Among women of childbearing age in the United States, more are childless than ever before. The percentage of women aged 15 to 44 who have not (yet) had children climbed from about one-third in 1976 (the first year of data collection) to one-half in 2018. The biggest increase in childlessness occurred among women aged 25 to 34.
Percent of women who are childless by age in 2018 (and 1976)
Total, 15 to 44: 49.8% (35.1%)
Aged 20 to 24: 78.6% (69.0%)
Aged 25 to 29: 54.2% (30.8%)
Aged 30 to 34: 33.6% (15.6%)
Aged 35 to 39: 20.0% (10.5%)
Aged 40 to 44: 15.0% (10.2%)
Today most women aged 25 to 29 are childless, up from fewer than one-third in 1976. In the 30-to-34 age group, the childless share more than doubled during those years. Are these women delaying having children, or are they foregoing motherhood? For most, it's just a delay. By the end of their childbearing years, only 15 percent of women are still childless, reports the Census Bureau. While this is greater than the 10 percent of 1976, the figure has been close to 15 percent for most of the past 30 years.
Source: Census Bureau, Fertility of Women in the United States: 2018
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