Rates of Unmarried Women Giving Birth Fall Nationwide, U.S. Census Bureau Says

Rates of Unmarried Women Giving Birth Fall Nationwide, U.S. Census Bureau Says

Fewer unmarried women are giving birth, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which found that there has been a 15 percent decline in unmarried women giving birth over the past 10 years, falling to 1.2 million in 2023.

Almost one-third (30.9 percent) of the 4 million women ages 15 to 50 who gave birth in 2023 were unmarried. In 2011, 35.7 percent, or 1.5 million, of the 4.1 million women in that age group who gave birth were unmarried.

“Some of the differences in geographic patterns may be related to socioeconomic characteristics like poverty and income, which vary by state and county,” said report co-author Lydia Anderson, a statistician at the Census Bureau. She reported the national decline in unmarried women having babies is mirrored in most states. In states where the numbers did not drop, the figures remained statistically unchanged.