The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

In 2020, government entities spent $316.5B on infrastructure, with state and local governments accounting for 34.8% of that amount.

The US lags behind other developed countries in math and science scores

The Programme for International Student Assessment, administered every three years by the OECD to 15-year-olds, scores US students below the OECD average in math (465 vs. 472) and only slightly above average in science (499 vs. 485). These figures place US pupils in the lower half of developed nations.

How the US built the Interstate Highway system

As late as World War II, it took a well-prepared motorist roughly 10 days to cross America from coast to coast in a car. That all changed when the nation undertook its biggest public infrastructure project in 1956, the National Interstate and Defense Highways Act, initiating a 36-year, $114B mission to lay 41,000 miles of roads across America. Watch a smart overview here.

Amateur engineers built America’s first great infrastructure project

With no engineering schools in the US, the Erie Canal was designed and built by self-taught amateurs who improvised new methods and became known as the “Erie School of Engineering.”

Review Congress's 2025 report on the history of US critical mineral policy

For decades, supply chains for critical minerals have grown increasingly vulnerable due to reliance on imports. In 2022, the US Geological Survey expanded the list of critical minerals to 50 to better reflect growing industrial needs, exacerbating this vulnerability.

View a map of US data center infrastructure in 2025

Thousands of data centers across the country have already been built, with more under construction or planned. Facilities are connected via transmission and fiber optic lines, with the latter spanning an estimated length of 160 million miles.

Half of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of the IRS, while 38% have a favorable view

From July 1 to July 7, 2024, Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 9,424 adults to gauge the public's attitudes about the federal government, including government agencies and departments. Of 13 agencies, 10 had net favorable ratings of 15 percentage points or more. Topping the list were the National Park Service (76% favorable), the US Postal Service (72%) and NASA (67%).

The national debt is growing at a faster rate than the economy

“The federal government faces an unsustainable fiscal future,” according to this bleak 2025 report on the nation’s budget from the US Government Accountability Office. If unaddressed, the country’s debt could double its gross domestic product, warns the nonpartisan agency. For individuals, this may mean stagnant wages, higher borrowing costs, and more expensive goods.

Explore a worldwide ranking of smart cities

This interactive site evaluates residents' perceptions of the infrastructure and technologies available to them across 146 cities to produce a ranking based on a Smart City Index. Users can utilize the City Comparison feature to compare their city with others around the world.

A comprehensive state-by-state report of LGBTQ+ rights in America

The State Equality Index (SEI) is a comprehensive state-by-state report that provides a review of statewide laws and policies that affect LGBTQ+ people and their families. The SEI rates all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. in six areas of law. Each...

The Clean Water Act became the national standard for protecting American waters

Enacted in 1972, the Clean Water Act grants the Environmental Protection Agency the authority to regulate pollutant discharges, establish water quality standards, and oversee water pollution controls. Its scope has narrowed due to recent Supreme Court rulings.

Explore a college affordability and transparency guide

From the US Department of Education, this portal provides everything you need to evaluate colleges. The college scorecard provides handy data on every school, from graduation rates to annual average earnings out of school, while the net cost calculator directs you to each school's calculator that allows you to estimate the cost of college based on your unique circumstances.

Can you pass the US Civics quiz?

To become a naturalized US citizen, you must answer 10 questions out of a pool of 100, with at least six being correct in order to pass. It's commonly said that many natural-born American citizens would likely not do so well on the test. To get a sense of the questions asked, challenge yourself with 10 civics questions with this fun quiz from the AP to see how you'd do on the all-important naturalization test.

US cancer mortality rates have been falling for 25 years

The American Cancer Society's "Cancer Facts & Figures 2025" report provides comprehensive statistics on cancer incidence, mortality, and survival rates in the United States. Cancer rates in the US continued a long-running downward trend, driven primarily by a steep drop in lung cancers (mostly from a decrease in habitual smoking) and better preventative monitoring. This site leads to incredibly in-depth reports and slides on the current state of the fight against cancer.

