Investment Pays

In 2024, ASCE provided its latest economic estimate on the investment needed for infrastructure categories to reach and maintain a state of good repair, which would be reflected in the Report Card with a B. This data shows progress made in infrastructure, while highlighting increasing needs ahead.

ASCE’s 2024 Bridging the Gap study, which captures 11 of the 18 Report Card categories, calculated that American families would save $700 annually if Congress “continues to act” with investment levels established in recent fiscal years. That includes appropriation amounts set by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and other legislation. For example, in the two Water Transportation categories–Inland Waterways and Ports – $45 billion would support a full state of good repair, and $32 billion was the anticipated investment over the next 10 years. That leaves a $13 billion gap. For all 11 infrastructure categories in Bridging the Gap, ASCE estimated $2.9 trillion of additional investment would be necessary to achieve good repair. That gap between planned and necessary investments was less than ASCE’s 2020 economic study estimated, illustrating the progress made through recent federal investments.

Ten-Year Gaps with Continue to Act Scenario, 2024-33

With the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, ASCE estimates investment needs total $9.1 trillion for all 18 Report Card categories to reach a state of good repair. Public data and ASCE’s 2024 Bridging the Gap study forecast $5.4 trillion in public and private investments in the 10-year period, 2024 through 2033, if Congress continues recent funding levels. This leaves a gap of $3.7 trillion in investments for America’s infrastructure if we keep investing at current funding levels. However, if Congress were to snap back to investment levels in place prior to recent increases in federal spending, that gap would increase significantly. In fact, ASCE’s Bridging the Gap study, which assesses just 11 of the 18 categories in the 2025 Report Card, finds that the snapback gap would equal the entirety of the 2025 Report Card gap: $3.7 trillion. That figure does not include broadband, dams, levees, hazardous and solid waste, parks, and schools, which represent, at a minimum, an additional gap of $746 billion for a total of $4.4 trillion.

Additionally, in that snapback scenario, ASCE estimates meaningful economic harm: $5 trillion lost in gross economic output over 20 years, from 2024-2043, and a reduction of $244 billion in U.S. exports in those same years. Pre-2021 levels of federal investment also mean a job loss of 344,000 in one snapshot year of 2033. The reduced investments would result in $1.9 trillion in lost disposable income for American families within the 20 years studied.