnable contracts in your own community. With the right strategy, preparation, and professional support, local government spending can become a powerful driver for your business growth.
