The Centers for Disease Control (CDC)’s annual report on the U.S. birth rate increased slightly last year from a record low in 2023 but remains the second lowest in the last century.

The CDC reported more than 3.6 million births in 2024, a 1% increase from a 44-year low in 2023. The provisional 2024 birth rate of 54.6 births per 1,000 women and girls age 15-44 represents an increase of .2% after two years of declines. Indiana recorded just over 80,000 births, a 2% increase from 2023.

After a 30-year plunge from the height of the baby boom in 1957, the U.S. birth rate began climbing again in the 1990s, but has declined steadily since 2007. The new report, “Births: Provisional Data for 2024,” analyzes data from more than 99% of birth certificates from last year. The provisional number of births declined 4% for Black women, 3% for American Indian and Alaska Native women, and less than 1% for white women.  Births rose 4% among Hispanic women and 5% among Asian women, and were essentially unchanged for Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander women. 

Other findings in the new report:

• 2024 birth rates by age of mother
  
  • decreased for females ages 15-24
  • increased for women ages 25-44 years
  • were unchanged for females ages 10–14 and 45-49
• The birth rate for teenagers ages 15–19 was down 3% in 2024 to 12.7 births per 1,000 women, a new record low.
• The birth rate for women ages 20–24 (56.7) declined to another record low.
• The birth rate for women ages 40–44 increased 2%; the rate has risen almost continuously in this age group since 1985.
• The cesarean delivery rate increased to 32.4% in 2024. The low-risk cesarean delivery rate was unchanged at 26.6%.
• The preterm birth rate was unchanged at 10.41%.

The report is available on the NCHS website.