While the standard image of the nuclear family with two parents and 2.5 children has persisted in the American imagination, the number of births in the U.S. has steadily been decreasing since 1990, with about 3.6 million babies born in 2023. In 1990, this figure was 4.16 million. Birth and replacement rates A country’s birth rate is defined as the number of live births per 1,000 inhabitants, and it is this particularly important number that has been decreasing over the past few decades. The declining birth rate is not solely an American problem, with EU member states showing comparable rates to the U.S. Additionally, each country has what is called a “replacement rate.” The replacement rate is the rate of fertility needed to keep a population stable when compared with the death rate. In the U.S., the fertility rate needed to keep the population stable is around 2.1 children per woman, but this figure was at 1.67 in 2022. Falling birth rates Currently, there is much discussion as to what exactly is causing the birth rate to decrease in the United States. There seem to be several factors in play, including longer life expectancies, financial concerns (such as the economic crisis of 2008), and an increased focus on careers, all of which are causing people to wait longer to start a family. How international governments will handle falling populations remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the declining birth rate is a multifaceted problem without an easy solution.

The graph illustrates the number of babies born in the United States from 1995 to 2025. The x-axis represents the years, labeled from '95 to '25, while the y-axis shows the annual number of births. Over this 30-year period, birth numbers peaked at 4,316,233 in 2007 and reached a low of 3,596,017 in 2023. The data reveals relatively stable birth rates from 1995 to 2010, with slight fluctuations, followed by a gradual decline starting around 2017. The information is presented in a line graph format, effectively highlighting the long-term downward trend in U.S. birth numbers over the specified timeframe.

In the United States, the crude birth rate in 1800 was 48.3 live births per thousand people, meaning that 4.8 percent of the population had been born in that year. Between 1815 and 1825 the crude birth rate jumped from 46.5 to 54.7 (possibly due to Florida becoming a part of the US, but this is unclear), but from this point until the Second World War the crude birth rate dropped gradually, reaching 19.2 in 1935. Through the 1940s, 50s and 60s the US experienced it's baby boom, and the birth rate reached 24.1 in 1955, before dropping again until 1980. From the 1980s until today the birth rate's decline has slowed, and is expected to reach twelve in 2020, meaning that just over 1 percent of the population will be born in 2020.

United States US: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data was reported at 1.800 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.843 Ratio for 2015. United States US: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data is updated yearly, averaging 2.002 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 3.654 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 1.738 Ratio in 1976. United States US: Fertility Rate: Total: Births per Woman data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Total fertility rate represents the number of children that would be born to a woman if she were to live to the end of her childbearing years and bear children in accordance with age-specific fertility rates of the specified year.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average; Relevance to gender indicator: it can indicate the status of women within households and a woman’s decision about the number and spacing of children.

This dataset includes crude birth rates and general fertility rates in the United States since 1909. The number of states in the reporting area differ historically. In 1915 (when the birth registration area was established), 10 states and the District of Columbia reported births; by 1933, 48 states and the District of Columbia were reporting births, with the last two states, Alaska and Hawaii, added to the registration area in 1959 and 1960, when these regions gained statehood. Reporting area information is detailed in references 1 and 2 below. Trend lines for 1909–1958 are based on live births adjusted for under-registration; beginning with 1959, trend lines are based on registered live births. SOURCES NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, birth data (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm); public-use data files (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov/). REFERENCES National Office of Vital Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1950, Volume I. 1954. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsus_1950_1.pdf. Hetzel AM. U.S. vital statistics system: major activities and developments, 1950-95. National Center for Health Statistics. 1997. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/usvss.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1967, Volume I–Natality. 1969. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/nat67_1.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Drake P. Births: Final data for 2016. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 67 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Births: Final data for 2018. National vital statistics reports; vol 68 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13.pdf.

US Births by County and State

1985-2015 Aggregated Data

By data.world's Admin [source]

About this dataset

This dataset contains an aggregation of birth data from the United Statesbetween 1985 and 2015. It consists of information on mothers' locations by state (including District of Columbia) and county, as well as information such as the month they gave birth, and aggregates giving the sum of births during that month. This data has been provided by both the National Bureau for Economic Research and National Center for Health Statistics, whose shared mission is to understand how life works in order to aid individuals in making decisions about their health and wellbeing. This dataset provides valuable insight into population trends across time and location - for example, which states have higher or lower birthrates than others? Which counties experience dramatic fluctuations over time? Given its scope, this dataset could be used in a number of contexts--from epidemiology research to population forecasting. Be sure to check out our other datasets related to births while you're here!

