U.S. Births down 1% in 2025

According to data from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, the number of births in the United States and the general fertility rate decreased in 2025.

The new report, "Births: Provisional Data for 2025," analyzes data from more than 99% of registered births occurring last year. The report shows the number of births decreased by 1% from 2024, with 3,606,400 births recorded in 2025. The general fertility rate also fell slightly to 53.1 births for every 1,000 females ages 15 to 44 in 2025.

Other findings in the new report:

• The birth rate for teenagers ages 15–19 was down 7% in 2025, to 11.7 births per 1,000 women, another record low.
  • For younger teenagers (ages 15–17), the rate decreased by 11%.
  • For older teenagers (ages 18–19), the rate decreased by 7%

• The cesarean delivery rate increased to 32.5% in 2025, marking the highest rate since 2013.
  • The rate for low-risk cesarean deliveries also rose to 26.9%, the highest since 2012.

• The preterm birth rate was unchanged at 10.41%.
  • Early preterm births (before 34 weeks) decreased 1%, while late preterm births (34–36 weeks) remained steady.

The report will be available on the NCHS website at www.cdc.gov/nchs.