GovAuctions Research · Updated daily
The Government Surplus Price Index
What does the U.S. government's castoff actually sell for, and which way are prices moving? This index tracks the median final winning bid by category across 108,526 completed surplus auctions (May 6, 2026 - Aug 13, 2026). The overall median lot sold for $270.
Over the trailing three months, 8 categories are up and 3 are down. The biggest riser is real estate at +60%. The biggest faller is equipment at -39%.
Median sale price by category, and 3-month movement
| Category | Sold lots | Median | 3-mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicles | 40,001 | $2,030 | +30% |
| Electronics | 23,640 | $81 | +52% |
| Furniture | 15,067 | $14 | +17% |
| Tools | 9,702 | $100 | -2% |
| Equipment | 6,001 | $1,500 | -39% |
| Medical | 5,030 | $67 | +13% |
| Military | 3,288 | $92 | +7% |
| Collectibles | 2,858 | $75 | -10% |
| Jewelry | 2,156 | $101 | +5% |
| Real Estate | 604 | $3,225 | +60% |
| Seized | 38 | $105 | +7% |
| Sporting | 33 | $90 | — |
| Catering | 26 | $102 | — |
| Appliances | 26 | $91 | — |
| Art & Decor | 24 | $68 | — |
| Janitorial | 22 | $11 | — |
| Building | 10 | $27 | — |
Methodology: each figure is the median final winning bid on lots that closed on official U.S. government auction platforms (GovDeals, GSA Auctions, PublicSurplus, GovPlanet, PurpleWave and others) over the trailing 365 days. Medians are used because auction prices are heavily right-skewed; no-bid lots are excluded and a category needs at least 5 completed sales to appear. The 3-month movement compares each category's most recent monthly median against the figure three months earlier. We snapshot the index daily, so the published series grows a permanent track record (55 days and counting). A sample of the platforms we index, not the entire government-auction universe. Free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions.
Frequently asked questions
- How much do government surplus items sell for at auction?
- Across 108,526 completed U.S. government surplus auctions (May 6, 2026 - Aug 13, 2026), the median lot sold for $270. Prices vary widely by category — the median ranges from a few hundred dollars for office furniture and electronics to tens of thousands for vehicles and heavy equipment. See the per-category table above for each figure.
- What is the average price of a government surplus vehicle at auction?
- The median surplus vehicle sold for $2,030 across 40,001 completed U.S. government auctions. We report the median rather than the mean because auction prices are heavily right-skewed — half of surplus vehicles sell below $2,030 and half above, which is a truer "typical" price than an average a few outliers can distort.
- Is there a price index or data source for government surplus auction prices?
- Yes. This page is the GovAuctions Surplus Price Index — a free, daily-updated index of median final sale prices by category, built from completed auctions on official U.S. government platforms (GovDeals, GSA Auctions, PublicSurplus, GovPlanet, PurpleWave and others). It is free to cite with attribution to GovAuctions. Over the trailing three months, 8 of 17 categories are up and 3 are down; the biggest riser is real estate (+60%).
- How competitive is bidding on government surplus, and how often do lots actually sell?
- Sell-through rates and typical bidder counts by category are tracked in our companion Surplus Market Report, which shows which categories clear reliably and which draw the most bidders.
Drill into any category in the full price index, look up a specific make and model in sold prices, see sell-through and competition in the Surplus Market Report, or browse live auctions.