The U.S. birth rate dropped for the sixth consecutive year in 2020, to the lowest point in the last 30 years, according to a report in May from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Experts initially expected to see a rise in the birth rate during the Covid-19 pandemic, because couples would be spending more time at home. The opposite happened, perhaps partially because potential parents feared that the coronavirus could have harmful effects on pregnant women and newborn babies. The drop in births was the most notable in November and December, when babies conceived in the early days of the pandemic would have been born. (Check here to see How Many People Were Born the Year You Were Born.)
Michigan, New York, and Washington, three states hit very hard by the first wave of Covid-19, were the ones with the lowest birth rates in 2020. Utah, Alaska, and Nebraska, which didn’t see the full force of the pandemic until later, had the highest. See how every state’s population has changed since 2010. Â
Click here to see the states where people had the most kids in 2020.
To identify the states where the most children were born in 2020, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed provisional data on the total number of births, by state of residence, from the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics’ Vital Statistics Rapid Release in May 2021.Â
With Covid-19 vaccines being distributed across the country and pandemic death rates dropping, some experts have speculated that the birth rate will rise in 2021, as couples who put off pregnancies now being willing to move forward.
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50. Michigan
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 38.5
> Births in 2020: 3,846
> Population in 2020: 10,077,331
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49. New York
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 47.1
> Births in 2020: 9,172
> Population in 2020: 20,201,249
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48. Washington
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 109.9
> Births in 2020: 8,367
> Population in 2020: 7,705,281
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47. Ohio
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 111.0
> Births in 2020: 12,971
> Population in 2020: 11,799,448
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46. Iowa
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 116.6
> Births in 2020: 3,680
> Population in 2020: 3,190,369
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45. Indiana
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 117.2
> Births in 2020: 7,887
> Population in 2020: 6,785,528
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44. Louisiana
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 124.1
> Births in 2020: 5,770
> Population in 2020: 4,657,757
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43. North Dakota
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 139.0
> Births in 2020: 1,059
> Population in 2020: 779,094
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42. Texas
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 227.1
> Births in 2020: 65,857
> Population in 2020: 29,145,505
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41. Vermont
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 820.0
> Births in 2020: 5,117
> Population in 2020: 643,077
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
40. Maine
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 857.9
> Births in 2020: 11,532
> Population in 2020: 1,362,359
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39. New Hampshire
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 865.8
> Births in 2020: 11,773
> Population in 2020: 1,377,529
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38. Connecticut
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 938.2
> Births in 2020: 33,448
> Population in 2020: 3,605,944
Source: 4nadia / Getty Images
37. Oregon
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 943.4
> Births in 2020: 39,792
> Population in 2020: 4,237,256
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36. Rhode Island
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 953.6
> Births in 2020: 10,102
> Population in 2020: 1,097,379
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35. West Virginia
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 957.5
> Births in 2020: 17,159
> Population in 2020: 1,793,716
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34. Massachusetts
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 963.8
> Births in 2020: 66,429
> Population in 2020: 7,029,917
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33. Florida
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 976.0
> Births in 2020: 209,612
> Population in 2020: 21,538,187
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32. Montana
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,009.1
> Births in 2020: 10,785
> Population in 2020: 1,084,225
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31. New Mexico
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,016.6
> Births in 2020: 21,316
> Population in 2020: 2,117,522
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
30. Pennsylvania
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,019.9
> Births in 2020: 130,562
> Population in 2020: 13,002,700
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29. Wisconsin
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,038.9
> Births in 2020: 60,491
> Population in 2020: 5,893,718
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28. Illinois
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,051.2
> Births in 2020: 133,207
> Population in 2020: 12,812,508
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27. Arizona
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,056.8
> Births in 2020: 76,923
> Population in 2020: 7,151,502
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26. Wyoming
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,057.1
> Births in 2020: 6,118
> Population in 2020: 576,851
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25. Delaware
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,061.4
> Births in 2020: 10,336
> Population in 2020: 989,948
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24. California
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,062.0
> Births in 2020: 419,612
> Population in 2020: 39,538,223
Source: f11photo / Getty Images
23. Colorado
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,067.8
> Births in 2020: 61,493
> Population in 2020: 5,773,714
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
22. South Carolina
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,081.7
> Births in 2020: 55,693
> Population in 2020: 5,118,425
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21. New Jersey
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,086.9
> Births in 2020: 96,543
> Population in 2020: 9,288,994
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20. Nevada
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,091.9
> Births in 2020: 33,632
> Population in 2020: 3,104,614
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19. Virginia
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,105.9
> Births in 2020: 94,391
> Population in 2020: 8,631,393
Source: Art Wager / Getty Images
18. Hawaii
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,111.0
> Births in 2020: 15,730
> Population in 2020: 1,455,271
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
17. North Carolina
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,112.4
> Births in 2020: 116,674
> Population in 2020: 10,439,388
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16. Minnesota
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,124.0
> Births in 2020: 63,387
> Population in 2020: 5,706,494
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15. Missouri
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,128.1
> Births in 2020: 69,238
> Population in 2020: 6,154,913
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14. Maryland
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,133.4
> Births in 2020: 68,523
> Population in 2020: 6,177,224
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
13. Georgia
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,151.6
> Births in 2020: 122,266
> Population in 2020: 10,711,908
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12. Tennessee
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,151.8
> Births in 2020: 78,659
> Population in 2020: 6,910,840
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
11. Kentucky
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,154.5
> Births in 2020: 51,581
> Population in 2020: 4,505,836
Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
10. Arkansas
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,166.7
> Births in 2020: 35,210
> Population in 2020: 3,011,524
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Source: Sean Pavone / Getty Images
9. Alabama
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,175.4
> Births in 2020: 57,634
> Population in 2020: 5,024,279
Source: RudyBalasko / Getty Images
8. Kansas
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,179.4
> Births in 2020: 34,360
> Population in 2020: 2,937,880
Source: SeanPavonePhoto / Getty Images
7. Mississippi
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,191.4
> Births in 2020: 35,457
> Population in 2020: 2,961,279
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6. Oklahoma
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,197.7
> Births in 2020: 47,393
> Population in 2020: 3,959,353
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5. Idaho
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,204.2
> Births in 2020: 21,520
> Population in 2020: 1,839,106
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4. South Dakota
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,238.0
> Births in 2020: 10,952
> Population in 2020: 886,667
Source: ChrisBoswell / Getty Images
3. Nebraska
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,252.8
> Births in 2020: 24,235
> Population in 2020: 1,961,504
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2. Alaska
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,291.4
> Births in 2020: 9,447
> Population in 2020: 733,391
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1. Utah
> Total births per 100,000 people in 2020: 1,425.5
> Births in 2020: 45,702
> Population in 2020: 3,271,616
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