Aerial composite showing roads, ports, rail and power infrastructure with active construction and repair work.
United States, August 30, 2025
A national assessment gives U.S. infrastructure an overall C, marking modest improvement but highlighting widespread weakness across transportation, energy, water and other systems. The review finds a roughly $3.7 trillion funding gap if current federal spending levels persist and flags large workforce shortfalls that could slow delivery and raise costs. While recent federal programs improved some categories, many remain in poor condition and will take years to benefit from new investments. Contractors face complex compliance, materials and technology requirements, and firms that invest in workforce development, procurement resilience and data-driven systems will be best positioned to compete.
A national infrastructure assessment released in March 2025 gives the country an overall grade of C, an improvement on the prior cycle but still signaling broad weakness. The assessment finds aging assets, strained systems and limited investment across 18 categories and estimates a $3.7 trillion funding gap from 2024 to 2033 if federal spending stays flat. The report warns that underinvestment will continue to weigh on households and the economy while creating a large but competitive market for contractors that can meet complex compliance, materials and technology demands.
The 2025 assessment marks the best overall grade since the first edition in 1998, moving from C‑ in 2021 to C this year. The review evaluated each category on current and future capacity, physical condition, funding levels and gaps, regulatory compliance, public safety, resilience and innovation. Results show some improvements tied to recent federal legislation but note that the full effects of increased funding will take years to materialize.
Major federal packages enacted early in the decade supplied new funding streams and programs that the assessment credits for some gains. One package supplied roughly $1.2 trillion in infrastructure investments over five years, including more than $550 billion directed to new programs. A separate climate and energy package is credited with helping the transition to renewable energy. Despite those investments, the report finds persistent underinvestment and recommends sustained funding that prioritizes resilience, policy advancement and innovation.
Of 18 categories reviewed, half remain in the D range, described as being in fair to poor condition with many elements near the end of service life. High-performing areas include ports (B) and rail (B‑), while broadband and solid waste sit in the C+ range. Several critical systems received low grades: energy (D+), roads (D+), transit (D) and stormwater (D). Aviation, dams and several other categories are also in the D range. Eight categories improved versus the prior report, two declined, and seven held steady.
The assessment projects significant household costs linked to poor infrastructure. Current estimates place annual losses per household in the low thousands; continued federal investment could reduce those losses but not eliminate them. More broadly, aged grids, fragile water systems and constrained ports and transit capacity are cited as drags on productivity, movement of goods, competitiveness and national security. The report also flags infrastructure limits on the pace of energy‑ and data‑intensive technologies.
A separate state competitiveness analysis highlighted a dozen states with notably weak infrastructure profiles. Ten states scored among the lowest, with issues ranging from high shares of roads and bridges in poor condition, frequent power outages, weak broadband affordability, limited data center capacity and vulnerability to severe weather and isolation. Examples include states with very high road deterioration, states with minimal affordable broadband access and states with extreme grid reliability challenges. Many states also lack complete data to reliably project future conditions for nonfederal assets.
The scale of needed work creates a large market opportunity but also a major labor challenge. Forecasts call for hundreds of thousands of net new construction workers in 2025 and 2026 combined. Failure to close the workforce gap could raise construction costs and reduce the amount of financially feasible work. Contractors competing for government‑funded projects will face evolving requirements such as prevailing wage rules, workforce development mandates and preferences for domestic sourcing on certain programs, as well as cybersecurity standards for some defense‑related contracts.
The report and related industry analysis recommend that firms strengthen four core areas to win work and deliver profitably:
Data is framed as the engine for smarter decisions. Firms are advised to evaluate enterprise resource planning and project software to improve planning and profitability. With strong data and systems in place, organizations can apply targeted innovation—AI for planning, drones for inspections, and robotics for repetitive tasks—to measure gains and mitigate risk.
Large carbon capture and climate initiatives are highlighted as examples of new types of projects emerging from recent funding. One multi‑state project could remove millions of metric tons of CO2 by 2030 and represents the scale of investment directed toward climate and energy adaptation.
The 2025 assessment presents an urgent but actionable picture: modest national gains after recent federal spending have not erased decades of deferred maintenance. Closing a multi‑trillion‑dollar gap will require steady funding, better data, stronger state planning and contractors that can meet complex compliance, workforce and technology demands. Prepared firms that invest in people, processes and systems will be best positioned to deliver projects and help modernize critical public works.
The national assessment gives U.S. infrastructure an overall grade of C for 2025, an improvement from C‑ in 2021.
The assessment estimates a funding gap of about $3.7 trillion from 2024 through 2033 if federal funding remains at current levels.
Many core systems are weak, with half the categories in the D range. Notable low grades include energy, roads, transit, stormwater and wastewater among others.
Recent federal investment programs have funded many projects and improved some categories, but the full benefits will take years to appear and are not sufficient to eliminate the funding gap.
Firms should strengthen compliance tracking, secure reliable materials procurement, invest in workforce development and adopt data systems and targeted technologies to raise productivity.
Underinvestment increases household costs, reduces productivity, limits movement of goods and people, and can impede national competitiveness and security.
| Topic | Key facts | Implication for industry |
|---|---|---|
| National grade | Overall C in 2025, up from C‑ in 2021 | Shows progress but signals major ongoing needs |
| Funding gap | Estimated $3.7 trillion shortfall (2024–2033) | Requires sustained federal, state and local investment |
| Category performance | 18 categories assessed; half remain in D range | Priority projects in energy, roads, transit, water |
| Contractor priorities | Compliance, materials sourcing, workforce, tech | Firms must upgrade systems, hiring and procurement |
| Workforce needs | Hundreds of thousands of net new construction workers forecast | Labor shortages could raise costs and limit delivery |
| Technology | ERP, project software, AI, drones, wearables recommended | Data-driven firms will improve productivity and bids |
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