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How to use the dataset

This dataset could be used to examine local trends in birth rates over time or analyze births at different geographical locations. In order to maximize your use of this dataset, it is important that you understand what information the various columns contain.

The main columns are: State (including District of Columbia), County (coded using the FIPS county code number), Month (numbering from 1 for January through 12 for December), Year (4-digit year) countyBirths (calculated sum of births that occurred to mothers living in a county for a given month) and stateBirths (calculated sum of births that occurred to mothers living in a state for a given month). These fields should provide enough information for you analyze trends across geographic locations both at monthly and yearly levels. You could also consider combining variables such as Year with State or Year with Month or any other grouping combinations depending on your analysis goal.

In addition, while all data were downloaded on April 5th 2017, it is worth noting that all sources used followed privacy guidelines as laid out by NCHC so individual births occurring after 2005 are not included due to geolocation concerns.
We hope you find this dataset useful and can benefit from its content! With proper understanding of what each field contains, we are confident you will gain valuable insights on birth rates across counties within the United States during this period

Research Ideas

• Establishing county-level trends in birth rates for the US over time.
• Analyzing the relationship between month of birth and health outcomes for US babies after they are born (e.g., infant mortality, neurological development, etc.).
• Comparing state/county-level differences in average numbers of twins born each year

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. Data Source

License

See the dataset description for more information.

Columns

File: allBirthData.csv | Column name | Description | |:-----------------|:-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | State | The numerical order of the state where the mother lives. (Integer) | | Month | The month in which the birth took place. (Integer) | | Year | The year of the birth. (Integer) | | countyBirths | The calculated sum of births that occurred to mothers living in that county for that particular month. (Integer) | | stateBirths | The aggregate number at the level of entire states for any given month-year combination. (Integer) | | County | The county where the mother lives, coded using FIPS County Code. (Integer) |

Acknowledgements

If you use this dataset in your research, please credit the original authors. If you use this dataset in your research, please credit data.world's Admin.

US Monthly Birth Data

US Monthly Birth Data by State and County

By data.world's Admin [source]

About this dataset

The data was obtained from multiple sources. Data from 1985-2002 were downloaded from the National Bureau for Economic Research through the National Center for Health Statistics' National Vital Statistics System. Data from 2003-2015 were sourced using aggregators provided by CDC's WONDER tool, utilizing Year, Month, State, and County filters. It is worth noting that geolocation information for individual babies born after 2005 is not released due to privacy concerns; therefore, all data has been aggregated by month.

The spatial applicability of this dataset is limited to the United States at the county level. It covers a temporal range spanning January 1, 1985 - December 31, 2015. Each row in the dataset represents aggregated birth counts within a specific county for a particular month and year.

Additional notes highlight that this dataset expands on data presented in an essay called The Timing of Baby Making published by The Pudding website in May 2017. While only data ranging from1995-2015 were displayed in the essay itself, this dataset includes an extra ten years of birth data. Furthermore, any non-US residents have been excluded from this dataset.

The provided metadata gives a detailed breakdown of the columns in the dataset, including their descriptions and data types. The included variables allow researchers to analyze births at both individual county and state levels over time. Finally, the dataset is available under the MIT License for public use

How to use the dataset

Here is a guide on how to effectively use this dataset:

Step 1: Understanding the Columns

The dataset consists of several columns that provide specific information about each birth record. Let's understand what each column represents:

• State: The state (including District of Columbia) where the mother lives.
• County: The county where the mother lives, coded using the FIPS County Code.
• Month: The month in which the birth took place (1 = January, 2 = February, etc.).
• Year: The four-digit year of the birth.
• countyBirths: The calculated sum of births that occurred to mothers living in a county for a given month. If the sum was less than 9, it is listed as NA as per NCHS reporting guidelines.
• stateBirths: The calculated sum of births that occurred to mothers living in a state for a given month. It includes all birth counts, even those from counties with fewer than 9 births.

Step 2: Exploring Birth Trends by State and County

You can analyze birth trends by focusing on specific states or counties within specific time frames. Here's how you can do it:

• Filter by State or County:

  • Select rows based on your chosen state using the State column. Each number corresponds to a specific state (e.g., 01 = Alabama).
  • Further narrow down your analysis by selecting specific counties using their respective FIPS codes mentioned in the County column.

