Understanding the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card and the 2025 Grade
America’s Infrastructure Report Card
From aging water pipes, to potholes, and outdated bridges, our America’s infrastructure is in trouble.
Across the United States, America’s roads, bridges, water and sewage systems, and electrical grid significantly impact the lives of millions of us every day. While these are inconvenient problems, they are signs of deeper systemic issues within our nation’s infrastructure.
Every four years since 1998, the American Society of Civil Engineers has produced a comprehensive Infrastructure report card to assess and communicate the current condition of these critical systems. This report card is a snapshot showing how well (or poorly) our natin’s infrastructure is performing.
This post will examine and explain what this report card is, how a grades are determined, why they matter, and what the most recent grade reveals.
A Brief History of the ASCE and its Infrastructure Report Card
Founded in 1852, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is the oldest national engineering society if the United States. With 150,000 members worldwide, the ASCE plays a significant role in establishing technical standards and advocating for sound infrastructural policy.
In 1998, the ASCE launched the first Infrastructure Report Card. The inspiration came from the simplicity of a school report card. This approach helped the public to easily understand the condition of the natin’s critical infrastructure. This report examines, assesses, and evaluates 17 major categories of infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transit systems, water systems, and energy. A grade from A-F is assigned based on criteria such as condition, capacity, funding, future need, and resilience.
The report is published every four years and has become a powerful tool raising awareness and driving action. Policymakers, planners, and the media all rely on it to understand the current state of America’s infrastructure, its needs, and helps agencies and municipalities to prioritize investments. The report has also helped initiate and frame a national conversation about long needed repairs and modernization.
In the years since it was first published, the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card has become a call to action, urging policy and decision-makers to invest wisely (and sustainably) in America’s built environment.
What is the ASCE Infrastructure Report Card?
The report card is a comprehensive evaluation of America’s vital infrastructure. It examines and assesses 17 categories of infrastructure that supports daily life and the economy.
This includes:
• Roads and Bridges
• Transit and Rail Systems
• Airports and Seaports
• Drinking Water and Wastewater Systems
• Dams, Levees, and Stormwater Infrastructure
• Energy Grids, Public Parks and Schools
Each category is assessed and then assigned a letter grade, ranging from A (excellent) to F (failing). This provides a clear and familiar way to understand current condition, performance, and urgency.
Grades are determined through a rigorous process that is led by a panel of civil engineering experts. The panels analyze the most current data, apply peer-reviewed methodologies, and consider multiple criteria including:
• Capacity and Physical Condition
• Funding Level and Investment Trends
• Risks to Public Health and Safety
• Resilience to Climate Change and Future Demands
The final infrastructure report card is a data-driven snapshot of infrastructure health that informs policymakers and empowers the public to advocate for better planning and smarter investments in the systems we all rely on daily.
Why it Matters
Infrastructure challenges can seem abstract or overly technical, however, they affect all our daily lives, from the roads we drive on to the water we drink. The ASCE Infrastructure Report Card plays a critical role in taking these complex issues and turning them into clear, actionable, insights.
First, it informs public policy by providing lawmakers and decision makers with a reliable. data-driven tool to help prioritize funding and make smarter infrastructure decisions. At the same time, it raises public awareness by translating technical data and evaluations into language that the public can easily understand. This highlights the urgency of problems that might otherwise go unnoticed by the general public.
The report card tracks progress over time, allowing agencies, communities, states, and the nation to measure whether conditions are improving, remaining stable, or deteriorating. This ongoing assessment brings accountability to the process and keeps long-term goals in focus.
Most importantly, the report card builds the case for intelligent investment by showing how infrastructure directly impacts economic productivity, public safety, and quality of life. By framing the conversation around easily understandable grades and national priorities, the ASCE Report Card transforms a sprawling, complex challenge into a powerful call to action.
How Are We Doing: The 2025 Report Card
The 2025 ASCE Infrastructure Report Card continues to provide a comprehensive assessment of the country’s-built environment. The current national average remains at a C. This signals that much of our infrastructure is in mediocre condition, with growing concerns about reliability, safety, and long-term resilience.
Some sectors are in relatively good shape. Rail earned a solid B, thanks to continuing private investment in freight networks. Ports received a B-, which reflects meaningful upgrades to the infrastructure that supports boosted capacity and reliability. This is particularly important in the wake of the pandemic-related supply chain issues.
While some sectors have improved, several sectors are still struggling. Transit scored a D-, held back by chronic underfunding, outdated systems, and declining ridership in many urban areas. Stormwater infrastructure received a D+, as communities across the country face increasingly catastrophic flooding risks as outdated drainage systems are ill-equipped to meet today’s climate realities.
Since the previous report in 2021, there have been modest gains made across multiple categories. This is largely due to increased funding from initiatives like the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). But major challenges persist, including long-standing maintenance backlogs, climate-related impacts, and inconsistent funding at the state and local level.
Each section of the 2025 report includes specific recommendations to address these issues. They include boosting investment, streamlining permitting processes, improving operations and maintenance, and strengthening infrastructure to better handle rapidly changing climate extremes.
Why This Matters: Looking Ahead to the Future
The state of our nation’s infrastructure is much more than just a policy issue. It directly affects public safety and is an economic and environmental issue. Poor roads cost drivers in repairs and delays, inadequate drinking water systems threaten health, and failing dams and levees increase disaster risks. A weak infrastructure undermines our ability to respond effectively to increasing climate events and support growing populations.
The 2025 report assigned an overall grade of C to the nation’s infrastructure. This is the best since the ASCE started grading in 1998 and is incrementally better than the C- assigned in 2021. Eight categories saw improved grades, seven stayed the same, and two slipped.
The ASCE’s initial 1998 effort resulted in an overall grade of D. This was followed by a stretch the featured with a D or D+ in each of the next five evaluations before breaking through with a C- in 2021.
The 2025 report and grades remind us that while progress is happening, it’s not fast enough. Real change will require consistent investment, smart planning, and a willingness to prioritize long-term public benefits over short-term politics.
A National Challenge We Can Solve
The ASCE Infrastructure Report Card provides more than grades, it offers a clear look at the condition of the systems we all rely on every day, and a roadmap for improvement. It identifies gaps, highlights progress and outlines the practical steps we can take to strengthen infrastructure for future generations.
This is a problem that can be solved. From implementing smarter policies to municipalities making strategic investments, we have the knowledge, tools, and technologies to reverse the decline and build a more efficient, resilient, and equitable infrastructure. But progress depends on action.
Whether you are a policymaker, an agency managing assets, or a citizen advocating for the community, this report is a call to step up and make a difference. The choices we make today will determine the safety and quality of life we pass on to others. The time to invest is now. With bold planning and wise investment, we can build an infrastructure that lasts. The challenge is national, but the solution starts with each of us.
To learn more and download the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card visit https://infrastructurereportcard.org
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