The steady decline of the American fertility rate continued last year with another record low, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention covered by NBC News. The data extend a nearly two-decade slide that has pushed U.S. births further below the level needed to sustain the population.
About 3.6 million babies were born in the United States in 2025, down about 1 percent from the previous year, according to provisional data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. The general fertility rate — births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 — also slipped 1 percent to 53.1, a new record low and nearly 23 percent below its 2007 level, Reuters reports.
The decline was steepest among younger women: the birth rate for women ages 25 to 29 fell about 4.4 percent, while rates for women in their early 30s rose 2.7 percent — not nearly enough to offset the drop. Teen births also hit record lows, with rates falling 7 percent for 18- and 19-year-olds and 11 percent for younger teens. Shifting priorities among younger women, including more demanding careers, expanded leisure options, and the intensity of modern parenting, have made having children less desirable for many, economist Phillip Levine of Wellesley College told Reuters.
Experts say the trend mirrors patterns across the developed world and carries real economic consequences, from a shrinking workforce to pressure on programs like Social Security. A pronatalist movement has gained momentum under the Trump administration, with policy proposals aimed at encouraging larger families. But researchers caution against targeting the rate itself: as UCLA epidemiologist Alison Gemmill told CNN, women's timelines have shifted, they have better control over their reproductive lives, and policy should start from what families actually need.