How Many Babies Are Born in the United States Each Year?

3,606,400 babies were born in the United States in 2025

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, counted 3,606,400 births in the United States in 2025. The figure comes from its provisional report published on 9 April 2026 and is based on more than 99 percent of the birth certificates filed by state vital records offices. It is 22,534 births lower than the final total of 3,628,934 for 2024, a decline of 0.6 percent that NCHS rounds to 1 percent in its release.

Spread across the year, 2025 averaged about 9,880 births a day, or one birth roughly every 8.7 seconds. The 2025 decline reversed a small increase in 2024, when births rose 1 percent from 3,596,017 in 2023. That 2023 figure is still the lowest annual total since at least 2000, and the 2025 count is the second lowest of the period.

The table below sets the main indicators from the two most recent NCHS reports side by side. The 2024 values are final; the 2025 values are provisional and can change slightly when final 2025 data are released, normally in the following year.

Source: NCHS, Births: Provisional Data for 2025 (VSRR No. 43) and Births: Final Data for 2024 (NVSR Vol. 75 No. 2). The total fertility rate for 2024 is 1,599.5 births per 1,000 women. Percentage changes in births are BusinessStats calculations.

Births peaked at 4.32 million in 2007 and are now 16 percent lower

US births rose through the early 2000s, from 4,058,814 in 2000 to 4,316,233 in 2007. NCHS described the 2007 total as the highest number of births ever reported for the United States, surpassing the peak of the postwar baby boom in 1957. The recession that began at the end of 2007 ended that run. Births fell in six consecutive years to 3,932,181 in 2013, rose slightly in 2014 and then declined every year from 2015 to 2020.

A long slide with two short pauses: births fell from 4.32 million in 2007 to 3.61 million in 2025, a drop of 709,833 or 16.4 percent, with small increases only in 2014, 2021, 2022 and 2024.

The largest single-year fall in the period came in 2020, when births dropped 3.6 percent from 3,747,540 to 3,613,647 during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. A partial rebound followed, with 3,664,292 births in 2021 and 3,667,758 in 2022, before the count fell again to 3,596,017 in 2023.

A longer view shows how far the total has moved. NCHS recorded 4,158,212 births in 1990 and 3,899,589 in 1995. The 2025 count is 13.3 percent lower than in 1990, even though the US population is far larger today; our US population statistics show how much of recent population growth now comes from immigration rather than natural increase. Measured per person, the decline is steeper still: the crude birth rate was 16.7 births per 1,000 people in 1990, 14.3 in 2007, 13.0 in 2010 and 10.7 in 2024.

The general fertility rate has fallen 24 percent since 2007

Counts of births depend on how many women are of childbearing age, so NCHS uses the general fertility rate (GFR) as its headline measure: the number of births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. The GFR was 69.5 in 2007, 64.1 in 2010 and 58.3 in 2019. It fell to 55.7 in 2020, recovered slightly to 56.3 in 2021 and then resumed its decline.

Lower almost every year: the rate dropped from 69.5 to 53.1 between 2007 and 2025, a fall of 23.6 percent, with only small upticks in 2014 and 2021.

NCHS called the 2024 rate of 53.8 a record low, and the provisional 2025 rate of 53.1 is lower again. The gap between counts and rates was clear in 2024: births rose 1 percent while the GFR fell 1 percent, which means the number of women aged 15 to 44 grew faster than the number of babies. For the size and age profile of that population, see our breakdown of the US population by sex and age and the US population by gender.

From 3.68 children per woman in 1957 to about 1.6 today

The total fertility rate (TFR) estimates how many children a woman would have over her lifetime if the birth rates of a given year applied at every age. A TFR of about 2.1 is needed for a generation to replace itself without migration. NCHS reported a TFR of 1,599.5 births per 1,000 women for 2024, or 1.60 children per woman, a record low, down from 1,621.0 in 2023. The rate has been below replacement consistently since 2008 and generally since 1971, and it is 23 percent lower than in 2008.

The April 2026 provisional report did not publish a total fertility rate for 2025. The Social Security Trustees Report, which maintains a long annual series built on NCHS births, estimates 1.59 for 2025. That series, shown below, rounds to two decimals and uses its own population base, so individual years can differ slightly from NCHS; for 2023, for example, it shows 1.60 against 1.62 from NCHS.

Three eras: the baby boom peaked at 3.68 in 1957, fertility fell below 2.0 by 1972 and hovered near replacement from 1989 to 2008, and it has fallen almost without pause since then.