• Analyze Monthly Variation:

  • Calculate monthly total births within your desired location(s) by grouping data based on the Month column.
  • Compare the number of births between different months to identify any seasonal trends or patterns.

• Visualize Birth Trends:

  • Create line charts or bar plots to visualize how the number of births changes over time.
  • Plot a line or bar for each month across multiple years to identify any significant changes in birth rates.

Step 3: Comparison and Calculation

You can utilize this dataset to compare birth rates between states, counties, and regions. Here are a few techniques you can try:

• State vs. County Comparison:
  • Calculate the total births within each state by aggregating

Research Ideas

• Analyzing birth trends: This dataset can be used to analyze and understand the trends in birth rates across different states and counties over the period of 1985 to 2015. Researchers can study factors that may influence these trends, such as socioeconomic factors, healthcare access, or cultural changes.
• Identifying seasonal variations: The dataset includes information on the month of birth for each entry. This data can be utilized to identify any seasonal variations in births across different locations in the US. Understanding these variations can help in planning resources and healthcare services accordingly.
• Studying geographical patterns: By analyzing the county-level data, researchers can explore geographical patterns of childbirth throughout the United States. They can identify regions with high or low birth rates and...

This dataset includes birth rates for females by age group in the United States since 1940. The number of states in the reporting area differ historically. In 1915 (when the birth registration area was established), 10 states and the District of Columbia reported births; by 1933, 48 states and the District of Columbia were reporting births, with the last two states, Alaska and Hawaii, added to the registration area in 1959 and 1960, when these regions gained statehood. Reporting area information is detailed in references 1 and 2 below. Trend lines for 1909–1958 are based on live births adjusted for under-registration; beginning with 1959, trend lines are based on registered live births. SOURCES NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, birth data (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm); public-use data files (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov/). REFERENCES National Office of Vital Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1950, Volume I. 1954. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsus_1950_1.pdf. Hetzel AM. U.S. vital statistics system: major activities and developments, 1950-95. National Center for Health Statistics. 1997. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/usvss.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1967, Volume I–Natality. 1969. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/nat67_1.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Drake P. Births: Final data for 2016. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 67 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Births: Final data for 2018. National vital statistics reports; vol 68 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13.pdf.

The Births (Natality) online databases in CDC WONDER report birth rates, fertility rates and counts of live births occurring within the United States to U.S. residents and non-residents. Counts can be obtained by state, county, child's sex and weight, mother's race, mother's age, mother's education, gestation period, prenatal care, birth plurality, and mother's medical and tobacco use risk factors. The data are derived from birth certificates. Data are available since 1995. The data are produced by the National Center for Health Statistics.

This dataset contains counts of live births for California counties based on information entered on birth certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out of state births to California residents, whereas provisional counts are derived from incomplete and dynamic data. Provisional counts are based on the records available when the data was retrieved and may not represent all births that occurred during the time period.

The final data tables include both births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence) and births to California residents (by residence), whereas the provisional data table only includes births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence). The data are reported as totals, as well as stratified by parent giving birth's age, parent giving birth's race-ethnicity, and birth place type. See temporal coverage for more information on which strata are available for which years.

This statistic shows the projected number of births in the United States from 2017 to 2060. In the year 2060, it is projected that there will be about **** million births in the United States.

This collection provides information on live births in the United States during calendar year 1993. The natality data in this file are a component of the vital statistics collection effort maintained by the federal government. Geographic variables describing residence of births include the state, county, city, population, division and state subcode, Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA), and metropolitan/nonmetropolitan county. Other variables include the race and sex of the child, the age of the mother, mother's education, place of delivery, person in attendance, and live birth order. The natality tabulations in the documentation include live births by age of mother, live-birth order and race of child, live births by marital status of mother, age of mother, and race of child, and live births by attendant and place of delivery.

