When putting them together did all states count equally or did you weight by population?
ArkansasWastelander on
Arkansas here. Just chiming in to say that Alabama’s fertility rate went down because it became harder to organize family reunions post-COVID.
GEAX on
Could be interesting to see how the 2008 financial crisis and covid messed things up too
FlatAd768 on
the bar graph in the middle is difficult to read
Special_Command7893 on
Oh noooooo
How teRribLe
I mean, for starters, who would’ve guessed that higher cost of living discourages people from having kids?
epmtunes on
The lasting effects of the 2008 recession’s housing crisis
ThatDudeUKnow92 on
How do you think that economic factors impacted the fertility rate in places?
princemark on
I find the plummeting birth rate FASCINATING.
This is one of those slow moving car wrecks that are playing out over decades.
FWIW, I couldn’t care less about elderly care. People should take care of themselves, in their 20-60s, to have a better retirement.
Difficult-Cricket541 on
democrats are breeding themselves into a permanent minority.
Wesus on
compare the cost of living and wage increases over the same time frame and it will become obvious why
winnercrush on
I believe this is all cost of living related.
sillyhatday on
Oregon checks out. There seems to be a current of negativity towards children there.
rubey419 on
Why we need immigration to have positive replacement rate.
Usual_Set4665 on
It’s gonna be too expensive to have babies until we start regulating this atrocious wealth inequality.
Solomonopolistadt on
I only see this as a good thing. Too many damn people
RequiemPunished on
Another certified mormon classic
Atomicsss- on
That’s why i don’t think feminism is the sole reason birth rates are dropping.
Was US signifiantly less feminist in 2007 than 2025? No, the difference is dismissable. In fact, with Roe overturned, you may think birth rates would go up. However, that’s not the case.
chubrak on
Yeah, capitalism will do that.
Bob_Sconce on
Long-term, that’s a really big problem. The national debt is predicated on the idea that the economy will grow indefinitely into the future. Our system of taking care of retirees is based on the idea that there will always be more workers than retirees.
The saving grace in all of this is that the US has had enough net inbound immigration of young people to offset the decline in native births. Well, at least we did until the xenophobes won the White House.
polygonalopportunist on
Capitalism end stage. College too expensive. Dating too expensive, weddings too expensive. Children are too expensive.
Instead of a bar or dinner, its a chat. Instead of a big reception its a town hall. And even if you make it that far…Gotta cut out a preferred kid number to make the math work.
Then when you get the kid, gotta figure out the day care, all the sports and activities cost thousands and take up all your time and extra gas.
imaginarytoby on
And yet the population is still growing at the same rate…
Dajoka88 on
Everyone providing answers that suit their world view. The real answer is the decline in teenage pregnancy!! This trend is a good one
furyoshonen on
Economic pressures and a rising cost of living, with higher housing costs, student loan debt, limited wage growth, and economic uncertainty is likely the primary drivers or this trend.
Thrompinator on
How is the fertility rate so low in DC when all they do is screw us 24/7?
ilcasdy on
Birth rates have little to do with politics and more to do with the development level of the nation. More developed nations have lower birth rates.
People with less wealth tend to have more kids, not less. This plays out consistently all over the world.
This was predicted decades ago. This is also why even Republicans who are “anti-immigration” will always allow more immigrants.
Colonel_Gipper on
I’m 34 and it makes sense with what I’ve seen in my friend group, most people are childless, 1 kid or 2 kids and done. I only know one couple with 3 and that was due to twins for their second pregnancy.
TenderfootGungi on
This is a cost of living map with an outlier or two (Utah).
thehoagieboy on
There is no replacement rate crisis. Fewer people is a better thing for the planet. If you look at the people claiming it’s a crisis, it’s not a “we won’t have enough young people in the country problem” it’s a “we won’t have enough young people of the ethnicity I want in the country problem”.
Here’s a good piece on the limitations of TFR and alternative measurements, Completed Fertility Rate.
Dabbledoo on
There is a lot going on in this graphic … I have no idea what I am looking at.
Logical_Idiot_9433 on
Don’t tell me this is the reason Democrats are supporting illegal immigration.
Instead of making it easier for people to have kids importing more people who are clueless about system backstabbing once you have kids is not a good idea.
dwerb99 on
The whole map is in italics lol… strange projection
rimshot99 on
Americans better jack up immigration to make up the difference. Need some sort of taskforce -you could call it Newcomer Integration & Citizenship Engagement.
I_Have_A_Big_Head on
The colors are nice to look at but it took me a while to figure out the proper orientation. You have two years on either end of a long bar, which makes it looks more like a timeline than a color scale. I think putting those beneath the map would look better. Saves the redundancy with the circle as well. But this is for sure very useful info!
themiro on
This is why we need to stop spending so much money on the richest, elderly generation via social security and medicare and start spending far more supporting young families with child-tax credits, etc.
