US fertility rate fell to a record low in 2024, mirroring a global trend | More babies were born in the US, but fewer women are having them
https://www.techspot.com/news/108867-us-fertility-rate-fell-record-low-2024-mirroring.html
US fertility rate fell to a record low in 2024, mirroring a global trend | More babies were born in the US, but fewer women are having them
https://www.techspot.com/news/108867-us-fertility-rate-fell-record-low-2024-mirroring.html
26 Comments
From the article: The CDC released data this month that shows the US fertility rate fell to an all-time low in 2024, but the number of babies that were born last year increased YoY. It means that while there were more births overall, a smaller percentage of women of childbearing age are having children.
There were 3.6 million babies born in the US in 2024, up 1% compared to the previous year, according to the CDC’s data. But the general fertility rate – the number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (15 to 44 years old) – fell to an all-time low of 53.8.
The trend for women to have babies later in life has been increasing for years. Between 2023 and 2024, birth rates decreased for women between 15 and 34 years old, were unchanged for those between 35 and 39, and increased for women between 40 and 44.
The CDC also revealed that the percentage of women who relied on Medicare as the primary source of payment for birth delivery procedures declined by 3% across all age groups.
While the number of people being born in the US was up slightly last year, births declined by 16% between 2007 and 2023. The fertility rate, meanwhile, was down 22% between 2007 and 2024.
The most concerning figure related to the total fertility rate (TFR), or the average number of children a woman will have across her lifetime. The replacement level – the average number of children a woman needs to have to replace herself and her partner in the population – is typically 2.1 children per woman. If a country’s TFR stays below 2.1 over time, its population will shrink.
The United States’ TFR has been almost constantly below 2.1 since 2007. In 2024, it was 1.599.
The issue is much more pressing in other countries. South Korea’s TFR was 0.72 in 2023, the lowest globally. Thailand (1.0), Taiwan (1.09), Japan (1.2 – 1.3), Spain (1.12), Italy (1.2) and others are also experiencing ultra-low fertility.
The trend has triggered a rapid aging of society, a shrinking population, and mounting economic and social concern. South Korea is projecting its population falling by almost 58% by 2100 under current fertility rates.
There are a number of reasons why women are giving birth later in life or just refusing to have children. Beyond those who are focusing on their careers while younger, the main factor is that many people simply can’t afford to have kids. Concerns about the future, such as those related to the environment and global tensions between nations, also play a part.
Modern problems require modern solutions! 🚀 Isn’t it about time we rethink work-life balance & natal policies? Ppl would be more into the idea of having kiddos if they weren’t stressed abt the future 24/7 🤷🏻♂️
Tired of these stupid ass concern articles that talk about declining birthrates without mentioning WHY they’re declining.
No one with sense wants to have a child when they’re barely getting by their measly 15-25 an hour. 63% of Americans aren’t able to handle a 500 dollar emergency. Why the FUCK would people want to have a child in these conditions?
Its going to even worse now that social programs have been cut. SNAP, WIC, medicaid,Pellgrant, etc. The elites are price gouging everyone and making it more and more difficult to have children while crying about people not having children.
Fertility rates are usually higher in immigrant communities compared to the general population. I can’t imagine that the actions this year are going to help fertility rates in that regard.
It’ll be at least a year before we get that data though.
The larger discussion around fewer children keeps getting framed as women refusing to have kids, but there’s also fewer men who want to be parents too.
Life is incredibly expensive for even basics; how would people afford multiple children? Where I live daycare cost $1800 a month for one child.
You’d have to be completely ignorant to willingly and intentionally bring a child into this world right now. Take a look around. It’s a goddamned powder keg…
Average female age in the US is near 40. No shit. Why are we reading stats about the birth rate without accounting for the aging population.
Might have something to do with you being forced by the state to have it even in life threatening conditions. Then, once it’s out, you’re on your own. Don’t expect help with the kid or paying to have it.
Pro life for the fetus and fetus only. After? It can pull itself up by it’s little baby bootstraps.
Throw a tax credit at em that will change their minds lol
Population falling is a good thing for everybody except boomers. The earth is over populated.
It’s two things. Micro plastics from rich people’s industry, and the cost of living being too high from rich people’s industry.
Childbearing age : 15 to 44 ? Is this a joke ? I had my child at 46 lmao
Why will no one acknowledge that forcing both potential parents to work full time in order to survive makes raising children extremely difficult?