NOTES: Figures include all revisions received from the states and, therefore, may differ from those previously published. Data are provisional and are subject to monthly reporting variation. National data are calculated by summing the number of events reported by state of residence; counts are rounded to the nearest thousand (births and deaths) or hundred (infant deaths). Provisional counts may differ by approximately 2% from final counts, due to rounding and reporting variation. Additionally, the accuracy of the provisional counts may change over time. Data are estimates by state of residence. For discussion of the nature, source, and limitations of the data, see "Technical Notes" of the report, Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2009. Available from URL: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_25.htm. Final counts of births, deaths, and infant deaths for previous years can be obtained from http://wonder.cdc.gov. SOURCE: Provisional data from the National Vital Statistics System, National Center for Health Statistics, CDC.

This dataset contains counts of live births for California as a whole based on information entered on birth certificates. Final counts are derived from static data and include out of state births to California residents, whereas provisional counts are derived from incomplete and dynamic data. Provisional counts are based on the records available when the data was retrieved and may not represent all births that occurred during the time period.

The final data tables include both births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence) and births to California residents (by residence), whereas the provisional data table only includes births that occurred in California regardless of the place of residence (by occurrence). The data are reported as totals, as well as stratified by parent giving birth's age, parent giving birth's race-ethnicity, and birth place type. See temporal coverage for more information on which strata are available for which years.

Actual value and historical data chart for United States Fertility Rate Total Births Per Woman

United States US: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 12.400 Ratio in 2016. This stayed constant from the previous number of 12.400 Ratio for 2015. United States US: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 15.100 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.700 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 12.400 Ratio in 2016. United States US: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In the United States in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have seven children over the course of their lifetime. As factors such as technology, hygiene, medicine and education improved, women were having fewer children than before, reaching just two children per woman in 1940. This changed quite dramatically in the aftermath of the Second World War, rising sharply to over 3.5 children per woman in 1960 (children born between 1946 and 1964 are nowadays known as the 'Baby Boomer' generation, and they make up roughly twenty percent of todays US population). Due to the end of the baby boom and increased access to contraception, fertility reached it's lowest point in the US in 1980, where it was just 1.77. It did however rise to over two children per woman between 1995 and 2010, although it is expected to drop again by 2020, to just 1.78.

This dataset assembles all final birth data for females aged 15–19, 15–17, and 18–19 for the United States and each of the 50 states. Data are based on 100% of birth certificates filed in all 50 states. All the teen birth rates in this dashboard reflect the latest revisions to Census populations (i.e., the intercensal populations) and thus provide a consistent series of accurate rates for the past 25 years. The denominators of the teen birth rates for 1991–1999 have been revised to incorporate the results of the 2000 Census. The denominators of the teen birth rates for 2001–2009 have revised to incorporate the results of the 2010 Census.

This data set contains estimated teen birth rates for age group 15–19 (expressed per 1,000 females aged 15–19) by county and year.

DEFINITIONS

Estimated teen birth rate: Model-based estimates of teen birth rates for age group 15–19 (expressed per 1,000 females aged 15–19) for a specific county and year. Estimated county teen birth rates were obtained using the methods described elsewhere (1,2,3,4). These annual county-level teen birth estimates “borrow strength” across counties and years to generate accurate estimates where data are sparse due to small population size (1,2,3,4). The inferential method uses information—including the estimated teen birth rates from neighboring counties across years and the associated explanatory variables—to provide a stable estimate of the county teen birth rate.
Median teen birth rate: The middle value of the estimated teen birth rates for the age group 15–19 for counties in a state.
Bayesian credible intervals: A range of values within which there is a 95% probability that the actual teen birth rate will fall, based on the observed teen births data and the model.

NOTES

Data on the number of live births for women aged 15–19 years were extracted from the National Center for Health Statistics’ (NCHS) National Vital Statistics System birth data files for 2003–2015 (5).

Population estimates were extracted from the files containing intercensal and postcensal bridged-race population estimates provided by NCHS. For each year, the July population estimates were used, with the exception of the year of the decennial census, 2010, for which the April estimates were used.

Hierarchical Bayesian space–time models were used to generate hierarchical Bayesian estimates of county teen birth rates for each year during 2003–2015 (1,2,3,4).

The Bayesian analogue of the frequentist confidence interval is defined as the Bayesian credible interval. A 100*(1-α)% Bayesian credible interval for an unknown parameter vector θ and observed data vector y is a subset C of parameter space Ф such that
1-α≤P({C│y})=∫p{θ │y}dθ,
where integration is performed over the set and is replaced by summation for discrete components of θ. The probability that θ lies in C given the observed data y is at least (1- α) (6).

