Birth Rates in California

Publication Date: January 2007

Publisher: Public Policy Institute of California

Author(s): Hans P. Johnson

Research Area: Population and demographics

Type: Report

Coverage: California

Abstract:

Teen birth rates in California are dropping dramatically, and last year were the lowest the state has ever recorded. In this edition of California Counts, PPIC researchers explore changing birth rates and fertility trends in the state, and find that in some counties, teen birth rates fell more than 25 percent from 2000 to 2005. They also found that over the last two decades, California has experienced an accelerating trend in delayed childbearing--a growing percentage of women are not giving birth until their early forties. Despite this rise in birth rates among older women, rates of childlessness in the state are also increasing.