U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record 1.6 Births per Woman in 2024
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 29
U.S. Fertility Rate Falls to Record 1.6 Births per Woman in 2024
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 29
Summary
The U.S. total fertility rate dropped to a historic low of 1.6 births per woman in 2024, far below the 2.1 replacement rate.
Family size has been shrinking for decades: the share of American mothers with only one child nearly doubled to about 20% from 11% in 1976.
Large families have receded just as sharply, with mothers ending childbearing with four or more children falling to 14% by 2014 from 40% in 1976.
One-child households are already more common than two- or three-child households in nearly every EU country, suggesting the pattern may become standard in the U.S.