US fertility rate plummets to all-time low in 2024

The U.S. fertility rate dropped to a new all-time low of 1.6 children per woman in 2024, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released Thursday.

Though the fertility rate has declined, the CDC found that the total number of births in the U.S. increased 1% from 2023 to 2024 — hitting 3,628,934 births. Meanwhile, birth rates declined for females aged 15 to 34 from 2023 to 2024, according to the CDC.

Additionally, birth rates remained unchanged for women ages 35 to 39 from 2023 to 2024, the CDC reported. Birth rates however increased for women ages 40 to 44 during the same time period, according to the agency.

Fertility rates have notably been declining in the U.S. for decades. A report by the conservative Heritage Foundation released in March 2025 found that much of the recent drop in fertility rates in the U.S. is attributable to the fact that many women are postponing births and marriage. The last time the US fertility rate was above replacement level — generally defined as 2.1 births per woman — was in 2007 when it was 2.12, according to data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

In February, President Donald Trump unveiled an executive order to expand access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) for Americans and help families with the associated costs.

The White House wrote in a fact sheet that the executive order “recognizes the importance of family formation and that our nation’s public policy must make it easier for loving and longing mothers and fathers to have children.”

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