The series has three distinct phases. During the baby boom the TFR stayed above 3.0 from 1950 to 1964 and peaked at 3.68 in 1957. It then fell quickly, to 1.99 in 1972 and a low of 1.74 in 1976. From the late 1980s fertility recovered to about replacement level, reaching 2.07 in 1990 and 2.12 in 2007. Since 2008 the rate has declined almost every year, to 1.64 in 2020, 1.66 in 2021 and 1.60 in 2024. The United States is not alone: fertility is falling across most of the world, as our world population statistics show.

Women in their early 30s now have more babies than any other age group

Women aged 30 to 34 had 1,112,107 births in 2025, 30.8 percent of the total, making them the largest group of mothers. Women aged 25 to 29 followed with 986,726 births (27.4 percent) and women aged 35 to 39 with 640,234 (17.8 percent). Mothers aged 35 and over accounted for 22.0 percent of all births, up from 21.4 percent in 2024, while teenagers aged 15 to 19 accounted for 3.5 percent.

Up in the 30s, down in the 20s: birth rates rose for women aged 30 to 44 in 2025 and fell for every age group under 30, continuing a shift toward later motherhood.

The rates tell the same story. The birth rate for women aged 30 to 34 rose 2.7 percent to 96.2 per 1,000 in 2025, the highest of any age group, and the rate for women aged 35 to 39 rose to 55.1. Rates fell to 85.6 for women aged 25 to 29 and to 52.2 for women aged 20 to 24. In the final 2024 data NCHS noted that the rate for women aged 40 to 44 was the highest since 1965, and that the mean age of mothers at first birth reached a record high of 27.6 years.

Rates are births per 1,000 women in the age group; under 15 uses women aged 10 to 14, and the all ages row shows the general fertility rate. Shares are BusinessStats calculations.

State patterns in later motherhood are wide. An NCHS data brief on state fertility from 2015 to 2024 found that in 2024 the birth rate for women aged 30 to 34 ranged from 60.1 in the District of Columbia to 122.5 in South Dakota, and the rate for women aged 35 to 39 from 35.0 in West Virginia to 74.5 in New Jersey. Nationally, the rate for women aged 40 to 49 rose 24 percent over that decade, from 5.8 to 7.2 per 1,000.

The teen birth rate is 81 percent below its 1991 peak

The birth rate for females aged 15 to 19 fell 7 percent in 2025 to 11.7 per 1,000, the lowest level on record. Rates fell 11 percent for girls aged 15 to 17, to 4.7, and 7 percent for women aged 18 to 19, to 21.9. The number of teen births dropped from 137,273 in 2024 to 125,933 in 2025.

A 34-year decline: the rate fell from 61.8 in 1991 to 11.7 in 2025, with only brief increases in 2006 and 2007.

The decline is one of the longest sustained trends in US vital statistics. The teen birth rate stood at 61.8 in 1991, fell to 47.7 by 2000 and to 41.5 in 2007, then dropped much faster after the recession, to 34.2 in 2010, 22.3 in 2015 and 15.0 in 2020. The 2025 rate is 81 percent below the 1991 level and 72 percent below 2007. During the baby boom the rate was far higher, at 96.3 per 1,000 in 1957.

Hispanic mothers had 27 percent of US births in 2024

The most recent breakdown by race and Hispanic origin comes from the final 2024 data; the provisional 2025 report did not include it. In 2024, non-Hispanic White mothers had 1,783,156 births, or 49.1 percent of the total, and Hispanic mothers had 984,092 births, or 27.1 percent. Non-Hispanic Black mothers had 473,377 births (13.0 percent) and non-Hispanic Asian mothers 226,860 (6.3 percent).

Close to half and half: non-Hispanic White mothers had 49.1 percent of births in 2024; Hispanic, Black, Asian and other mothers together had 50.9 percent.

The groups moved in different directions in 2024. Births rose 4 percent to Hispanic mothers and 5 percent to Asian mothers, fell 4 percent to Black mothers and 2 percent to American Indian and Alaska Native mothers, and were down less than 1 percent to White mothers. Fertility rates were lower in almost every group, so most of the increase among Hispanic and Asian mothers reflects a larger number of women of childbearing age. The population side of these figures is covered in our analysis of the US population by race.

Only one group above replacement: Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander women had a TFR of 2.19 in 2024; Asian women had the lowest at 1.26.

Source: NCHS, Births: Final Data for 2024. GFR is births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44. Shares are BusinessStats calculations.

California and Texas account for more than one in five US births

State totals for 2024, the latest final year, follow population size but not perfectly. California recorded 402,075 births and Texas 390,828, together 21.8 percent of the national total. Texas has a smaller population than California but a much higher fertility rate, 59.3 against 49.8, which keeps its birth count close behind. Florida (224,389) and New York (205,489) were the only other states above 200,000.

Ten states, more than half of all births: the top 10 states had 1,953,271 births in 2024, 53.8 percent of the US total.

