United States
Composite trend, 90 days
Daily-bucketed composite stress score. Dashed gridlines mark the band thresholds (25 / 45 / 65 / 80) — crossing one signals a category change.
Stress by domain
Five weighted meta-indexes. Together they constitute the composite.
Latest Pulse
All Pulses →Wired and Warming: America's First Stress Reading
The United States enters The Human Index at a composite Human Stress Score of 42.2 — solidly in the MODERATE band — as of this week's snapshot, down 0.5 points from the prior reading. This is the inaugural Pulse for the US, so the trend line is short, but the shape of the scor…
Indicators in detail
The raw measurements feeding into each meta-index, grouped by domain. Click any indicator to read the underlying source.
Unemployment Rate
Share of the labor force without work but available and seeking employment.
World Bank· 2031-12-31FreshRaw3.90 %Stress11Youth Unemployment Rate
Unemployment rate among the population aged 15-24.
World Bank· 2025-12-31FreshRaw9.34 %Stress11Gini Index
Income inequality (0 = perfect equality, 100 = perfect inequality).
World Bank· 2024-12-31FreshRaw41.8 indexStress56Housing Affordability
Median house price relative to median annual income (higher = less affordable).
OECD· 2024-12-31FreshRaw5.40 ratioStress19Inflation Rate
Annual consumer price inflation (year-on-year % change). Sustained inflation above central-bank targets (typically 2%) is a meaningful economic stress signal.
IMF World Economic Outlook· 2031-12-31FreshRaw2.20 %Stress0GDP Growth Rate
Annual % growth of real gross domestic product. Negative = recession, very high (>8%) often reflects overheating or recovery from a crash.
World Bank· 2025-12-31FreshRaw2.16 %Stress26Government Debt (% of GDP)
General government gross debt as a share of GDP (IMF WEO October 2024). High debt constrains fiscal space for transition investment and is a structural stress signal. Japan ~252%, Italy ~139%, US ~123% — the high-debt regime is now fully visible across all 25 countries (previously WB lacked coverage for 12).
IMF World Economic Outlook October 2024· 2024-12-31FreshRaw123 % of GDPStress55Age Dependency Ratio
Total dependents (under-15 and over-64) as a percentage of the working-age population (15-64). High values stress pension systems, healthcare budgets, and the productive economy; low values can signal aging crisis or population collapse.
World Bank· 2025-12-31FreshRaw55.0 % of working-ageStress38
Fertility Rate
Births per woman; below 2.1 indicates below-replacement fertility.
World Bank· 2024-12-31FreshRaw1.63 births/womanStress43- Raw2.30 per 1000Stress23
Social Trust
Share of adults who agree that most people can be trusted (higher = healthier).
World Values Survey· 2023-12-31AgingRaw37.0 %Stress66Loneliness
Share of adults reporting frequent or persistent loneliness.
OECD / Eurobarometer· 2023-12-31AgingRaw22.0 %Stress68Adolescent Fertility Rate
Births per 1,000 women aged 15-19. A composite signal of educational access, contraceptive availability, and economic opportunity for young women. Persistent high values mark inter-generational poverty traps.
World Bank· 2024-12-31FreshRaw12.4 per 1,000 womenStress10Homicide Rate
Intentional homicides per 100,000 population. The most universally collected violence metric — captures social cohesion, rule-of-law, and conflict exposure. Vast range: from 0.2 (JP) to 35+ (parts of Latin America).
World Bank / UNODC· 2023-12-31AgingRaw5.76 per 100kStress12Work-Life Balance
Percentage of dependent employees working very long hours (50+ hours per week). High values indicate structural overwork that erodes family time, leisure, and mental recovery. Korea (26.5%) and Türkiye (28.1%) lead globally; Netherlands and Sweden under 1%.
OECD Employment Database 2024· 2024-12-31FreshRaw10.0 % employees 50h+/weekStress31
- Raw4.60 %Stress43
- Raw6.60 %Stress51
Workplace Burnout
Share of workers reporting frequent burnout symptoms.
Gallup State of the Global Workplace· 2024-12-31FreshRaw49.0 %Stress48- Raw15.6 per 100KStress43
Life Expectancy
Average life expectancy at birth (years). Shorter life expectancy reflects accumulated public-health, mental-health, and lifestyle stresses.
World Bank· 2024-12-31FreshRaw78.9 yearsStress14Child Mortality (Under-5)
Deaths of children under five years per 1,000 live births. A composite signal of healthcare access, maternal health, nutrition, and socioeconomic conditions.
World Bank / UNICEF· 2024-12-31FreshRaw6.50 per 1,000Stress8Alcohol Consumption
Total recorded alcohol consumption per capita (liters of pure alcohol) among the population aged 15+. A coping-mechanism proxy and major contributor to disease burden, family stress, and mortality.
World Bank / WHO Global Health Observatory· 2020-12-31Very staleRaw9.90 liters/yearStress58Life Satisfaction
Average self-reported life satisfaction on a 0-10 ladder (Cantril ladder). The most-tracked subjective wellbeing metric in cross-country comparison. Nordic countries top the rankings (7.4-7.5); South Africa and Türkiye sit near the bottom (4.9-5.7).
OECD Better Life Index 2024· 2024-12-31FreshRaw6.70 0-10 scaleStress33
Daily Screen Time
Average hours of screen time per adult per day.
DataReportal Digital Report· 2024-12-31FreshRaw7.00 hours/dayStress57Digital Addiction
Share of adults reporting problematic device use.
Pew Research / Eurostat ICT· 2023-12-31AgingRaw31.0 %Stress70Automation Exposure
Share of work activities potentially automatable by 2030 (McKinsey Generative AI estimates). Higher = more labour-displacement pressure from AI and automation. Service-heavy economies face higher exposure than agrarian ones.
McKinsey Global Institute 2023· 2023-12-31AgingRaw30.0 %Stress71
Temperature Anomaly
Annual mean temperature deviation from the 1951-1980 baseline.
NASA GISS GISTEMP· 2025-12-31FreshRaw0.01 °CStress1Water Stress
Ratio of total water withdrawals to renewable water supply.
WRI Aqueduct· 2023-12-31AgingRaw35.0 %Stress29Air Pollution (PM2.5)
Mean annual fine particulate matter concentration.
WHO Ambient Air Quality DB· 2024-12-31FreshRaw8.40 µg/m³Stress6CO₂ Emissions per Capita
Annual CO₂ emissions per person (metric tons). Tracks the country's climate footprint and dependence on fossil fuels.
World Bank· 2024-12-31FreshRaw13.6 tonnes/personStress65Renewable Energy Share
Renewable energy consumption as a share of total final energy consumption. Higher = greener transition; lower = continued fossil-fuel dependence.
World Bank· 2021-12-31StaleRaw10.9 %Stress89
60-second assessment
How exposed are you to United States's stress signals?
Five quick questions on your sector, age, and concerns — we map your answers to the live numbers above and rank the five domains by personal relevance.
Every number on this page can be traced back to its source. See full sourcing audit for raw values, divergence history, and source comparison.
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