The U.S. birth rate in 2024 was 10.6 births per 1,000 people, with a fertility rate of 54.6 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. That translates to roughly 3.6 million babies born each year, a number that has been falling steadily for decades. The country has been well below the replacement fertility level of 2.1 children per woman since the early 1970s, meaning the population would eventually shrink without immigration.
How the Numbers Break Down
In 2023, the most recent year with finalized data, 3,596,017 babies were born in the United States. The general fertility rate that year was 54.5 per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, nearly identical to the provisional 2024 figure of 54.6. These numbers represent a long, consistent slide. For context, the crude birth rate in 1960 was nearly double what it is today.
Birth rates vary by race and ethnicity. In 2024, Hispanic women had the highest fertility rate at 72.2 per 1,000, followed by non-Hispanic white women at 51.7, non-Hispanic Black women at 51.4, and non-Hispanic Asian women at 49.4.
Geography matters too. South Dakota had the highest state fertility rate in 2023 at 65.6 births per 1,000 women, while Vermont had the lowest at 42.1. States with younger populations, lower costs of living, or larger rural communities tend to cluster toward the higher end.
Americans Are Having Babies Later
One of the most striking shifts in U.S. fertility isn’t just that fewer babies are being born. It’s when they’re being born. In 1990, women 30 and older accounted for about 3 in 10 births. By 2023, they accounted for more than half: 51.4%.
Women ages 30 to 34 now have the highest birth rate of any age group at 94.3 per 1,000, edging out women ages 25 to 29 at 91.0. That’s a reversal from previous decades when the 25-to-29 group dominated. The shift has been dramatic at the upper end of the age range as well. Birth rates for women 35 to 39 have jumped 71% since 1990, and rates for women 40 to 44 have more than doubled, rising 127% over the same period.
Meanwhile, birth rates for younger women have plummeted. The rate for women ages 20 to 24 dropped 51% between 1990 and 2023, falling to 57.7 per 1,000. That age group now accounts for just 17.2% of all births, compared to 30.5% for women in their early 30s.
The Teen Birth Rate Has Collapsed
Perhaps the most dramatic success story within U.S. fertility data is the teen birth rate. In 2022, there were 13.6 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, a 78% decline from the 1991 peak of 61.8. Wider access to effective contraception, changes in sexual behavior, and public health campaigns have all contributed to what amounts to a generational transformation.
Why Fewer Americans Are Having Children
The decline isn’t driven by any single cause. Economic pressures play a central role. The rising costs of childcare, housing, and health insurance have made starting a family feel financially out of reach for many young adults, particularly those carrying student debt. Wage stagnation for younger workers, combined with ongoing gender and racial pay gaps, adds another layer of financial uncertainty that influences decisions about whether and when to have children.
These aren’t abstract forces. A couple in their late 20s weighing a first child is simultaneously calculating rent or mortgage payments, daycare costs that can rival college tuition, and health insurance premiums. Many are doing this math while still paying off student loans. The result is that people delay parenthood, have fewer children than they originally wanted, or decide not to have children at all.
Policy research suggests the trend is at least partially reversible. Social science evidence points to several interventions that would likely nudge birth rates upward: subsidized childcare, expanded child tax credits, paid family leave, and policies that improve long-term economic security like student debt reduction and housing affordability programs. Countries that have invested heavily in these areas, particularly in Scandinavia, have seen their birth rates stabilize or partially recover.
What a Low Birth Rate Means in Practice
A sustained birth rate below replacement level has real consequences, though they unfold over decades rather than years. The most immediate effect is an aging population. Fewer young workers supporting a growing number of retirees puts pressure on Social Security, Medicare, and the broader tax base. Industries that depend on a steady supply of younger workers, from healthcare to construction, face growing labor shortages.
Immigration has historically offset the gap between births and deaths in the U.S., keeping the overall population growing even as fertility declines. But the size of that offset depends on immigration policy, which can shift rapidly. Without it, the math of a 54.6 fertility rate and an aging population leads to a smaller workforce, slower economic growth, and strained public services in the coming decades.