The latest CDC figures show that the United States recorded 3,606,400 births in 2025, a 1% decline from 2024, while the general fertility rate fell to 53.1 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44. Teen fertility dropped to 11.7 per 1,000, another record low. This matters because the raw number of babies can rise or fall for many reasons, but the fertility rate gives a clearer picture of how common childbearing really is. And by that measure, the long American decline is still continuing. (cdc.gov)

So is this mainly an economic problem? Partly, yes. In Pew Research Center’s 2024 survey of adults ages 18 to 49 without children who say they are unlikely to have them, 36% said a major reason was that they could not afford to raise a child. Concerns about the state of the world were cited by 38%, and 24% said they had not found the right partner. These are not trivial obstacles. They suggest that housing costs, child care, financial insecurity, and a wider sense of instability are pushing parenthood further out of reach. (pewresearch.org)

But the same survey points even more strongly toward a shift in values. The most common answer was not money: 57% said a major reason was simply that they did not want children, and 44% said they wanted to focus on other things. Just as striking, the share of childless adults under 50 who say they are unlikely ever to have children rose from 37% in 2018 to 47% in 2023. That suggests a deeper cultural change: for many Americans, having children is no longer seen as the default path to a meaningful adult life. (pewresearch.org)

The most honest answer, then, is that America’s low birthrate is both an economic issue and a values story. Money still matters, and many Americans believe policy could help: 60% say free child care would be very or extremely effective in encouraging more people to have children. Yet lower costs alone may not reverse the trend if a growing share of adults simply prefers a different life. (pewresearch.org)