36 Comments
For mobile:
https://preview.redd.it/r996t57qnwgg1.png?width=2076&format=png&auto=webp&s=a08990b2edb5caf0629c3f9867129822a1449841
[https://x.com/i/status/2017989199358554586](https://x.com/i/status/2017989199358554586)
When putting them together did all states count equally or did you weight by population?
Arkansas here. Just chiming in to say that Alabama’s fertility rate went down because it became harder to organize family reunions post-COVID.
Could be interesting to see how the 2008 financial crisis and covid messed things up too
the bar graph in the middle is difficult to read
Oh noooooo
How teRribLe
I mean, for starters, who would’ve guessed that higher cost of living discourages people from having kids?
The lasting effects of the 2008 recession’s housing crisis
How do you think that economic factors impacted the fertility rate in places?
I find the plummeting birth rate FASCINATING.
This is one of those slow moving car wrecks that are playing out over decades.
FWIW, I couldn’t care less about elderly care. People should take care of themselves, in their 20-60s, to have a better retirement.
democrats are breeding themselves into a permanent minority.
compare the cost of living and wage increases over the same time frame and it will become obvious why
I believe this is all cost of living related.
Oregon checks out. There seems to be a current of negativity towards children there.
Why we need immigration to have positive replacement rate.
It’s gonna be too expensive to have babies until we start regulating this atrocious wealth inequality.
I only see this as a good thing. Too many damn people
Another certified mormon classic
That’s why i don’t think feminism is the sole reason birth rates are dropping.
Was US signifiantly less feminist in 2007 than 2025? No, the difference is dismissable. In fact, with Roe overturned, you may think birth rates would go up. However, that’s not the case.
Yeah, capitalism will do that.
Long-term, that’s a really big problem. The national debt is predicated on the idea that the economy will grow indefinitely into the future. Our system of taking care of retirees is based on the idea that there will always be more workers than retirees.
The saving grace in all of this is that the US has had enough net inbound immigration of young people to offset the decline in native births. Well, at least we did until the xenophobes won the White House.
Capitalism end stage. College too expensive. Dating too expensive, weddings too expensive. Children are too expensive.
Instead of a bar or dinner, its a chat. Instead of a big reception its a town hall. And even if you make it that far…Gotta cut out a preferred kid number to make the math work.
Then when you get the kid, gotta figure out the day care, all the sports and activities cost thousands and take up all your time and extra gas.
And yet the population is still growing at the same rate…
Everyone providing answers that suit their world view. The real answer is the decline in teenage pregnancy!! This trend is a good one
Economic pressures and a rising cost of living, with higher housing costs, student loan debt, limited wage growth, and economic uncertainty is likely the primary drivers or this trend.
How is the fertility rate so low in DC when all they do is screw us 24/7?
Birth rates have little to do with politics and more to do with the development level of the nation. More developed nations have lower birth rates.
People with less wealth tend to have more kids, not less. This plays out consistently all over the world.
This was predicted decades ago. This is also why even Republicans who are “anti-immigration” will always allow more immigrants.
I’m 34 and it makes sense with what I’ve seen in my friend group, most people are childless, 1 kid or 2 kids and done. I only know one couple with 3 and that was due to twins for their second pregnancy.
This is a cost of living map with an outlier or two (Utah).
There is no replacement rate crisis. Fewer people is a better thing for the planet. If you look at the people claiming it’s a crisis, it’s not a “we won’t have enough young people in the country problem” it’s a “we won’t have enough young people of the ethnicity I want in the country problem”.
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/12/18/watch-who-youre-calling-childless
Here’s a good piece on the limitations of TFR and alternative measurements, Completed Fertility Rate.
There is a lot going on in this graphic … I have no idea what I am looking at.
Don’t tell me this is the reason Democrats are supporting illegal immigration.
Instead of making it easier for people to have kids importing more people who are clueless about system backstabbing once you have kids is not a good idea.
The whole map is in italics lol… strange projection
Americans better jack up immigration to make up the difference. Need some sort of taskforce -you could call it Newcomer Integration & Citizenship Engagement.
The colors are nice to look at but it took me a while to figure out the proper orientation. You have two years on either end of a long bar, which makes it looks more like a timeline than a color scale. I think putting those beneath the map would look better. Saves the redundancy with the circle as well. But this is for sure very useful info!
This is why we need to stop spending so much money on the richest, elderly generation via social security and medicare and start spending far more supporting young families with child-tax credits, etc.