Fertility Rates in the United States, 1820–Present

Starting from very high levels, the U.S. fertility rate sank to below replacement levels by 1933. The end of WWII saw a new baby boom, but fertility rates quickly fell again and are now near their lowest levels ever.
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+8
Level ∞
Jul 1, 2021
Theodore Roosevelt was already worried about falling birth rates in 1902, lol.
+4
Level 82
Jul 2, 2021
Is there some intrinsic value in the species homo sapiens continuing in perpetuity? Don't know why people worry about this sort of thing.
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Level 74
Jul 2, 2021
Is there some intrinsic value to anything at all?
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Level 60
Jul 2, 2021
There isn't. Declining birth rates is the best thing you can hope for. It's not only good for the environment but it's a sign of financial stability.
+16
Level 74
Jul 3, 2021
I would really be interested in the philosophical thought, that lets you just put out there, that there is no intrinsic value to the continuation of your own species, but at the same time ascribe intrinsic value to the environment. What's the logic there?
+10
Level 56
Jul 5, 2021
I mean obviously low birth rates are not a bad thing; but there is obviously value to humanity existing as long as possible. I really resent this kind of idea that I see on the internet that humanity is some kind of blight on the planet. Humans are the obviously the most important species on the planet; and the idea that humanity isn't beautiful or meaningful is just plain wrong.
+1
Level 60
Jun 21, 2022
I agree. I don't understand the loss of value for sentient life. Not valuing ourselves is just nihilism. There's no goal for improvement, no way for things to get better. Just meaningless nothing. That's no way to live.
+3
Level 33
Sep 6, 2021
@kalbahamut The worry arises from the dependency people have on the younger generations to take care of them as they age. This can be on the familial level of children and grandchildren, or on the societal level of a sufficient population of geriatric support personnel and financial inputs by working-age persons to support the welfare system. With declining birthrates, older people (or, rather, today's younger and middle-aged working population) may not have enough support from the younger generations to avoid poverty and unaddressed medical problems.
+1
Level 75
Jul 2, 2021
This seems normal, and with the amount of immigrants to the US in search of opportunities, I don't see a huge drop in US population coming in the near future
+6
Level ∞
Jul 2, 2021
I predict that this number will plummet to 1.5 or even lower in the next two decades. There are so many trends that will contribute to this:

1) People are becoming less religious

2) People are marrying later due to increasingly onerous education requirements needed to get a decent job

3) The decline in social organizations and churches means that people have fewer friends and meet fewer new people

4) A huge percentage of dating right now happens via swipe-based apps. The skewed nature of these apps means that a small number of men are dating a large number of women, while most men get few if any matches. This is obviously bad for long-term family formation.

In the super long run, aka 2100 and beyond, fertility rates will go up by a lot as the normies die off and are replaced by people like the Amish, Quiverfulls, and Hasidic Jews.

+2
Level 33
Sep 6, 2021
I hope that something gives regarding 2) within the next 10 years. Businesses should wise up and develop an alternative sorting mechanism (and launch apprenticeship programs), and families and grade schools should start promoting the acquisition of marketable skills outside of college. Colleges run a shameless scheme suckering families to send their kids away on an overpriced ticket to the middle class. They can't run their game much longer--all the baristas at Starbucks are proof before our eyes.
+1
Level 68
Jul 9, 2021
Really interesting that birthrates were climbing during the Second World War, and that the baby boom was really just a continuation of this.

Edit: I take back the statement of them climbing during the war. I suspect that the 1942 rates were largely prewar conceptions, so to speak, and there is a definite drop in 1943-1945. The baby boom does seem to be a continuation of a prewar trend, though.

+1
Level 23
Dec 1, 2021
I think that fertility is going down for a lot of reasons. First of all, fertility rates are much higher in rural areas than in urban cities. However, most younger generations are moving from rural to urban areas, which will change this metric. Also, urban areas are massively growing because of immigration. So, there's a massive infusion of different ethnicities, cultures, and wealth classes in these megaplexes that make social diffusion difficult. Finally, I think religion has little to do with fertility because the focus on high productivity, fat acceptance, and a growing generational wealth gap is consuming Americans.