More in U.S. concerned by childcare costs than birth rates

About three-quarters of U.S. adults say the costs associated with raising a child are a major problem, according to a poll released Tuesday. The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research collected responses from June 5-9 from 1,158 adults representing all 50 states. Less than one-third of U.S. adults surveyed listed declining birth rates as a major problem, and more respondents were concerned about the cost of fertility treatments and the risks of pregnancy and childbirth.

Nearly half of the respondents said that children were better off when one parent did not work outside the home. Also, about two out of five said the government should make it easier for parents to leave the workforce to raise their children.

What were the specific concerns about childcare? According to the report, 83% of women and 69% of men believe the cost of childcare is a major problem in the country, and Democrats were more likely to be concerned about the costs than Republicans. About 3 in 5 respondents were in favor of the federal government providing free or subsidized daycare for children who are too young to attend public school, while just one-third supported a $5,000 payment to mothers after they have a new baby.

What did respondents say about birth rates? Only 12% of participants said the government should encourage families to have more children. Politicians including Vice President J.D. Vance and Senator Josh Hawley, R-Mo., have spoken about the need for Americans to have larger families. Tech billionaire and former White House adviser Elon Musk is also a pro-natalist. According to the recent poll, few Americans are strongly in favor of, or strongly opposed to, people having larger families or having children later in life.

What is happening with fertility rates? The birth rate in the United States in 2024 rose just slightly from the all-time low in 2023 to about 1.6 births per woman over her lifetime, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is well below the rate of 2.1 needed to sustain a country’s population. Globally, the number of children born to the average woman has reached the lowest point ever recorded, according to a report from the United Nations released last month. The average number of children born to each woman dropped from five in 1960 to 2.2 in 2024, according to the report. In over half of all countries that account for more than two-thirds of the global population, the fertility rate is less than 2.1.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson and Emma Freire’s cover story for WORLD Magazine about the pronatalist movement.