Provisional data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Protection shows that the United States birth rate is yet again in decline, ending a mini baby boom that began during the pandemic. And thanks to this drop, the U.S. fertility rate is at the lowest it's been in nearly a century.
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The data shows that about 3.6 million babies were born in 2023, which is a 2% drop from 2022. There were approximately 1.62 births per woman, which is significantly below the "replacement rate" of 2.1 that allows a generation to completely replace itself.
Birth rates fell for women under the age of 40, but was unchanged for women over 40, according to the data. However, the birth rate among teens between 15 and 19 has dropped 3%. And interestingly, the birth rate has declined across nearly all racial groups.
Last year, it was reported that between 2007 and 2022, the birth rate fell nearly 23%. Between 2015 and 2020, the birth rate dropped an average of 2% per year, but it rose slightly in 2021, getting a little bump from the height of the pandemic. As life has gotten more expensive, and with many states implementing heavy restrictions on abortion access, it's no surprise that fewer people are having children.
