United States of America

America has major productive capacity, but this category measures whether that capacity returns usable family time. In 2025 full-time workers averaged 8.07 hours on days worked and 29.6% worked on an average weekend day; only 27% of civilian workers had access to paid family leave in the latest comparable BLS series, and there is still no federal guarantee of paid family and medical leave for private-sector workers. BLS consumer-expenditure data also show housing and transportation absorbing 50.4% of average spending in 2024. Under the TBF family-time standard, capacity therefore no longer outweighs the reach and friction burden.

The United States has enormous physical housing capacity and near-universal plumbing, but shelter reach is materially weaker than stock suggests. In 2024, 46.23% of renter households were cost-burdened, median gross rent reached $1,487 and the median renter spent 31% of income on rent and utilities. Homeownership was 65.0% in Q2 2026, while HUD counted 745,652 people homeless on one night in January 2025. GAO finds institutional investors are a real but limited part of the national picture—about 1–3% of all single-family homes in six studied metros in 2024—so the negative score is driven by affordability and reach, not a claim that large investors own most U.S. homes.

America has extraordinary food-production capacity, but the category asks whether nourishment actually reaches people and whether abundance is multiplied rather than wasted. USDA reports 13.7% of households were food insecure in 2024 and 5.4% experienced very low food security; EPA states that 30–40% of the U.S. food supply is never eaten. Under the TBF standard, strong physical supply therefore no longer outweighs money-gated reach, food insecurity and large loss/waste.

Household plumbing reach remains very high and most public water systems reported no drinking-water violations in 2024. The deeper pass nevertheless counts the infrastructure burden directly: 31% of active public water systems reported at least one violation, 7% had a health-based violation, EPA estimates 9.2 million lead service lines, and the 20-year drinking-water infrastructure need is $625 billion. Under the TBF water-intelligence standard, high capacity therefore earns less credit when safe reach still depends on a large repair backlog.

The United States has exceptional energy capacity, but household reach and burden return are weaker than production totals suggest. EIA reports 13.4 million residential electricity disconnections for bill nonpayment in 2024, while fossil fuels still supplied about 58% of utility-scale electricity generation in 2025 and renewables were only about 9% of total U.S. energy consumption. The TBF standard therefore separates national production from dependable household capability.

The United States has deep clinical and medical capacity, and 92.1% of people had health insurance for at least part of 2025. Reach is nevertheless heavily friction-loaded: 7.9% were uninsured for the full year, CMS reports $15,474 in health spending per person and $556.6 billion in out-of-pocket spending in 2024, and maternal mortality remained 17.9 per 100,000 live births. CDC final data show life expectancy improved to 79.0 years in 2024, so the score keeps that positive outcome while sharply reducing the credit given to expensive capacity that does not translate cleanly into household reach.

Formal educational reach and adult attainment are broad, but foundational outcomes materially weaken the capability reading. In 2024 only 31% of fourth-graders were at or above NAEP Proficient in reading, 40% were below NAEP Basic, and only 28% of eighth-graders were at or above NAEP Proficient in mathematics. Under the NoDumbDumbs capability standard, institutional capacity cannot outweigh weak demonstrated foundational mastery.

America has enormous road, aviation and vehicle capacity, but everyday movement remains strongly car-dependent and time-consuming. Census reports a 27.2-minute mean one-way commute in 2024, 9.3% of workers travelling 60 minutes or more one way, only 3.7% using public transportation and 69.2% driving alone. NHTSA estimates 36,640 road deaths in 2025. Under the TBF reach-and-time standard, physical transport capacity therefore receives much less credit when ordinary movement still requires substantial household time, vehicle dependence and safety exposure.

Family households remain common and most family households are married-couple households, which is positive evidence. The continuity picture is nevertheless materially strained under the TBF family-centered standard: one-person households are 29%, fertility is at a record low, paid-family-leave reach is incomplete, and 39.5% of 2024 births were to unmarried women. These indicators do not prove the quality of any individual household; they are used as national family-formation and continuity signals alongside the Trott Bailey Family authored standard.

America has enormous physical acreage and low average population density, but this category measures ordinary access to productive ground and settlement freedom. USDA reports average farm real estate at $4,500 per acre in 2026 and a 6.8% nominal annualized rise from 2020 to 2025. Under the TBF spatial-freedom standard, abundant national land no longer receives a strong positive score when practical acquisition and family settlement remain heavily price-gated.

The United States has enormous recreational and cultural capacity, including 433 National Park Service areas and more than 323 million recreation visits in 2025. The household-life reading is much weaker: CDC reports 12.5% of adults regularly experiencing worry, nervousness or anxiety in 2025 and a final 2024 age-adjusted suicide rate of 13.7 per 100,000. The category therefore keeps credit for accessible public nature while sharply reducing the assumption that national amenity capacity equals everyday peace of mind.

The United States retains vast forests and its net greenhouse-gas emissions are below 2005 levels, but absolute ecological pressure remains large. The latest national wetland status report estimates a net loss of 221,000 acres from 2009 to 2019 and a 670,000-acre loss of vegetated wetlands. Under the TBF living-ground standard, retained natural capacity therefore does not outweigh continuing habitat loss and high material/emissions pressure.

Physical safety improved materially in 2025: the FBI final release reports a 9.3% decline in the violent-crime rate and an 18.1% decline in murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. Institutional friction remains substantial in the latest BJS jail series: 658,700 people were held in local jails at midyear 2024 and 68% were unconvicted. The TBF reading therefore preserves the safety improvement while sharply reducing credit for a justice system with large pretrial-custody and administrative burdens.

The United States has major manufacturing, maintenance and recycling capacity, but national material-return evidence remains weak and dated. EPA’s latest national municipal-waste series reports 292.4 million tons of waste, 4.9 pounds per person per day, a 32.1% recycling/composting rate and only about 9% plastics recycling in 2018. FTC repair findings document multiple forms of repair restriction. The score therefore treats high material throughput and repair friction as substantial losses while keeping coverage at 90% because the national waste series is stale.