At the other end, Vermont had the fewest births of any state with 5,023, followed by Wyoming (6,089), Alaska (8,943) and North Dakota (9,634); the District of Columbia recorded 7,616. Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois and North Carolina all fell in a narrow band between 122,856 and 127,299 births. Population size explains most of the ranking, as the list of the largest US metropolitan areas suggests, while the age and sex structure of each state, shown in our data on males per 100 females by state, shapes the rest.

Source: NCHS, FastStats State and Territorial Data (2024 NVSS birth data). GFR is births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44; US average 53.8. Shares are BusinessStats calculations.

South Dakota has the highest fertility rate, Vermont the lowest among states

Ranking by the general fertility rate gives a very different map. South Dakota had the highest rate in 2024, 66.7 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, followed by Nebraska (62.9), Alaska (60.8), North Dakota (60.4) and Kentucky (60.3). Utah, long associated with large families, ranked sixth at 59.9, just ahead of Texas at 59.3.

A 27 point spread: the rate in South Dakota (66.7) was two thirds higher than in the District of Columbia (39.8); Great Plains states lead and New England trails.

The lowest rates were in the District of Columbia (39.8), Vermont (41.7), Rhode Island (45.0), New Hampshire (45.9), Oregon (46.1) and Maine (46.3). In all, 23 states and the District of Columbia were below the national average of 53.8, including most of the Northeast, both Pacific Northwest states and the two large states of California (49.8) and Illinois (49.7). Only five states had a rate of 60 or more: South Dakota, Nebraska, Alaska, North Dakota and Kentucky.

About one in three babies is delivered by cesarean

The cesarean delivery rate rose to 32.5 percent in 2025, the highest since 2013, from 32.4 percent in 2024. The low-risk cesarean rate, which tracks first births of a single baby, head down and at full term, rose to 26.9 percent, the highest since 2012. The overall rate had climbed every year from 20.7 percent in 1996 to a peak of 32.9 percent in 2009. In 2024 the primary cesarean rate, for women with no previous cesarean, was 22.9 percent.

The preterm birth rate, the share of babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy, was unchanged at 10.41 percent in 2025. Early preterm births, before 34 weeks, edged down to 2.69 percent, and late preterm births rose slightly to 7.72 percent. The rate had fallen from 10.44 percent in 2007 to 9.57 percent in 2014 before rising again.

Wide gaps: 14.86 percent of babies born to Black mothers arrived preterm in 2024, compared with 9.16 percent for Asian mothers and 10.41 percent overall.

Other outcomes from the final 2024 data: 8.52 percent of babies had low birthweight, under 2,500 grams. The twin birth rate was 30.1 per 1,000 births, 11 percent lower than in 2014, and the rate of triplet and higher-order births was 71.3 per 100,000, down 63 percent from its 1998 peak of 193.5. Medicaid was the source of payment for 40.2 percent of births in 2024, down from 41.5 percent in 2023. Hospital capacity and the workforce behind these deliveries are tracked in our health professionals and hospitals overview.

Source: NCHS, Births: Provisional Data for 2025; Births: Final Data for 2024; Data Brief No. 535, Births in the United States, 2024.

39.5 percent of babies are born to unmarried mothers

In 2024, 39.5 percent of US births were to unmarried women, below the peak of 41.0 percent reached in 2009. The birth rate for unmarried women was 31 percent below its 2007 to 2008 peak of 51.8 births per 1,000 unmarried women. Shifts in marriage patterns, covered in our weddings and marriage statistics, interact with the later timing of first births: the mean age of mothers at first birth reached a record 27.6 years in 2024, and births to women in their late 30s and early 40s continue to grow as a share of the total.

Projections: deaths are expected to outnumber births between 2030 and 2038

The main or intermediate assumptions of all three official projection sets keep fertility below replacement. They differ in timing, mostly because they were produced at different dates and with different migration assumptions. The figures below are projections, not observed data.

The Congressional Budget Office now expects deaths to exceed births starting in 2030, so that net immigration accounts for all population growth after that; without it, CBO says, the population would begin to shrink in 2030. The Census Bureau, working from older data, projected that natural decrease would arrive in 2038 in its main series and that the population would peak at nearly 370 million in 2080. Immigration therefore matters more each year for population growth, a trend visible in the green card recipients by state. Fewer births also mean a slower growing labor force over time, one of the long-run factors behind US GDP growth.

Methodology and data notes

This page relies on the National Vital Statistics System, which compiles every birth certificate filed in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. NCHS publishes provisional annual counts in the spring after the data year and final data, with full detail by race, state and medical characteristics, about a year later.

US births in eight numbers

Questions about births in the United States