• Posted March 17, 2025

Steep Decline In Fertility Among U.S. Women Younger Than 30

Young American women are greeting the prospect of pregnancy with a decided “meh,” driving down U.S. fertility rates, a U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study says.

The actual number of U.S. births declined by 14% between 1990 and 2023, and the fertility rate went down by 23%, according to a paper in the CDC’s National Vital Statistics Reports.

This drop in fertility occurred mainly among women younger than 30, statistics show.

Women under 30 accounted for 7 in 10 births (70%) in 1990.

But by 2023, this age group accounted for less than half of U.S. births (49%).

The sharp drop in births among young women overwhelmed a slight increase in birth rates among women 30 and older, researchers reported.

“In summary, the decline in fertility rates over the past few decades results from declining rates among females younger than 30 that are offset somewhat by smaller increases in rates among older women,” the research team led by senior researcher Brady Hamilton of the CDC’s Division of Vital Statistics concluded.

For the study, researchers analyzed birth data files from the National Vital Statistics System between 1990 through 2023. These reflect all births registered in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

During that period, the total number of U.S. births declined from 4.16 million to just under 3.6 million annually, a 14% drop.

The fertility rate also decreased, falling from just under 71 births per 1,000 women to under 55 births per 1,000.

Results showed a dramatic decline in births among women younger than 30 between 1990 and 2023:

• From 70% down to 49% among women younger than 30.

• From 39% down to 21% among women younger than 25.

• From 13% down to 4% among teenagers younger than 20.

On the other hand, women 30 to 34 experienced a 24% increase in births, women 35-39 a 90% increase, and women 40 and older a 193% increase, statistics show.

“Because the declines in birth rates of younger women, who account for the majority of births, outweighed the increases in rates of women age 30 and older, the overall (fertility rate) and number of births declined,” researchers wrote.

“If birth rates for females younger than 30 had not declined from their 1990 levels, (fertility rates) and the number of births in 2023 would have been higher,” researchers added.

 “Conversely, if birth rates for women 30 and older had not risen from their 1990 levels, the result would have been 85,000 to 251,000 fewer births in 2023 as well as lower (fertility rates),” the team found.

Choosing to delay parenthood until later in life “results in a mix of postponed and foregone pregnancy,” researchers wrote.

“In some cases, women shift their childbearing to older ages, increasing births and fertility rates for older women without resulting in a difference in final total fertility,” the report says. “In other cases, births that would have occurred during earlier years of women’s lives do not occur in later years, resulting in lower final fertility.”

More information

The Brookings Institute has more on declining fertility in the U.S.

SOURCE: National Vital Statistics Reports, March 6, 2025