Industry Lobbying Comparison
Compare lobbying spending across industries. Select industries below to see how they stack up. Data from 726,000+ Senate LDA filings (2018-2025).
Total Lobbying Spending (2018-2025)
Healthcare & Pharma
Drug pricing, Medicare, FDA, patents
Technology
Antitrust, AI, privacy, Section 230
Defense & Aerospace
NDAA, weapons systems, procurement
Key Insights
Healthcare Dominates
Healthcare & Pharma spends more than double any other industry on lobbying. With $4.4B+ since 2018, it accounts for roughly 25% of all federal lobbying spending — more than defense and tech combined.
Tech Is the Fastest Growing
Technology lobbying is growing at 15% annually — the fastest of any sector. Driven by AI regulation, antitrust enforcement, and privacy legislation, tech spending has more than quadrupled since 2015.
The Trade Group Multiplier
Industry totals include trade group spending. The National Association of Realtors alone accounts for $387M — more than many entire industries spend. Trade groups amplify industry voice beyond company-level lobbying.
Education: Small but Growing
Education lobbying is the smallest sector at $280M but growing at 9%/year — driven by student loan policy, Title IX debates, and fights over federal education funding.
Cross-Industry Lobbying Dynamics
Industries don't lobby in isolation. When healthcare companies push for FDA reforms, pharmaceutical, insurance, and medical device companies may find themselves lobbying on the same bills from different angles. When Congress debates infrastructure spending, transportation, construction, energy, and telecom companies all compete for funding.
These cross-industry dynamics create fascinating alliances and rivalries. Big Tech and Big Pharma increasingly clash over health data privacy. Defense contractors and tech companies compete for cybersecurity contracts. Energy companies and automakers disagree on EV mandates but unite on trade policy.
The Lobbying Arms Race
Once one company in an industry starts lobbying, competitors follow. This creates an arms race dynamic where lobbying spending ratchets upward over time. The tech industry is the clearest example: Google started lobbying seriously around 2010, and within a decade, every major tech company had a multi-million-dollar DC operation. The same pattern is now playing out in crypto, AI, and space industries.
Explore which specific issues are surging on our momentum tracker, or see how issues overlap on the issue collisions page.
Trade Groups: The Hidden Multiplier
The numbers above include trade group spending, which is a critical multiplier for industry influence. The National Association of Realtors ($387M) spends more than many entire industries do individually. PhRMA ($321M) amplifies pharmaceutical company lobbying. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ($607M+) lobbies on behalf of business broadly.
When you see an industry's total lobbying figure, remember that it combines individual company lobbying, trade association lobbying, and coalition lobbying. The real influence is often greater than any single number suggests.
Related Pages
How to Use the Industry Comparison Tool
Select two or more industries to compare their lobbying spending over time. The tool visualizes quarterly spending trends, highlights periods of rapid growth or decline, and calculates growth rates for easy comparison. Use it to answer questions like: Is tech lobbying growing faster than pharma? How does defense spending compare to healthcare?
Industry classifications follow the categories used in Senate LDA filings. Some organizations file under multiple industries when their lobbying spans several sectors. In these cases, spending is attributed to the primary industry listed on each filing.
Key Industry Comparisons for 2026
The most revealing comparisons in the current landscape include:
- Healthcare vs. Technology: Healthcare still leads in total spending, but technology has the highest growth rate. The gap is narrowing as AI regulation and data privacy drive tech spending.
- Defense vs. Energy: Both are mature lobbying sectors, but they're diverging. Defense spending is rising with the FY2027 budget battle, while fossil fuel lobbying has plateaued as the industry shifts strategy toward direct political engagement.
- Finance vs. Crypto: Traditional financial services lobbying remains dominant, but cryptocurrency has gone from zero to $80M+ in just five years, representing the fastest-growing subsector in financial lobbying.
Understanding Industry Classification
Industry categories on OpenLobby are based on classifications assigned during LDA registration. Some organizations span multiple industries — Amazon, for example, appears in technology, retail, and cloud computing contexts. Our comparison tool uses the primary industry listed on each filing to avoid double-counting.
Trade associations present a unique challenge. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbies across virtually every industry, while PhRMA lobbies exclusively for pharmaceuticals. When comparing industries, keep in mind that trade association spending may represent dozens or hundreds of member companies pooling resources. See our methodology page for details on how we handle these classifications.
Explore by Industry
Data Notes & Methodology
All data on this page is sourced from Senate Office of Public Records lobbying disclosure filings under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. Figures reflect reported spending as filed and may be subject to amendment. Quarterly totals are annualized where noted.
Industry classifications follow the Center for Responsive Politics methodology. Where companies operate across multiple sectors, spending is attributed to the primary business classification. Foreign entity designations follow FARA and LDA Section 4 definitions.
Year-over-year comparisons use inflation-adjusted figures (2026 dollars) unless otherwise noted. Historical data extends back to 1998 when electronic filing became mandatory.
For questions about our data or methodology, see our full methodology page or contact us.