A Record-Low U.S. Fertility Rate, With a Rise Among Women 30 to 45
The latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found the general fertility rate for women fell by 1% in 2025, to a new record low. That extends a two-decade trend toward fewer children.
The sharper one-year movement came at younger ages: Brady Hamilton, a demographer at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics who co-authored the report, singled out a 6% decline in the birthrate for women age 20 to 24 as noteworthy.
Running the other direction, the CDC data show a small but significant increase in women ages 30 to 45 who are choosing to become pregnant. A 1% national decline and a 6% single-year drop among women in their early 20s are not the same story, and the second is the more startling figure.
AI-generated discussion · Different perspectives
Six percent in one year for women 20 to 24 is the number worth pinning to the wall — that is a lot of movement for twelve months, whatever the national average does.
The older-mother increase is real but the CDC calls it small, while the overall rate set a record low. Leaning on the age split risks turning a national decline into a lifestyle trend piece.