A new Pew Research Center report reveals a growing trend of childlessness among adults under 50, with 47% saying they’re unlikely to have kids, up 10 points since 2018. The primary reason? They just don’t want them.
This shift is significant as the U.S. fertility rate hits historic lows, threatening future economic growth. Notably, 64% of young women prefer to remain child-free, compared to 50% of men.
Other factors include a desire to focus on different priorities (44%), concerns about the world’s state (38%), and financial constraints (36%).
The trend contrasts with older adults, whose primary reason for not having children was simply that “it just never happened.”
As birth rates decline across wealthy nations, the child-free choice is driving the U.S. decline, contributing to over two-thirds of the 6.5% drop in average births from 2012 to 2022.
