National Center for Health Statistics has released data on how many children were born last year. Media analysis showed the figures were the smallest since 1979. There was speculation, without a conclusion, that the COVID-19 pandemic may have contributed to the drop.
In the analysis, titled “Births: Provisional Data for 2020,” the primary conclusion is that total births fell 4% from 2019 to 2020. The total for last year was 3,605,201. According to the document, “Data are based on 99.87% of all 2020 birth records received and processed by the National Center for Health Statistics as of February 11, 2021.”
Among the other conclusions was that the overall cesarean delivery rate was 31.8%. The preterm birth rate was 10.09%.
The birth rate for the year was 55.9 per 1,000 women. The birth rate per 1,000 women was highest in the age 30 to 34 group at 94.8, followed by the 30 to 34 age group at 90. The rate among women ages 15 to 19 was 15.3.
The birth rate among white women was 53.2. Among Black and Hispanic women, the figures were 59.0 and 62.8, respectively.
These are the number of children born in each state in 2020:
- Alabama: 57,634
- Alaska: 9,447
- Arizona: 76,923
- Arkansas: 35,210
- California: 419,612
- Colorado: 61,493
- Connecticut: 33,448
- Delaware: 10,336
- District of Columbia: 8,858
- Florida: 209,612
- Georgia: 122,266
- Hawaii: 15,730
- Idaho: 21,520
- Illinois: 133,207
- Indiana: 78,087
- Iowa: 36,080
- Kansas: 34,360
- Kentucky: 51,581
- Louisiana: 57,070
- Maine: 11,532
- Maryland: 68,523
- Massachusetts: 66,429
- Michigan: 103,846
- Minnesota: 63,387
- Mississippi: 35,457
- Missouri: 69,238
- Montana: 10,785
- Nebraska: 24,235
- Nevada: 33,632
- New Hampshire: 11,773
- New Jersey: 96,543
- New Mexico: 21,316
- New York: 209,172
- North Carolina: 116,674
- North Dakota: 10,059
- Ohio: 129,071
- Oklahoma: 47,393
- Oregon: 39,792
- Pennsylvania: 130,562
- Rhode Island: 10,102
- South Carolina: 55,693
- South Dakota: 10,952
- Tennessee: 78,659
- Texas: 365,857
- Utah: 45,702
- Vermont: 5,117
- Virginia: 94,391
- Washington: 83,067
- West Virginia: 17,159
- Wisconsin: 60,491
- Wyoming: 6,118
Click here to see the most popular baby names of the 21st century.
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