Search for a type of infrastructure, a federal program, or a geography.

Categories

We constructed these categories of infrastructure funding programs using funding announcements and web materials, but we acknowledge that our categorization may not align with the labels federal agencies assign to funding programs. Every program in this tool is assigned to at least one category, and some programs are included in more than one category.

Airports

Airports includes programs that fund improvements to publicly accessible airport terminals and related facilities. We detail three programs providing airport funding in this tool.

Broadband

Broadband includes programs that fund expansions to high-speed internet service, with a focus on improving access for tribal nations, rural communities, and communities with low-income residents. We detail five programs providing broadband funding in this tool.

Energy and power

Energy and power includes programs that fund the research and expansion of energy sources, such as nuclear power and natural gas. We detail 18 programs providing energy and power funding in this tool.

Environmental resilience

Environmental resilience includes programs that fund clean water improvements, wildfire responses, carbon reduction efforts, electric vehicle promotion, and more. We detail 30 programs providing environmental resilience funding in this tool.

Housing

Housing includes programs that fund the construction and maintenance of affordable housing buildings as well as rent supports for people with low incomes and elderly people. We detail 17 programs providing housing funding in this tool.

Passenger and freight rail

Passenger and freight rail includes programs that fund the expansion, improvement, and safety of railways, including intercity rail (generally Amtrak) and freight rail. We detail 14 programs providing passenger and freight rail funding in this tool.

Ports and waterways

Ports and waterways includes programs that fund improvements to harbors, ports, and shipping channels as well as initiatives focused on access to clean water, water rights for tribal nations, and water recycling. We detail 25 programs providing ports and waterways funding in this tool.

Public transportation

Public transportation includes programs that fund improvements in and expansions of public transit, such as buses and light rail, with a focus on increasing transit service in tribal, rural, and low-income communities. We detail 28 programs providing public transportation funding in this tool.

Roads and bridges

Roads and bridges includes programs that fund improvements in the availability, resiliency, capacity, and safety of US roads, highways, bridges, and other transportation-focused infrastructure. The federal government allows considerable flexibility in the use of these funds, so recipient jurisdictions can often choose to use them for public or active transportation projects instead. We detail 34 programs providing road and bridges funding in this tool.

About

Update: This tool was updated on March 13, 2025 to include data from fiscal year 2023, additional federal infrastructure programs, and new funding distribution measures. The title was also changed to "Are Federal Infrastructure Funds Meeting Your Community’s Needs" to make it clear that the tool tracks funding by a variety of characteristics, including geography, race, income level, and indicators of local need. This tool was originally named "Is Federal Infrastructure Spending Advancing Racial and Economic Equity?”

For this tool, we analyzed 85 grant programs funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 9 grant programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, 2 programs funded by annual appropriations to the Department of Transportation, and 14 housing programs that use annual HUD appropriations. The data presented here are limited to fiscal year 2022 and fiscal year 2023. We collected program data from federal departmental announcements and project fact sheets. Demographic and need indicator data are sourced from approximately two dozen publicly available sources, including the 2016–20 American Community Survey five-year estimates from the US Census Bureau and data produced by other federal agencies.

To learn more about how to use this tool, see our user guide. To review the complete list of data sources and methods used in this work, see our full report.

Project Credits

This data tool was funded by a grant from the Melville Charitable Trust as part of the Partnership for Equitable and Resilient Communities Initiative. We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of our experts. More information on our funding principles is available here. Read our terms of service here.

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