County borders in Alaska changed, and new counties were formed and others were merged, during 2003–2015. These changes were reflected in the population files but not in the natality files. For this reason, two counties in Alaska were collapsed so that the birth and population counts were comparable. Additionally, Kalawao County, a remote island county in Hawaii, recorded no births, and census estimates indicated a denominator of 0 (i.e., no females between the ages of 15 and 19 years residing in the county from 2003 through 2015). For this reason, Kalawao County was removed from the analysis. Also , Bedford City, Virginia, was added to Bedford County in 2015 and no longer appears in the mortality file in 2015. For consistency, Bedford City was merged with Bedford County, Virginia, for the entire 2003–2015 period. Final analysis was conducted on 3,137 counties for each year from 2003 through 2015. County boundaries are consistent with the vintage 2005–2007 bridged-race population file geographies (7).

SOURCES

National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available online, Natality all-county files. Hyattsville, MD. Published annually.

For details about file release and access policy, see NCHS data release and access policy for micro-data and compressed vital statistics files, available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/dvs_data_release.htm.

For natality public-use files, see vital statistics data available online, available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm.

National Center for Health Statistics. U.S. Census populations with bridged race categories. Estimated population data available. Postcensal and intercensal files. Hyattsville, MD. Released annually.

For population files, see U.S. Census populations with bridged race categories, available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/bridged_race.htm.

REFERENCES

1. Khan D, Rossen LM, Hamilton B, Dienes E, He Y, Wei R. Spatiotemporal trends in teen birth rates in the USA, 2003–2012. J R Stat Soc A 181(1):35–58. 2017. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rssa.12266/abstract.

2. Khan D, Rossen LM, Hamilton BE, He Y, Wei R, Dienes E. Hot spots, cluster detection and spatial outlier analysis of teen birth rates in the U.S., 2003–2012. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol 21:67–75. 2017. Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877584516300442.

3. Rue H, Martino S, Lindgren F. INLA: Functions which allow to perform a full Bayesian analysis of structured additive models using Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation. R package, version 0.0. 2009.

4. Rue H, Martino S, Chopin N. Approximate Bayesian inference for latent Gaussian models by using integrated nested Laplace approximations. J R Stat Soc B 71(2):319–92. 2009.

5. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Mathews TJ. Births: Final data for 2015. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf (1.9 MB).

6. Carlin BP, Louis TA. Bayesian methods for data analysis. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2009.

7. National Center for Health Statistics. County geography changes: 1990–2012. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvss/bridged_race/County_Geography_Changes.pdf (39 KB).

This dataset includes live births, birth rates, and fertility rates by race of mother in the United States since 1960.

Data availability varies by race and ethnicity groups. All birth data by race before 1980 are based on race of the child. Since 1980, birth data by race are based on race of the mother. For race, data are available for Black and White births since 1960, and for American Indians/Alaska Native and Asian/Pacific Islander births since 1980. Data on Hispanic origin are available since 1989. Teen birth rates for specific racial and ethnic categories are also available since 1989. From 2003 through 2015, the birth data by race were based on the “bridged” race categories (5). Starting in 2016, the race categories for reporting birth data changed; the new race and Hispanic origin categories are: Non-Hispanic, Single Race White; Non-Hispanic, Single Race Black; Non-Hispanic, Single Race American Indian/Alaska Native; Non-Hispanic, Single Race Asian; and, Non-Hispanic, Single Race Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (5,6). Birth data by the prior, “bridged” race (and Hispanic origin) categories are included through 2018 for comparison.

SOURCES

NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, birth data (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm); public-use data files (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/VitalStatsOnline.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov/).

REFERENCES

1. National Office of Vital Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1950, Volume I. 1954. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsus_1950_1.pdf.

2. Hetzel AM. U.S. vital statistics system: major activities and developments, 1950-95. National Center for Health Statistics. 1997. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/usvss.pdf.

3. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital Statistics of the United States, 1967, Volume I–Natality. 1969. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/nat67_1.pdf.

4. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2015. National vital statistics reports; vol 66 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2017. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr66/nvsr66_01.pdf.

5. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Drake P. Births: Final data for 2016. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 67 no 1. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2018. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nvsr/nvsr67/nvsr67_01.pdf.

6. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, Driscoll AK, Births: Final data for 2018. National vital statistics reports; vol 68 no 13. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_13.pdf.