NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

Recent Declines in Nonmarital Childbearing in the 

United States

Sally C. Curtin, M.A.; Stephanie J. Ventura, M.A.; and Gladys M. Martinez, Ph.D.

Key findings

Data from the National 

Vital Statistics System 

and the National Survey 

of Family Growth

• Nonmarital births and 

birth rates have declined 7% 

and 14%, respectively, since 

peaking in the late 2000s.

• Births to unmarried women 

totaled 1,605,643 in 2013. 

About 4 in 10 U.S. births were 

to unmarried women in each 

year from 2007 through 2013.

• Nonmarital birth rates fell 

in all age groups under 35 

since 2007; rates increased for 

women aged 35 and over.

• Birth rates were down 

more for unmarried black 

and Hispanic women than for 

unmarried non-Hispanic white 

women.

• Nonmarital births are 

increasingly likely to occur 

within cohabiting unions—

rising from 41% of recent 

births in 2002 to 58% in 

2006–2010.

There were sharp increases in nonmarital childbearing from 2002 to 2007, 

following the steady increases beginning in the 1980s (1–3). The upward 

trends have mainly reversed since 2007–2008. In addition, the nature of 

nonmarital childbearing may be changing as cohabiting unions have increased 

over the last few decades in the United States along with pregnancies within 

those unions (4). Births to unmarried women are at greater risk for adverse 

outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality (5,6). 

Social and financial supports for unmarried mothers may be limited (7). This 

report describes recent trends in nonmarital births from the National Vital 

Statistics System (NVSS) and in cohabitation for unmarried mothers using 

data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG).

Keywords: National Vital Statistics System • National Survey of Family 

Growth • nonmarital births • cohabitation

The number and rate of nonmarital childbearing declined 

from the 2008 peak.

Year

NOTE: Data for 2013 are preliminary. Access data table for Figure 1 at: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db162_table.pdf.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

0

250

500

750

1,000

1,250

1,500

1,750

Number of births

2013

1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Percent Birth rate

Percent unmarried and births per

1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44

Births in thousands

Figure 1. Number of births, birth rate, and percentage of births to unmarried women: United States, 

1940–2013
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■  2  ■

• In 2013, there were 1,605,643 births to unmarried women [preliminary data for 2013 (8)], 

the lowest total since 2005 (1,527,034), and 7% lower than the all-time peak in 2008 

(1,726,566) (Figure 1). The 2013 number is more than twice that in 1980 (665,747) and 18 

times higher than in 1940 (89,500). 

• The nonmarital birth rate has declined steadily since its peak in 2007–2008 (51.8 per 1,000 

women aged 15–44), to 44.8 in 2013, a 14% decline. While the trend in the nonmarital birth 

rate had been mostly upward from 1940 to 1994 when it stabilized for almost a decade, 

there were periods of decline during the 1970s. The current decline is the steepest.

• The percentage of births to unmarried women declined slightly in 2013 to 40.6%, after 

holding steady from 2011 to 2012 at 40.7%; the percentage peaked in 2009 at 41.0%. 

The recent declines were evident for all age groups of women under age 35.

• Nonmarital birth rates were highest in 2012 for women aged 25–29 (67 per 1,000), followed 

by women aged 20–24 (65 per 1,000) (Figure 2). After increasing between 2002 and 2007, 

rates declined for both of these age groups from 2007 to 2012, by 19% for women aged 

20–24 and by 13% for women aged 25–29.

Age in years

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

Figure 2. Birth rates for unmarried women, by age group: United States, 2002, 2007, and 2012

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

2002 2007 2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

15–17 18–19 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44

21 20

58

62

46

70

80

65

62

77

67

41

58 56

21

29 31

5 7 9

14

• The largest percentage drop in nonmarital birth rates between 2007 and 2012 was for 

teenagers—the rate for those aged 15–17 dropped 30% to 14 per 1,000, while the rate for 

those aged 18–19 dropped 26% to 46 per 1,000.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■  3  ■

• Nonmarital birth rates for women aged 35–39 and 40–44 increased over the decade 

2002–2012. The rate for women aged 35–39 was 7% higher in 2012 than in 2007 (31 

per 1,000 compared with 29 per 1,000) and 48% higher than in 2002 (21 per 1,000). The 

nonmarital birth rate for women aged 40–44 increased to 9 per 1,000 in 2012, 29% higher 

than in 2007 (7 per 1,000).

The sharpest declines in nonmarital birth rates were for black and Hispanic 

women.

• After increasing between 2002 and 2007, birth rates for unmarried women were lower in 

2012 than in 2007 for all race and Hispanic groups (Figure 3). Hispanic women had the 

highest nonmarital birth rate in 2012 (73 per 1,000) but also the greatest decline since 2007 

(28%, from 102 per 1,000). The rate for black women declined 11% between 2007 (71 per 

1,000) and 2012 (63 per 1,000). 

