Another US Rate Finds a New Low

The fertility rate in the US dropped to an all-time low in 2024 with less than 1.6 kids per woman, new federal data released Thursday shows. The US was once among only a few developed countries with a rate that ensured each generation had enough children to replace itself—about 2.1 kids per woman. But it has been sliding in America for close to two decades as more women are waiting longer to have children or never taking that step at all, reports the AP. The new statistic is on par with fertility rates in western European countries, according to World Bank data.

Alarmed by recent drops, the Trump administration has taken steps to increase falling birth rates, like issuing an executive order meant to expand access to and reduce costs of in vitro fertilization and backing the idea of "baby bonuses" that might encourage more couples to have kids. But there's no reason to be alarmed, according to Leslie Root, a University of Colorado Boulder researcher focused on fertility and population policy. "We're seeing this as part of an ongoing process of fertility delay. We know that the US population is still growing, and we still have a natural increase—more births than deaths," she said.

In the early 1960s, the US total fertility rate was around 3.5, but plummeted to 1.7 by 1976 after the Baby Boom ended. It gradually rose to 2.1 in 2007 before falling again, aside from a 2014 uptick. The rate in 2023 was 1.621, and inched down in 2024 to 1.599, according to the CDC. Birth rates are generally declining for women in most age groups—and that doesn't seem likely to change in the near future, said Karen Guzzo, director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina.

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People are worried about money, health insurance, and other resources needed to raise children. "Worry is not a good moment to have kids," she said. Asked about birth-promoting measures outlined by the Trump administration, Guzzo said they don't tackle larger needs like parental leave and affordable child care. "The things that they are doing are really symbolic and not likely to budge things for real Americans," she said.