Overview
- About 70% say raising children is too expensive, up 13 points from last year, according to the 3,000-person poll conducted Aug. 6–18 with a ±2.1% margin of error.
- Forty-three percent cite insufficient money as a reason to have fewer or no children, outpacing lack of personal desire (22%) and lack of a supportive partner (19%).
- The survey highlights divides as conservatives and men express greater desire for children and are more likely to say the U.S. has too few births than liberals and women.
- Coverage of policy preferences is split, with one report finding 22% in favor and 46% opposed to government efforts to encourage higher birth rates.
- The findings arrive as CDC data show the 2024 U.S. fertility rate at 1.6 children per woman, well below the replacement level.