Introduction to Fertility Rates in 2024
The Trump administration has renewed its focus on declining birth rates in the U.S., and new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that births were fairly stable in 2024, rising 1% over the year prior. There were 3,622,673 births in the U.S. last year, according to a CDC report released Wednesday. Overall, the number of births declined by 2% per year, on average, from 2015 through 2020 and fluctuated in the years since, according to the report.
Fertility Rate Trends
The report also estimated the birth rate among women ages 15 to 44, referred to more specifically as the fertility rate. The rate declined from 2014 to 2020, then fluctuated through 2024. The fertility rate last year was 54.6 births per 1,000 women, the report found — a 0.2% uptick compared with 2023.
Brady Hamilton, the report’s main author and a CDC statistician, said the data marks “a continuation of the general downward trend in births to teenagers and upward trend in births to older women seen for the last three or so decades.” However, he said the CDC could not speak to the reasons behind the trend.
Sociological Analysis
Sociologists who examined the CDC data said it largely reflects women who delayed having children in their 20s finally choosing to do so in their 30s and 40s. Birth rates increased last year among women ages 25 to 44, but declined among teenagers and those under 25. “It’s not that people are deciding against having kids at all,” said Karen Benjamin Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Rather, she said, people are asking themselves: “Do I have the right partner? If I have another baby in child care, what would that do to my expenses? Does my job feel stable?”
Factors Influencing Fertility Rates
Those same concerns might also compel parents to have fewer children, Guzzo said. The average woman in 2024 had one to two biological children, according to the CDC report, compared with more than three in 1960. The overall fertility rate in the U.S. has declined since 2007 — a pattern sociologists expect to continue, despite the nominal uptick last year. While the economy has generally improved since the “Great Recession,” many people still don’t feel like their financial position has gotten better, said Sarah Hayford, director of the Institute for Population Research at Ohio State University. “In a lot of places, the housing market is really challenging, and that’s something that a lot of people want to have kind of in place before they have children,” she said.
Government Response and Initiatives
Guzzo said the Trump administration’s tariffs on imported goods and gutting of federal programs that support women and children could add to a climate of women delaying having kids or deciding not to altogether. The Trump administration, for its part, has lamented the decline in birth rates. Vice President JD Vance called for “more babies in the United States of America” at an anti-abortion rally in January. And Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that same month that communities with higher-than-average marriage and birth rates should be prioritized for federal transportation funds. President Donald Trump dubbed himself “the fertilization president” at a White House event in March. His executive order to expand access to in vitro fertilization emphasizes “the importance of family formation” and calls for making it easier “for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.”
Conclusion
The fertility rate in the U.S. has been a topic of concern for the Trump administration, with efforts to incentivize childbirth. However, sociologists argue that low fertility or birth rates aren’t an inherent problem and that the decline in teen birth rates is a positive trend. The economic requirements for having and raising babies are a significant factor in the decision-making process, and a one-time cash bonus may not be enough to reverse the decline in birth rates.
FAQs
- Q: What was the fertility rate in the U.S. in 2024?
A: The fertility rate in 2024 was 54.6 births per 1,000 women. - Q: Why are fertility rates declining in the U.S.?
A: Sociologists point to factors such as financial instability, housing market challenges, and women delaying having children until their 30s and 40s. - Q: What initiatives has the Trump administration proposed to address declining birth rates?
A: The administration has proposed incentives such as a $5,000 cash bonus to mothers after delivery and has emphasized the importance of family formation. - Q: Are low fertility rates a problem?
A: Sociologists generally agree that low fertility rates are not inherently a problem and that the decline in teen birth rates is a positive trend.
