Before the America of 2025 recedes further in history, this brief overview. Turmoil and upheaval were parts of the picture, but not the worst on record. Some bad was with us and a lot of good.
Forever an advantage are the country’s physical dimensions. Only Russia and Canada are larger. The contiguous United States occupies an area of 3,119,884.69 square miles, spread across 2.43 billion acres of Earth’s surface.
By the close of 2025, the population was 347,275,807. That is 4.22 percent of the world at large. Life expectancy for men was set at 74.8 years, with women living longer at 80.2 years. Recent data suggests the overall life expectancy is nearing 79 years.
The U.S. is a very rich nation. It represents 30.8 percent of the world’s total household wealth. Clearly evident are abundance, plenty and prosperity. As of late 2025/early 2026, personal income per capita had reached $76,400 per annum. Despite China’s rise, the latest figures show the U.S. producing 25.9 percent of global gross domestic product.
Last year and across most of the preceding decades, America was uninvolved in a major war. Year after year non-farm employment rose. Inflation is under 3 percent. The U.S. unemployment rate in 2025 averaged in the mid-4 percent range, finishing the year at only 4.4 percent, respectable by any measure. After years of inexcusable neglect, the southern border is secure.
More good news. The Council on Criminal Justice, a respected nonpartisan group, reported the national homicide rate was the lowest in 125 years.
As always, there’s a bleak side. The body politic is severely divided and polarized. This impedes constructive action when constructive action is needed. Progress appears stymied. America, it seems, has difficulty building highspeed railroads, transmission lines, highway tunnels, bridges, apartment buildings and homes.
Writes Marc J. Dunkelman in his important book, Why Nothing Works, “While facing a host of pressing challenges, we feel stuck, unable to move the needle. The ensuing gridlock stifles the ability to deliver on promises and opens the door for political extremism.”
Public trust in America’s representative government, state and federal, approaches a record low. Writes Karl Rove in The Wall Street Journal: “The prevailing theme is the public’s pervasive distrust of virtually every institution in American life. There is no authority figure or political body in which most people have confidence. That’s dangerous for the country.”
Home ownership and the housing industry have long been a cornerstone of the American dream. The industry is a significant element of the broader economy. A shortfall costs the states billions in economic output, personal income and jobs.
For some time now and continuing in 2025, the U.S. is experiencing a chronic housing crisis, driven by a shortage of over 4.7 to 7 million affordable homes, resulting in record-high prices, record-high homelessness (771,480 people in Jan 2024), and extreme cost-burdening for renters.
Home ownership is increasingly unattainable for many, with median single-family home prices significantly up from 2022 levels. The median age of first-time homebuyers in the U.S. has reached an all-time high of 40 in 2025, rising from 38 in 2024, and 33 in 2020.
The housing crisis aside, scientists, UN officials, corporate executives and political leaders point to other trends in 2025 well worth time and attention. However, they are beyond the scope of this piece. Meanwhile, thoughtful citizens everywhere consider themselves fortunate indeed, to live in this great and mighty democratic republic— the United States of America.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal; AI Overview; Wikipedia; Why Nothing Works, M.C. Dunkleman, 2025, Public Affairs Books, New York, N.Y.
• Retired attorney Jim Thomas lives in Atlanta. Email jmtlawyerspeak@ yahoo. com