The west spent generations shitting on stay at home parents because apparently raising shareholder value is more important than raising children and running a household.
The wording in this makes me angry. They’re all but criticizing women exclusively. Idk, maybe I’m not saying it right
Apparently one needs to type a wordy comment here in order to not have their comment removed. Points are not given for being succinct. That being said, my original comment was,”good, the planet needs fewer people”. Because we are already consuming the planet at a rate it cannot sustain. I hope that was lengthy enough. Thank you and I hope we passed the audition.
Good. I doubt it will benefit me but half the reason I never go out of my way to start dating is because every single woman I meet expect the next man to be a parent. I’ve known guys like this too, they refuse to date someone with kids because they don’t want more but they expect someone with no kids to deal with theirs.
Fucking breeders, leave us alone we did good. Lol
Only the “Outbreed the Infidel” families are shitting out multiple kids.
Kids are expensive. Housing is expensive. Daycare is basically another mortgage. It’s not that people don’t want kids, they just can’t afford them.
The simple answer is you need a high income to support a child. My wife and I make a combined 360k and have no family help. With mortage, license fees to work, student loans, and nanny/daycare we can barely save money. I find it insane that our income is not enough to be super comfortable while raising a kid.
There are people that make way more than us and are living paycheck to paycheck to be able to take thier kids to all thier activities/private achool.
How the fuck is anyone making under six figures doing it? Thier kids will not be able to compete in any measurable way.
As women have adapted to modern society by contributing as full-time employees, it’s essential that their partners step up even more—taking on a fair share of childcare, domestic responsibilities, and the mental and administrative load within the household.
We really need to use a different term than fertility rates. Fertility implies the ability to have children regardless of willingness. We shouldn’t conflate birth rates with fertility unless we know it’s directly related to diminishing fertility itself.
My wife and I are well educated, high earning folks. We aren’t having kids, straight up.
Our reasons are pretty straightforward: children are an extreme financial burden, not just the ridiculous cost of birth but also their entire lives. And we don’t feel right having a kid rn, we both agree the future in this country is fairly bleak and it’s cruel to bring a life into the world, knowing they will have a worse world to inhabit.
If kids didn’t cost so much or there was hope that the US could pull itself up by its bootstraps we would consider kids. Or if we just lived in any European country maybe idk.
Why is a drop in fertility rates “concerning”? The planet is dying under the weight of eight billion people.
people always keep trying to find one specific reason that people arent having kids anymore, isnt it just much more likely that like, 10+ different things are all causing people to have less kids?
for starters theres the money problem, kids need to be watched when they are very young and that requires either a stay at home parent, day care or nanny to care for. it is much harder to survive on a single parent income anymore, and the average day care costs like $18,000 a year now. on top of costs getting higher, your kid either needs help paying for college or theyll be stuck in a low paying job while your supporting them in later life. other people dont want to make financial sacrifices to raise children while they could instead spend their time having fun or vacationing or saving for a solid retirement.
second, people dont need kids to look after them as much anymore, it use to be that people had plenty of kids so that some could run the family business and that some of them could dedicate their adulthood to caring for their aging parents. thats not really a problem anymore, old people dont need to rely on children anymore, there are social security and medical benefits people can recieve once they get old enough.
another point is probably nihilism about the future, a decent chunk of people dont want kids because they feel really shitty about the world, the future and everything thats happening. people dont want to bring kids into a world that might be about to collapse due to climate change, or when it seems war is becoming a bigger issue again or that overpopulation is becoming a problem. which that in itself is possibly part of why the birth rate is so low, like 20-30 years ago the narrative we were taught in school was that the worlds population is skyrocketing and that eventually there will be massive famines and droughts and such as the world cant manage our population. well those students who were taught that in school are now the people who are having kids, im sure at least some 20-30 year olds dont want kids because they think they would be contributing to overpopulation.
these are just a few quick reasons all factoring into why americas birth rate is declining, there are probly other things you could think up too i put a bit more thought into it.
The US is going to shit. That baby is more likely than ever to be a rung lower on the social ladder even if they follow all the “right steps” in life. Factor in climate change possibilities, the US entering autocracy, and I question anyone wanting to have multiple kids. Even one is out for me.
There is no future worth bringing kids into right now.