New CDC data shows US fertility rate dropped to record low in 2024

New Center for Disease Control nad Prevention data released Thursday show U.S. fertility rates dropped to a record low in 2024, with 1.599 children per woman.

This is a decrease from the 1.621 rate of 2023, according to the agency's National Center for Health Statistics.

According to the data, the general fertility rate declined by 1% in 2024, with 54.5 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44 in 2023 compared to 53.8 in 2024. 

With women increasingly choosing to wait to decide whether to have children, the U.S. is no longer one of the few developed countries with a rate that ensures there are enough children to replace each generation, according to The Associated Press. 

While the fertility rate is on the decline, the number of registered births in the United States has increased by 1% since 2023 – with roughly 3.6 million births in 2024. 

In response to the decline, President Trump recently signed an executive order aimed at reducing the costs of in vitro fertilization.

Karen Guzzo, the director of the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina,  told the wire service that people are marrying later and worrying about having the financial resources to support children. 

“Worry is not a good moment to have kids,” she said.