National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases

The Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is a civilian public-health agency within the cabinet department that funds disease surveillance, prevention research, and outbreak-response programs through federal grants and cooperative agreements, predominantly to state and territorial health departments.

The CDC obligated $16.03 billion in combined federal grant awards across 478 recipients over its grant-funding history dating to 2009. Recent grant activity has accelerated significantly: 16 awards in 2022, 14 in 2023, 20 in 2024, and 129 in 2025, with 1 award so far in 2026. The most recent grant award closed on 2026-09-30. Grant recipients are highly fragmented by count, with the top five recipients accounting for only 9 percent of recent awards over the last five years. Among recent recipients by federal dollars obligated, the top five account for 6 percent of the federal-dollar total—an even more dispersed distribution. The Department of Public Health Illinois leads in both award count and federal-dollar value among recent recipients, with 4 awards obligating $537.6 million federal dollars. The Department of Public Health Connecticut and Department of Public Health Illinois lead by count at 4 awards each; State of Rhode Island Department of Health, New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services, and State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services each hold 3 awards. By federal dollars, State of Wisconsin Department of Health Services ($324 million across 3 awards) and State of Georgia Department of Public Health ($41.5 million across 2 awards) are the second and third largest recent recipients.

The CDC's grant portfolio is structured predominantly around Cooperative Agreements, which account for 84 percent of all awards (401 awards), with Project Grants making up the remaining 16 percent (77 awards). This assistance-type mix reflects the agency's emphasis on collaborative, ongoing relationships with state and local health authorities rather than discrete, time-limited projects. The highly fragmented recipient concentration and the heavy reliance on Cooperative Agreements indicate a decentralized funding model aligned with public-health governance across multiple jurisdictions and partner organizations.