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The US fertility rate has fallen again, hitting a new record low.
Federal data released on Thursday show that the fertility rate—the number of births per 1,000 women of childbearing age—dropped to 53.1 in 2025 from 53.9 in 2024.
The total number of births also decreased to 3,606,400, a drop of 1%.
The New York Times reports, “The fertility rate has been falling since 2007, a trend that has become something of a demographic mystery. The drop began during the Great Recession, and experts first attributed it to the sharp economic downturn, following a common historical pattern. But the rate has continued to drop, and demographers have been trying to understand why.
“There are some clues in the age breakdown: The fertility rate for teenagers dropped by 7 percent from 2024’s figure, setting another record low for the group. Since 2007, the rate for teenagers is down by 72 percent, and since 1991, when teenage fertility rates were at a high, the rate is down by 81 percent.”
The data appear to agree with claims that women are exercising more control over the fertility by choosing to have children later.
There was actually a rise of 3% in the fertility rate among women in the 30s and 40s.
However, by the time women reach that age, they have fewer children.
Demographers are sceptical whether these delays can be countered. In 1976, just 18% of America’s 30-year-old women were childless; today, that figure is more than 50%.
