At Each Higher Rung of the Educational Ladder, Women Have Fewer Children

A new report from the U.S. Census Bureau offers a wealth of statistics on births by American women. Of particular interest to readers of WIAReport may the differences in the number of children by American women depending on their level of education.

The data shows that women between the age of 40 and 50 in 2012, had an average of 1.989 children each during their lifetime. But the average number of children decreases for women as they move up the educational ladder.

Women who had not graduated from high schools had an average of 2.621 children. For women with a high school diploma but no college, the average number of children was 2.074. Women who were college graduates had an average of 1.805 children and women with a graduate or professional degree had an average of 1.725 children.

Only 11.6 of women who did not complete high schools were childless. This percentage increases on each higher rung of the educational ladder. Some 19.9 percent of women with a college degree and 22.7 percent of women with a graduate or professional degree were childless.

The full report, Fertility of Women in the United States: 2012, may be downloaded by clicking here.