Births in the United States, 2025

NCHS Data Brief No. 571, October 2026

PDF Version (270 KB)

Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D., and Michelle J.K. Osterman, M.H.S.

Introduction

This report presents highlights from final 2025 birth data on key demographic, medical, and healthcare indicators. The number of births, general fertility rate (GFR), age-specific fertility rates, first trimester prenatal care rate by age of mother, and cesarean delivery rate by age of mother are presented. These indicators provide information on recent patterns and trends in childbearing and maternal healthcare utilization in the United States. For all indicators, 2025 results are compared with those for 2024.

Number of births and general fertility rate

• In 2025, 3,612,012 births were registered in the United States, a decrease of less than 1% from 2024 (3,628,934) (Figure 1, Table 1).
• The GFR was 53.2 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44, a decrease of 1% from 53.8 in 2024.

Fertility rate by age of mother

• From 2024 to 2025, fertility rates decreased for females ages 10-29, increased for women ages 30-44, and were unchanged for women ages 45-49 (Figure 2, Table 2).
• The birth rate for females ages 10-14 decreased from 0.2 births per 1,000 females in 2024 to 0.1 births in 2025.
• The birth rate for teenagers ages 15-19 decreased 7%, from 12.6 in 2024 to 11.7 in 2025.
• The birth rate for women ages 20-24 decreased 6%, from 55.8 in 2024 to 52.3 in 2025. The rate for women ages 25-29 decreased 4%, from 89.5 to 85.7.
• The birth rate for women ages 30-34 increased 3%, from 93.7 in 2024 to 96.3 in 2025. The rate for women ages 35-39 increased 2%, from 54.3 to 55.2.
• The rate for women ages 40-44 increased 1%, from 12.7 in 2024 to 12.8 in 2025. The rate for women ages 45-49 was unchanged from 2024 to 2025 at 1.1.

Prenatal care rate by age of mother

• The percentage of mothers beginning prenatal care in the first trimester increased from 75.5% in 2024 to 76.3% in 2025 (Figure 3, Table 3).
• First trimester prenatal care increased among all maternal age groups younger than 40. The largest increases were observed among mothers younger than 20 (from 56.7% in 2024 to 58.4% in 2025) and 20−24 (68.7% to 69.8%).
• The observed difference for mothers age 40 and older was not significant.

Cesarean delivery rate by age of mother

• The cesarean delivery rate did not change from 2024 to 2025 (32.4%) (Figure 4, Table 4).
• Cesarean delivery rates decreased among mothers ages 20-24 (from 24.8% in 2024 to 24.5% in 2025) and 25-29 (29.7% to 29.6%). The observed changes among mothers ages 35−39 and 40 and older were not significant.
• For mothers younger than 20 and ages 30-34, cesarean delivery rates did not change between 2024 and 2025.

Summary

From 2024 to 2025, the number of births registered in the United State decreased by less than 1%, and GFR decreased by 1% to a record low (1,2). The age-specific fertility rates decreased for females ages 10-29 to record lows, increased for women ages 30-44, and did not change for women ages 45-49 (1,2). The rate of prenatal care beginning in the first trimester increased in 2025 for all mothers younger than 40. The cesarean delivery rate did not change from 2024 to 2025, with the rate decreasing only for mothers ages 20-29.

Definitions

General fertility rate (GFR): Number of births per 1,000 females ages 15-44.

Age-specific fertility rate: Births per 1,000 females in a specified age group. The rate for women ages 45-49 was computed by relating births to women age 45 and older to women ages 45-49.

First trimester prenatal care (percentage): Births with prenatal care beginning in the first 3 months of pregnancy per 100 births with a known date of the first prenatal care visit.

Cesarean delivery rate: Number of births to females having a cesarean per 100 births with a known method of delivery.

