Overview
- The American Family Survey, a nationally representative poll of 3,000 U.S. adults conducted in August 2025 (±2.1%), was released Friday.
- Only 15% of Democrats versus 41% of Republicans say the nation is having too few babies, with 23% of independents agreeing.
- Seventy-one percent say raising children is not affordable and 43% cite insufficient money as the top barrier, a 13-point rise in unaffordability since last year.
- Among adults ages 18–50 without children, just 45% say they want a child someday, with men, conservatives and several religious groups more likely to express that desire.
- Public support for government efforts to raise birthrates is limited at 22% in favor and 46% opposed, even as experts point to childcare, housing, tax credits and paid leave as possible supports; the U.S. fertility rate stood at 1.6 in 2024, per the CDC.