US Fertility Rate Hits Record Low, Continuing Two-Decade Decline

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The US fertility rate has reached an all-time low, with 53.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15-44 in 2025, a 1% drop from the previous year. This continues a trend of declining births, with a 23% drop since 2007. Experts attribute the decline to changing priorities among younger women and socioeconomic factors such as the cost of living, housing, and childcare.

The fertility rate in the United States has dropped to an all-time low, continuing a two-decade decline that has seen births in the country drop by nearly 23 percent since 2007.

According to data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the fertility rate for 2025 was 53.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, a one percent drop compared to the year before.

Experts attribute the change to a variety of factors, from changing priorities among younger women to socioeconomic factors such as anxiety over the cost of living and the affordability of housing and childcare. For example, the average cost of childcare in California is nearly $22,000 per year, while in Alabama it is nearly $8,000.

Even though Alabama's costs are lower, the institute noted that $8,000 is the equivalent of 27 weeks of full-time work for a laborer making the minimum wage in the state. In California, it would take a minimum-wage worker 33 weeks to earn enough for childcare costs alone.

Falling birth rates have also grabbed the attention of policymakers, with some seeking to roll out tools to incentivize young couples to have children. The administration of United States President Donald Trump promised to embrace pro-birth policies, sometimes referred to as pro-natalist policies.