Data source and methods

This report uses data from the natality data file from the National Vital Statistics System. The vital statistics natality file is based on information from birth certificates and includes information for all births occurring in the United States. This report accompanies the release of the 2025 natality public-use file (3). More detailed analyses of the topics presented in this report and other topics, such as births by race and Hispanic origin of mother; tobacco use during pregnancy; pregnancy risk factors; gestational age; receipt of food from the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; maternal body mass index; and breastfeeding are possible using the annual natality files (3). Additional information from the 2025 final birth data file and provisional data for 2025 are available via CDC WONDER, and will be included in the final 2025 National Vital Statistics birth report (4).

References to increases or decreases in rates or percentages indicate differences are statistically significant at the 0.05 level based on a two-tailed z test. References to changes in the number of births indicate the difference is statistically significant at the 0.05 level based on a two-tailed chi-squared test. Births for which a particular characteristic is unknown were subtracted from the counts for total births used as denominators before percentages or percentage distributions were computed.

Rates for 2025 shown in this report are based on population estimates derived from the 2020 Modified Age and Race Census file and include changes from Count Question Resolution, the Post-Census Group Quarters Review, and geographic revisions (5−7). Rates for 2024 are based on population estimates derived from a base that incorporates the 2020 census, vintage 2020 estimates for April 1, 2020, and 2020 Demographic Analysis Estimates (8,9). Rates are calculated based on population estimates as of July 1, 2024 (vintage 2024) and July 1, 2025 (vintage 2025) (1,2,5). The vintage 2025 population estimates include methodological changes made after the release of the vintage 2024 population estimates and projections (6,7). Changes in rates from 2024 to 2025 reflect changes in births and population estimates.

Differences between the rates published in Births: Provisional Data for 2025 and this report are solely due to the differences in the number of births. The rates in the provisional report and this report are based on the same vintage 2025 population estimates for July 1, 2025 (5,10).

About the authors

Brady E. Hamilton and Michelle J.K. Osterman are with the National Center for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics.

References

1. Osterman MJK, Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Driscoll AK, Valenzuela CP. Births: Final data for 2024. Natl Vital Stat Rep. 2026 Jun;75(2):1-48. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/252440.
2. National Center for Health Statistics. User guide to the 2024 natality public use file. Available from: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/Health_Statistics/NCHS/Dataset_Documentation/DVS/natality/UserGuide2024.pdf.
3. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics online data portal: Birth data files. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm.
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC WONDER. Natality information: Live births. Available from: https://wonder.cdc.gov/natality.html.
5. U.S. Census Bureau. Annual estimates of the resident population by single year of age and sex for the United States: April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2025 (NC-EST2025-AGESEX-RES). 2026 Apr. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/national/asrh/nc-est2025-agesex-res.csv.
6. U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology for the United States population estimates: Vintage 2025, nation, states, counties, and Puerto Rico-April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025. 2026. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology/2020-2025/methods-statement-v2025.pdf.
7. U.S. Census Bureau. Vintage 2025 release notes. 2026. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology/2020-2025/2025-est-relnotes.pdf.
8. U.S. Census Bureau. Methodology for the United States population estimates: Vintage 2024. 2024. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology/2020-2024/methods-statement-v2024.pdf.
9. U.S. Census Bureau. Vintage 2024 release notes. 2025. Available from: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/technical-documentation/methodology/2020-2024/2024-est-relnotes.pdf.
10. Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Gregory ECW. Births: Provisional data for 2025. Vital Statistics Rapid Release. 2026 Apr;(43):1-7. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/252434.

Suggested citation

Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK. Births in the United States, 2025. NCHS Data Brief. 2026 Oct;(571):1-10. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc/252470.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in the public domain and may be reproduced or copied without permission; citation as to source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health Statistics

Carolyn M. Greene, M.D., Acting Director
Amy M. Branum, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science

Division of Vital Statistics
Paul D. Sutton, Ph.D., Director
Andrés A. Berruti, Ph.D., M.A., Associate Director for Science