The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) counted 3,612,012 births in the United States in 2025, while the general fertility rate fell to a record 53.2 per 1,000 females ages 15–44.
The NCHS, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released the final figures Wednesday, Oct. 21. The 2024 count was 3,628,934, making the year-over-year decline 16,922 births, or less than 1%. The general fertility rate was 53.8 in 2024, so it fell 1% in 2025.
The overall figures combine different movements across age groups. Rates declined among females ages 10–29. For ages 20–24, the rate dropped 6% to 52.3 births per 1,000, from 55.8 in 2024. Among women ages 25–29, it fell 4% to 85.7, compared with 89.5 a year earlier.
Rates increased for women ages 30–44. The rate for ages 30–34 reached 96.3, up 3%; it rose 2% to 55.2 for ages 35–39 and 1% to 12.8 for ages 40–44. For ages 45–49, it remained at 1.1.
The 53.2 figure divides births recorded during the year by the population of females ages 15–44 and expresses that ratio per 1,000. It is an annual population measure, rather than an estimate of how many children a woman might have over her lifetime. The NCHS report lists rates by age bracket but does not calculate how much each bracket contributed to the overall change.
A September 2026 paper from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta examined generational patterns using National Survey of Family Growth data collected from 1988 to 2023. Research economist and senior adviser Julie L. Hotchkiss and economic research analyst Deborah Partey compared women at the same ages across generations. They found lower desire for children among Gen Z women and increased impaired fecundity among generations following the Baby Boom. The authors said their analysis did not directly establish what was driving those contributing factors. Because the survey data end in 2023, the paper does not examine the 2025 shift.
Census Bureau estimates put the U.S. median age at 39.4 in July 2025, compared with 38.6 in April 2020 and 39.2 a year before the latest estimate. The CDC said a later National Vital Statistics birth report will provide further detail on 2025, but has not announced a release date.
