Rankings · Funding Ceiling
Largest Federal Grant Programs by Funding
Federal grant programs ranked by maximum funding ceiling, the biggest pools of federal money available to applicants.
- $7.0B
- #1 · Greenhouse Gas Re…
- 50
- entries ranked
The verdict
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund leads with $7.0B, ahead of Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) ($5.0B); Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) at $50.0M is #50, the current cutoff to make this list.
- $7.0B
- #1 · Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fu…
- 50
- entries ranked by funding ceiling
- $50.0M
- #50 cutoff to make this list
- 1.4×
- the #1 vs #2 gap
What this ranking tells you
These are the largest federal assistance programs measured by their maximum funding ceiling, the upper bound of what a single award can provide. Programs topping this list include major infrastructure, healthcare, and research initiatives that can distribute billions of dollars annually. The funding ceiling represents the maximum possible award, not the typical award; most individual grants within these programs are significantly smaller. Still, these programs represent the largest funding pools and often have the most applicants.
Top 10 by funding ceiling
The shape of the ranking at a glance.
The bar to make this list
This published top 50 has a current cutoff of $50.0M: 26 entries sit above it and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) holds the final included place. These bands describe this ranking only, not every federal grant.
Funding Ceiling distribution within this published ranking
Each band is measured against the #50 cutoff of $50.0M
Entries grouped by multiples of the #50 funding ceiling cutoff
Each bar is a labelled band; taller bars hold more ranked entries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source SAM.gov (System for Award Management) · 2026-08-10
| # | Name | Funding Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | $7.0B |
| 2 | Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $5.0B |
| 3 | Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) U.S. Department of Transportation | $1.0B |
| 4 | High-Speed Rail Corridors and Intercity Passenger Rail Service U.S. Department of Transportation | $1.0B |
| 5 | Federal Transit Capital Investment Grants U.S. Department of Transportation | $1.0B |
| 6 | Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Grants U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $500.0M |
| 7 | Clean Water State Revolving Funds U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | $500.0M |
| 8 | Highway Planning and Construction U.S. Department of Transportation | $500.0M |
| 9 | Rail Capital Assistance U.S. Department of Transportation | $500.0M |
| 10 | Unemployment Insurance U.S. Department of Labor | $500.0M |
| 11 | Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $500.0M |
| 12 | Recompete Pilot Program U.S. Department of Commerce | $200.0M |
| 13 | Capitalization Grants for Drinking Water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency | $200.0M |
| 14 | Special Education Grants to States (IDEA Part B) U.S. Department of Education | $100.0M |
| 15 | Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $100.0M |
| 16 | Public Housing Operating Fund U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $100.0M |
| 17 | Broadband Technology Opportunities Program U.S. Department of Commerce | $100.0M |
| 18 | FEMA Public Assistance — Disaster Grants Federal Emergency Management Agency | $100.0M |
| 19 | Airport Improvement Program U.S. Department of Transportation | $100.0M |
| 20 | Railroad Crossing Elimination Program U.S. Department of Transportation | $100.0M |
| 21 | Foster Care Title IV-E U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $100.0M |
| 22 | Child Care and Development Block Grant U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $100.0M |
| 23 | Race to the Top — Early Learning Challenge U.S. Department of Education | $100.0M |
| 24 | Federal Transit Formula Grants U.S. Department of Transportation | $100.0M |
| 25 | Public Transportation Emergency Relief U.S. Department of Transportation | $100.0M |
| 26 | Highway Safety Improvement Program U.S. Department of Transportation | $100.0M |
| 27 | Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies U.S. Department of Education | $50.0M |
| 28 | Race to the Top U.S. Department of Education | $50.0M |
| 29 | Block Grants for Prevention and Treatment of Substance Abuse U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 30 | HIV Emergency Relief Project Grants U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 31 | Section 8 Housing Assistance Payments U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $50.0M |
| 32 | Public Housing Capital Fund U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $50.0M |
| 33 | Neighborhood Stabilization Program U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $50.0M |
| 34 | New Markets Tax Credit Program U.S. Department of Commerce | $50.0M |
| 35 | Bus and Bus Facilities Formula Grants U.S. Department of Transportation | $50.0M |
| 36 | Crime Victim Assistance (VOCA) U.S. Department of Justice | $50.0M |
| 37 | Teacher Incentive Fund U.S. Department of Education | $50.0M |
| 38 | Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) U.S. Department of Education | $50.0M |
| 39 | Medicaid Transformation Grants U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 40 | Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult U.S. Department of Labor | $50.0M |
| 41 | WIOA Dislocated Workers U.S. Department of Labor | $50.0M |
| 42 | Child Support Enforcement U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 43 | Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 44 | Demolition and Revitalization of Severely Distressed Housing U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development | $50.0M |
| 45 | State of Good Repair Grants U.S. Department of Transportation | $50.0M |
| 46 | Small Business Investment Companies U.S. Small Business Administration | $50.0M |
| 47 | Grants to States for Nursing Home Care for Veterans U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | $50.0M |
| 48 | Veterans State Nursing Home Care U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | $50.0M |
| 49 | Medicaid HCBS Grants U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | $50.0M |
| 50 | Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) U.S. Department of Transportation | $50.0M |
Source: SAM.gov (System for Award Management). See our methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the funding ceiling mean?
The funding ceiling is the maximum amount that can be awarded under a single grant. It represents the upper limit, not the average or typical award. Some programs have very high ceilings because they fund large infrastructure or research projects, while most individual awards within the program are much smaller.
How are these programs different from individual opportunities?
A program (identified by a CFDA number) is the overarching federal assistance listing. Under each program, the government posts individual opportunities (funding notices) with specific deadlines, eligibility, and award amounts. One program can have dozens or hundreds of active opportunities at any time.
Can anyone apply for these large programs?
Eligibility varies widely. Some programs are open to individuals, while others are restricted to state governments, nonprofits, educational institutions, or tribal organizations. Each program listing on PlainGrants includes eligibility details, check before investing time in an application.
What to do next
Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund leads this funding ceiling ranking at $7.0B (1.4× #2).
- Open the #1 entry to see eligibility, deadlines, and source links before you compare the rest of the table. View #1
- #2 is Medical Assistance Program (Medicaid) at $5.0B - compare both before you anchor on a single winner. View #2
- 504 Assistance Listings and 82,290 Grants.gov rows sit in this extract, filter before you apply. National snapshot
Rankings use SAM.gov (System for Award Management) as of August 2026; verify live deadlines on Grants.gov before applying.
Explore More Rankings
Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
Related
According to the U.S. General Services Administration, the SAM.gov Assistance Listings catalog tracked 82,290 federal grant opportunities across 504 assistance programs and 24 federal agencies as of August 2026. See our methodology for how this data is sourced and verified.
Every figure on PlainGrants is rendered directly from SAM.gov Assistance Listings data, no number is typed in by an editor. This ranking draws directly on SAM.gov Assistance Listings data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, the data changelog, or report a data issue on this page.
| Publisher | PlainGrants |
| Sources | the SAM.gov Assistance Listings and Grants.gov |