Overview

• An analysis from the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey School estimates 5.7 million more prime‑age women were childless in 2024 than late‑2000s trends would predict, a jump from 4.7 million in 2022.
• Childlessness has climbed fastest among women under 30 and in the early 30s, while modest gains among women 35 to 49 have not offset the shift, the paper reports.
• U.S. Census Bureau data show 14.9% of women ages 45 to 50 were childless in 2024, down from 16.7% in 2014, suggesting more women had children by their late 40s even as younger cohorts delay.
• CDC figures for 2024 show total births rose 1% to 3,628,934 even as the general fertility rate fell 1% to 53.8 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44, with the steepest declines among ages 15 to 34.
• Economists and demographers cite housing affordability as a significant factor, with studies linking higher home prices to fewer births among non‑homeowners; the UNH brief notes it is not peer‑reviewed.