Why countries have credit ratings

Sovereign credit ratings work like national credit scores, measuring a country’s ability and willingness to repay its debt. Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch are the major agencies assigning these ratings, which influence borrowing costs and investor confidence.

One in five Americans has an error on their credit report, according to the Federal Trade Commission

In 2026, four US senators sent letters to two of the nation's major credit bureaus (TransUnion and Experian) after an investigation revealed that they were fixing fewer errors on consumers' credit reports.

In 2024, US private equity posted an 8.1% return

Tracked by Cambridge Associates, 2024 performance saw limited partner distributions overtake contributions for the first time in years. Cambridge Associates, a leader in the space, typically uses a 2.0x+ MOIC (Multiple on Invested Capital) as a benchmark for top-quartile PE fund success.

What issues Americans are prioritizing in 2022

Inflation, Crime, and Abortion—see a breakdown of voter preferences by age, race, and gender, along with what topics are top of mind for Americans.

Historians reflect on the best State of the Unions ever

These political experts highlight standout State of the Union addresses that shaped the nation's direction—from Washington's first and Lincoln's Civil War messages to FDR's wartime resolve, LBJ's Great Society launch, and Clinton's scandal-shadowed 1998 speech.

The 2025 Social Security Trustees Reports reaffirmed that beneficiaries will be paid 100% of total scheduled benefits until 2033

Specifically, it noted that the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will be able to pay 100 percent of total scheduled benefits until 2033, which was unchanged from the previous year’s report.

The 50 best (and highest paying) jobs in America

Here are the 50 Best Jobs in America, according to Glassdoor. Where does your job fall? This report ranks jobs according to each job’s Glassdoor Job Score, determined by combining three factors: number of job openings, salary, and overall job satisfaction rating.

The CISA’s strategy for secure 5G

CISA, through the National Risk Management Center (NRMC), is leading risk mitigation efforts by working with government and industry partners to ensure the security and resiliency of 5G technology and infrastructure.

The USPS spent $3.97B in 2024, accounting for .058% of the federal budget.

In 2025, President Donald Trump signed an order shrinking the Department of Education

On March 20, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of the U.S. Department of Education, though complete dismantlement requires congressional approval.

44 states in the US have implemented ride safety laws

Rides are developed and tested for years before they host passengers. Maintenance teams perform various tests every day before opening coasters to the public. The chances of risk are rare, as exemplified in 2019 when amusement parks saw .8 injuries per million rides.

A sociologist makes the case for libraries and parks as essential public infrastructure

Eric Klinenberg argues that social infrastructure that brings people together is as vital to a community as roads or power grids. He contends that when communities invest in these spaces, residents grow more connected, and when they are neglected, isolation follows.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Before the current East Wing ballroom project, only two White House renovations in the past 100 years cost more than $10M.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

The United States has had a tumultuous relationship with Cuba since its 1959 revolution, highlighted by a nuclear crisis and a decades-long trade embargo.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

While the first exchange-traded fund (a 'basket' of different assets that can be bought and sold on a stock exchange) in the US only launched in 1993, the global ETF market has grown to more than $10T in the short time since.

See a ranking of the best (and worst) Federal Reserve Chairs since 1914 out of the 16 men and women who have held the office since.

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

About 2,000 US babies are born annually without some portion of their limbs, potentially leading to a lifetime of pricey prosthetics.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a group of young men ate standard American food—replete with food additives like borax and formaldehyde—as part of government research to better understand food safety.

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

Fireworks-related ER visits are on the rise—in 2024, they increased by 52% as compared to the prior year.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

The original copy of the Declaration of Independence is not a pristine document, and even features a smudged anonymous handprint in the bottom left corner.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Artificial coral reefs have been 3D printed from nontoxic, biodegradable terracotta clay, which coral polyps have used as a foundation for rebuilding marine ecosystems.

Crows are believed to have intelligence on par with a seven-year-old child and demonstrate complex behaviors, from problem-solving with tools to recognizing human faces.