The stability in fertility rates among American women at the close of the century is in sharp contrast to the wide swings in fertility rates that occurred in preceding decades. Annual total fertility rates fell from almost 4.0 births per woman at the turn of the century to 2.2 births per woman during the Great Depression. They subsequently rose to a postwar peak of 3.7 births per woman in 1957, but fell again by half to 1.8 births per woman in the mid-1980s. With minor fluctuations, the rates have remained at approximately 2.0 births per woman over the last 20 years (the level required for the natural replacement of the population is about 2.1 births per woman).

Detailed Tables

Table 1. Distribution of Women by Number of Children Ever Born, by Race, Age,and Marital Status [<1.0 MB]

Table 2. Children Ever Born per 1,000 Women, Percent Childless, and Women Who Have Had a Child in the Last Year per 1,000 Women, by Age and Marital Status [<1.0 MB]

Table 3. Children Ever Born per 1,000 Women and Percent Childless, by Selected Characteristics [<1.0 MB]

Table 4.Children Ever Born per 1,000 Women, Percent Childless, and Women Who Have Had a Child in the Last Year per 1,000 Women, by Selected Characteristics [<1.0 MB]

Table 5. Percentage of Women Not Reporting Children Ever Born, by Selected Characteristic [<1.0 MB]

Table 6. Future Births Expected by Women 18 to 34 Years Old, by Marital Status [<1.0 MB]

Additional File Formats

Additional file formats can be accessed in our archives.

Archived Tables

Source and Accuracy

Current Population Survey

June 1998: Fertility and Birth Expectations Supplement File [<1.0MB]

Previous in Series on Fertility

Publication

Fertility of American Women: June 1995 (Update)

October 1997

Detailed tabulations are now available which provide fertility statistics by selected characteristics for women 15 to 44 years old in the United States.

Next in Series on Fertility

Publication

Fertility of American Women: June 2000

October 2001

This report profiles current fertility patterns of American women and is based on data collected in the June 2000 supplement to the CPS.

Others in Series

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Geographical Mobility: March 1997 to March 1998

January 2000

This report identifies and explains key factors that affected the mobility of the population of the United States during March 1997 to 1998.

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Voting and Registration in the Election of November 1998

August 2000

This report examines the characteristics of the people who voted in the November 1998 Congressional election.

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The Asian and Pacific Islander Population in the U.S.: March 1999

September 01, 2000

This report presents data on the Asian and Pacific Islander population in the US as part of the March 1999 supplement to the Current Population Survey (CPS).

Related Information

Fertility Publications

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021

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