United States Tension Score
indexed · 49 days on fileLive 0–100 tension reading for United States, built by our own engine from 19,188 world headlines in the last 30 days. Refreshed every 10 minutes; a fresh headline count twice a day.
Where United States stands
#6 of 197 countries today, #1 of 35 in Americas (region score 51). Tension is easing this week.
Same 0–100 scale and zones as the World Tension Index.
United States news pulse
60 headlines in 30 days · newest firstEvery story the engine read that names United States, its capital or its leaders. Links go to the original outlet; the badge is the engine’s own 0–100 tension weight. This list is what moves the number above.
What is driving United States’s tension score
last 30 days- 4538 headlines in 30 days — 23.65% of everything the engine read, in line with the previous 30 days (3399).
- 32% of those were violent (attacks, strikes, casualties) and 39% scored as high-tension stories.
- Conflicts on the roster: US-Israel-Iran War (active).
- Region: Americas reads 51 today; it carries 15% of this score.
Read it like this. Attention (how much the world is talking about United States) is the biggest input at 30%. Violence and high-tension share tell you what kind of talk it is. A country can be loud and calm — an election, a summit — or quiet and dangerous. The mix is the point.
United States tension month by month
average score, headline counts| Month | Avg score | Zone | Headlines | Violent | Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | 59.8 | Moderate | 888 | 264 | 5 |
| October 2026 | 59.0 | Moderate | 4555 | 1449 | 31 |
| September 2026 | 56.1 | Moderate | 2494 | 632 | 13 |
Record for United States began on 18 September 2026. Nothing is revised after the fact.
How the United States score is built
Five inputs, fixed weights. Attention 30% (share of world coverage), violence 25% and high-tension share 15% (what kind of coverage), roster conflicts 15%, and the Americas region score 15%. A momentum nudge (+6 / −4) rewards a country whose coverage is accelerating or fading.
Same physics as the world score. The number rises 85% of the way to its new level at once and falls no faster than 3 points a day — fear arrives fast and leaves slowly.
No third-party index inside. Every count comes from the 41 public news feeds our engine reads itself; the full method is on the methodology page. Data is free under CC BY 4.0 via the API.
Questions people ask about United States
Is United States in a war right now?
Yes, by our roster: US-Israel-Iran War. Status is updated on every full cycle.
Is tension in United States rising or falling?
Easing: down 7 points in 7 days.
How does United States compare with the rest of Americas?
Above its region: United States reads 56 against 51 for Americas, ranking #1 of 35 there.
Keep exploring
Same region
Haiti 33 · Mexico 31 · Canada 28 · El Salvador 27 · Colombia 24 · Venezuela 23
The bigger picture
All countries on the map · Americas · World Tension Index · active conflicts · escalation watchlist
United States and world tension: the long view
evergreen · World Tension Meter teamThe centre of every story. The United States is in more of our headlines than any other country because it is a party, a mediator or a market in almost every conflict. Its score is less about violence at home than about what it does abroad.
The dollar and the Fed. American interest rates, tariffs and sanctions set the weather for every other economy. Our currency, sanctions and market-fear indexes all take their cue from Washington.
Politics as a tension source. Elections, shutdown fights and court rulings are scored when they threaten markets or alliances. Domestic turmoil raises the score the same way a foreign crisis does.
What our engine watches in United States
- Strikes, deployments and arms sales
- Tariffs, sanctions and export controls
- Fed decisions, Treasury yields and the dollar
- Election and constitutional crises
Indexes to follow: Sanctions Pressure · Currency Stress · Market Fear · Energy Security.