Alaska State Office

The Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service Alaska State Office is a sub-agency within USDA that administers housing loans, grants, and technical assistance for rural communities in Alaska, operating primarily through loan guarantees and direct lending rather than competitive service contracting. The agency has awarded 966 federal contracts since 2009, though recent activity has contracted sharply — 105 awards in 2017, 118 in 2018, 81 in 2019, and only 1 award each in 2020 and 2021, with no recorded awards since September 2021.

Contract competition is highly fragmented across 96 distinct prime contractors, with a combined award potential value of $2.9 million and $1.7 million in obligated dollars. The award distribution reflects the agency's operational model: 88 percent of awards carry no set-aside designation, while 12 percent are small-business set-asides. The low dollar concentration and high contractor count indicate that contract activity consists primarily of small vendor engagements, likely for localized construction, repair, or maintenance services tied to Rural Housing Service loan-funded properties.

The substantial decline in contracting activity after 2019 — from 81 awards to single-digit annual volume — signals a shift in the agency's procurement posture or a contraction in operational funding. No contract opportunities are currently recorded as open, and no awards have been recorded against the agency in over five years. Business development professionals should verify whether the Rural Housing Service Alaska State Office continues to transact contracts or has narrowed its procurement footprint toward direct lending and grant administration.