According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey Fertility Supplement, the share of childless women has increased in every age group – except for those ages 45 to 50.
In 2024, 97.8 percent of teenage girls ages 15 to 19 were childless, up from 95.9 percent in 2014, reflecting a decline in teen pregnancies and births. Aligned with this trend is a steep increase in the share of childless women in their 20s. In 2014, three-quarters of women ages 20 to 24 were childless. Ten years later, that figure has jumped to 85 percent. Over the same time period, the share of childless women ages 25 to 29 increased significantly from 49.6 percent to 63 percent.
A large increase in childlessness was also seen in the 30 to 34 age group, with 40.3 percent of women in this cohort having no children, compared to 28.9 percent a decade ago. Smaller increases in childlessness were also found among women in the 35 to 39 and 40 to 44 cohorts, rising from 18.5 percent to 23.2 percent and from 15.3 percent to 18.8 percent, respectively.
Notably, there are less childless women between the ages of 45 to 50 today than there were 10 years ago. In 2014, some 16.7 percent of women in this age cohort had no children. In 2024, their share decreased to 14.9 percent, suggesting more women are having children in their late 40s than ever before.