The United States recorded its lowest general fertility rate in history in 2025, according to final birth registration data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics. The rate fell to approximately 53.1 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44, down from 53.8 in 2024 — continuing a nearly two-decade trend that has persisted through multiple administrations and economic cycles. A total of roughly 3.6 million babies were born last year, a slight decline from the year before.

The decline was sharpest among younger women. Birth rates fell across all age groups up to 29, with women aged 20 to 24 seeing a 6% drop and women in their late teens seeing a 7% decrease. Meanwhile, birth rates among women aged 30 to 44 continued to climb, reflecting a broader societal shift toward delayed parenthood. CDC demographer Brady Hamilton described the drop among 20-somethings as "noteworthy," and the report cited "increased labour market opportunities and agency among women, rising financial costs, changing priorities" and concerns about maternal mortality as contributing factors.

The data land at a politically charged moment. The Trump administration has made reversing the birth-rate decline a stated priority, establishing tax-advantaged savings accounts for babies born between 2025 and 2028 and launching resources through federal health agencies. Critics note that those measures have so far done nothing to arrest the trend. The Agriculture Department estimates it now costs over $322,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, a figure many demographers cite as central to why younger Americans are opting to delay or forgo having children.