The teenage birth rate in the United States fell by 7% in 2025, continuing a decades-long decline that has seen the rate drop more than 75% since its peak in 1991, according to a report published Thursday by the National Center for Health Statistics, part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report, which provides the latest national data on births to mothers ages 15-19, shows the teen birth rate has fallen consistently year over year since the early 1990s. The 2025 decline follows a pattern that public health experts have attributed to multiple factors including increased access to contraception, comprehensive sex education programs, and shifting social norms around early childbearing.
What the Right Is Saying
Conservative groups have offered different explanations for the declining rates, with some emphasizing that the trend predates recent policy changes and reflects broader cultural shifts. Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said the decline 'reflects what we've always believed — that when young people understand the responsibilities of parenthood, they delay starting families.'
Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, a vocal critic of Biden administration policies on family formation, argued that the focus should be on addressing the underlying causes of declining birth rates across all age groups. 'The real story isn't just teen births — it's that young Americans are having fewer children overall, and that's a crisis for the future of this country,' Vance said.
House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik called for renewed emphasis on abstinence-focused education programs, saying that 'while we welcome any decline in teen pregnancy, we should be honest about what works: teaching young people that the safest choice is to delay sexual activity until marriage.' Republicans have consistently supported funding for abstinence-only education programs, though federal support for such programs has fluctuated over past administrations.
What the Left Is Saying
Progressive lawmakers and public health advocates have pointed to the continued decline as evidence that investments in sex education and contraceptive access are working. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said the trend demonstrates that 'when we invest in evidence-based public health programs, we see real results for young people and their families.'
Organizations like the Planned Parenthood Federation of America have credited comprehensive sex education and increased access to birth control for driving down teen pregnancy rates. 'This is what happens when young people have the information and resources they need to make healthy decisions,' said a spokesperson for the organization.
House Progressive Caucus co-chair Pramila Jayapal called the data 'a testament to the power of public health investment' and urged continued funding for programs that provide reproductive health services to adolescents. Democrats have generally supported federal funding for family planning clinics and comprehensive sex education as strategies to reduce teen pregnancy.
What the Numbers Show
The teen birth rate peaked in 1991 at 61.8 births per 1,000 women ages 15-19, according to CDC data. The 2025 rate represents a decline of more than 75% from that peak, though the rate has slowed in annual percentage terms compared to the steeper drops seen in the 1990s and early 2000s.
The 7% decline from 2024 to 2025 follows a pattern of consistent year-over-year decreases, with the exception of brief plateaus in 2006-2007 and during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rate has fallen in 31 of the past 34 years since the 1991 peak.
Racial and ethnic disparities in teen birth rates have narrowed over the decades but persist. The birth rate among Hispanic teens has seen some of the largest percentage declines, while rates among Black and white teens have also fallen substantially. The CDC report noted that geographic disparities remain, with rates varying significantly by state.
The Bottom Line
The continued decline in teen birth rates represents one of the most consistent public health trends of the past three and a half decades. While experts agree on the direction of the trend, debate continues over which factors have been most influential in driving the decline.
What to watch: The incoming Trump administration has signaled interest in examining federal funding for family planning programs, and the fate of Title X funding could affect access to contraception for adolescents in lower-income communities. States continue to pursue varying approaches to sex education, with some mandating comprehensive programs and others emphasizing abstinence-only curricula. The long-term trajectory of teen birth rates will likely depend on both policy decisions at the federal and state level and broader social and economic conditions affecting young Americans.