Closer Look: Teenage Births

Teen birth rates declined in all but three states from 2007 through 2010. Rates tended to be highest in the South and Southwest and lowest in the Northeast and Upper Midwest, a pattern that has persisted for many years.  Mississippi had the highest rate of teen births in both 2007 and 2010, yet it still saw a 21% drop during that span.  Arizona had the biggest teen birth rate decline – 29%.

Click the word “Legend” to view the map by year and births or year and rate.  Click the word “Map” to return to the main map view.

NOTE: Data for 2010 are preliminary. Data for 2007 are final.

Source: Data Brief 89, data table for number of births and birth rates for teenagers aged 15–19 by state, 2007 and 2010, and percent change in rates, 2007–2010 [PDF – 157 KB]

Data from Data Brief 89, "Birth Rates for U.S. Teenagers Reach Historic Lows for All Age and Ethnic Groups," by Brady E. Hamilton, Ph.D., and Stephanie J. Ventura, M.A.

The report contains data from the NVSS Natality Data File. Natality files are available from Vital Statistics Online.  Data for 2009 and earlier years may also be accessed from the interactive data access tool, VitalStats.

Birth rates for 2010 are based on preliminary data.  Population data for computing birth rates for 2010 were provided by the U.S. Census Bureau and are based on the April 1, 2010, census.  Rates for 2007 have been revised on the basis of population estimates based on the 2000 and 2010 censuses, which provide more accurate data for the years since 2000.  Rates by state shown here may differ from rates computed on the basis of other population estimates.