The Rundown

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To Boost Electric Grid, States Look to Advanced Transmission Technologies

Electricity demand in the U.S. is soaring, and experts estimate that it will increase 25% by 2030 from 2023 levels. That’s putting further stress on an already-taxed power grid.

A group of teens lean against a wall while looking at smartphones.
How U.S. Teens Use Social Media and AI Tools

Pew Research Center

A person wearing a light-colored short-sleeved shirt and blue jeans walks down near the center of a two-way road with a double yellow line. On either side, the road has collapsed along the route. Big stones and crumbled asphalt are visible on one side and a detached guardrail is visible on the other side.
11 States That Stepped Up on Disaster Resilience in 2025

As the destruction and costs from weather- and climate-related disasters in the U.S. continued to rise in 2025—the Los Angeles wildfires alone caused over $60 billion in damage, the most expensive wildfire in U.S. history—more states are cultivating resilience expertise and investing in projects to reduce risk.

Historic Old World Third Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Housing Shortage Takes Center Stage

On Dec. 4, 2025, The Pew Charitable Trusts, International Code Council (ICC), National League of Cities, and the American Planning Association hosted a roundtable of local planning and building officials and national housing stakeholders and experts.

The Treaty That Could Save the Ocean

For the first time in history, the world has formally agreed to protect nearly half the planet. In September 2025, the United Nations ratified the high seas treaty, officially known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement—a landmark global pact to safeguard the parts of the ocean that lie beyond any one country’s national jurisdiction.

Our Work

Pew's work spans 7 key topics...

Professional psychologist doctor listening and giving the consult to female patients

Good health is important to everyone. Pew conducts research and provides information and fact-based recommendations to state agencies, hospitals, researchers, and other health partners to help them provide better care. We find and share evidence-based practices to improve Americans’ health and well-being, including services that can prevent suicide, improve mental health care, and treat substance use disorder.

Bustleton Free Library in Philadelphia, PA, on Thursday September 12 2024.

Communities throughout the country share common needs: affordable connections to broadband Internet, modern and reliable energy infrastructure, effective responses to mental health challenges, and ways to resolve legal disputes more quickly and fairly. To address these issues, Pew collaborates with states and local governments to find and promote evidence-based solutions that help provide stability and opportunity.

Economic opportunity is the foundation of American society. Pew supports national, state, and local efforts to expand opportunity and promote financial well-being. Our work helps people pay off student loans, navigate court proceedings such as debt collection, buy or rent a home, access affordable internet, and save for their retirement.

Latest In Improve Economic Advancement

Housing Shortage Takes Center Stage
Pew Supports Michigan Retirement Savings Bill
High angle helicopter shot of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. at twilight on a clear evening in Fall, with Pennsylvania Avenue beyond.

Nonpartisan, fact-based improvements in federal policy can create jobs, lower costs, and help the nation prepare for the future. When our research shows that small changes can have a big impact, we work across party lines to improve national challenges like housing affordability, internet access, energy reliability, and health care.

Turkish world record-holder free-diver and divers of the Underwater Federation Sahika Encumen dives amid plastic waste in Ortakoy coastline to observe the life and pollution of Bosphorus in Istanbul,

The global ocean teems with life, and it contributes to the vital cycles that keep people and our planet healthy. But the seas are vulnerable to overfishing, loss of habitat such as seagrasses and mangroves, ineffective fisheries management, plastic pollution, and declining biodiversity. These mounting losses affect the coastal communities that depend on the ocean for food and jobs.

The House Chamber at the Kentucky State Capitol is shown as the legislature tries to wrap up its session

States and cities are the “laboratories of democracy” in America—the places where lawmakers and governors look for new ways to help their communities succeed. Whether in Pew’s hometown of Philadelphia or any of the 50 state capitals, we help elected leaders respond to the needs of their citizens, use public dollars wisely, fix outdated policies, and build a better future for all.

A view of steep cliff, grand canyon and Colorado river from Toroweap overlook.

Conserving natural spaces conveys benefits far beyond the gains to wildlife and their habitats. As scores of studies show, protecting and restoring lands and waters, particularly when done in close partnership with local communities, also improves people’s lives—and local economies—by increasing tourism and outdoor recreation.

How We Work

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Fact of the Matter

49,449
AMERICANS
die by suicide in 2022.
18%
OF AMERICANS
with opioid use disorders received any medication to treat them in 2023.
30%
INCREASE IN SUICIDE RATE
in the U.S. from 2000 to 2020.
178,000
DEATHS EACH YEAR
from frequent or excessive drinking.

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