The U.S. fertility rate fell to another record low in 2025, extending a two-decade-long decline driven largely by a collapse in teenage births and a shift toward later motherhood, according to federal data released Thursday.
The general fertility rate—the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age—dropped 1% to 53.1, down from 53.8 in 2024, according to provisional data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS). This marks a 23% total decline since 2007, a trend that demographers have characterized as a persistent mystery that began during the Great Recession.
The total number of births in the United States also saw a 1% decrease, falling to 3,606,400.
Teenage Births and Shifting Demographics
The most precipitous decline was observed among teenagers aged 15–19, whose fertility rate fell 7% in 2025 to a record low of 11.7 births per 1,000 females. Since 1991, the teenage fertility rate has plummeted by 81%. Demographers suggest this indicates that women have gained significantly more control over their fertility.
While younger cohorts are having fewer children, women in their 30s and 40s are seeing modest increases. The fertility rate for women aged 30–34 rose by 3% in 2025, and slight upticks were also recorded for women in the 35–39 and 40–44 age brackets.
“They weren’t opting out of motherhood, they were delaying it,” said Martha Bailey, an economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, to the New York Times, noting that similar sharp dips in the 1970s eventually reversed as women aged. However, other experts warn that making up for such a long delay is difficult, noting that nearly half of 30-year-old American women are now childless, compared to just 18% in 1976.
Medical and Health Trends
The NCHS report also highlighted a continued rise in surgical intervention. The cesarean delivery rate increased to 32.5% in 2025, the highest level recorded since 2013. Meanwhile, the preterm birth rate remained unchanged at 10.41%, though early preterm births (less than 34 weeks) saw a slight 1% decline.
A shrinking birth rate poses long-term risks to demographic health, potentially straining social safety nets as fewer workers remain to support an aging population.