Rate per 1,000 unmarried women in specified group

Figure 3. Birth rates for unmarried women, by race and Hispanic origin: United States, 2002, 2007, and 2012

† Trend data for black and Asian or Pacific Islander mothers by Hispanic origin are not available. 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System.

2002 2007 2012

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Asian or

Pacific Islander†

Black Hispanic All Non-Hispanic white †

44

52

45

28

34 32

66

71

87

102

73

21

24 23

63

• After increasing 21% between 2002 and 2007, the nonmarital birth rate for non-Hispanic 

white women dropped 6% to 32 per 1,000 in 2012. The nonmarital birth rate for 

non-Hispanic white women in 2012 was about one-half that of black and Hispanic women.

• The nonmarital birth rate for Asian or Pacific Islander (API) women was the lowest of all 

race and Hispanic groups and had the smallest decline between 2007 (24 per 1,000) and 

2012 (23 per 1,000).
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■  4  ■

Nonmarital births were increasingly likely to occur within cohabiting 

unions.

• Nonmarital births include births to women in cohabiting unions and those to unmarried 

women not cohabiting. Between 2002 and 2006–2010, the percentage of recent nonmarital 

births that occurred within cohabiting unions increased from 41% to 58% (Figure 4). 

Approximately one-half of births to cohabiting women in both 2002 and 2006–2010 were 

intended at conception (9). 

Figure 4. Nonmarital births, by cohabiting status and intendedness of pregnancy: United States, 2002 and 2006–2010 Percent

NOTES: Due to rounding, percentages may not add to 100. Based on births that were within 5 years of the interview date.

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, National Survey of Family Growth.

0

20

40

60

80

100

2002 2006–2010

Intended

20

Unintended

21

Intended

24

Unintended

36

Unintended

28

Intended

14

Unintended

29

Intended

29

Not

cohabiting

(42%)

Cohabiting

(58%)

Cohabiting

(41%)

Not

cohabiting

(60%)

Year

• While 20% of nonmarital births in 2002 were within a cohabiting union and intended, 

almost twice as many (36%) occurred to noncohabiting women and were unintended. 

However, in 2006–2010, the percentage of nonmarital births to women in cohabiting unions 

that were intended was essentially the same as for those that were noncohabiting and 

unintended (29% and 28%). 

• The proportion of nonmarital births that were intended (including births to both women 

in cohabiting unions and those not in cohabiting unions) was similar between 2002 and 

2006–2010 (44% and 43%). 

• Nonmarital births in 2006–2010 to women not in cohabiting unions were least likely to be 

intended births (14%). 
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■  5  ■

Summary

This report highlights recent declines in nonmarital childbearing since 2007 as well as shifts in 

childbearing within cohabiting unions since 2002. The recent declines in birth rates and numbers 

of births to unmarried women parallel to some extent the overall decline in birth rates during this 

period and also reflect the declines in teen birth rates (8,10); the majority of births to teenagers are 

to unmarried women (8). The recent declines in nonmarital birth rates have been evident across 

age groups of women under age 35 and for all race and Hispanic groups. Birth rates have fallen 

more for black and Hispanic women, thus narrowing the differences across groups. Trends in 

birth rates among married women have not followed the same pattern as those among unmarried 

women. Birth rates among married women declined from 2007 to 2010, although to a lesser 

extent compared with unmarried women, but have since increased slightly. 

The percentage of births to unmarried women is a third measure of nonmarital childbearing. 

Of the three measures, the percentage of births to unmarried women has shown the least recent 

change, declining slightly since its 2009 peak (10). This measure reflects changes in the birth rate 

for unmarried women but is also influenced by the changes in birth rates for married women. 

Nearly three in five recent births to unmarried women in 2006–2010 were to women in cohabiting 

relationships, significantly higher than the 41% found in 2002. While cohabiting unions tend 

to be less stable than marriages (4) nonetheless, one-half of births to cohabiting women were 

intended in 2006–2010 (9,11). This may suggest a higher level of social and financial support 

within a cohabiting union for the mother and her child (7). A recent NSFG report showed that 

several measures of father involvement were very similar among married and cohabiting fathers 

(12). The extent to which cohabitation is a marker for social and financial support and for father 

involvement deserves further exploration. 

Definitions

Unmarried woman: A woman who has never married or is widowed or divorced. Marital status 

on the birth certificate is based on the mother’s legal marital status. Women who are separated are 

included with married women.

Nonmarital birth: A birth to an unmarried woman. The mother’s marital status is based on a 

question on the birth certificate. In most states, the question is: “Mother married? (At birth, 

conception, or any time between) (Yes or No).” If the question is answered “no,” then the birth is 

considered nonmarital. Additional information on the classification of births by marital status is 

available elsewhere (2,5).

Cohabitation: Persons who are unmarried but “having a sexual relationship while sharing the 

same usual address.”

Birth rate for unmarried women: The number of births (regardless of age) to unmarried women 

per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44. Birth rates are also computed for specific age, race, and 

Hispanic groups.

Intended birth: A birth is defined as intended if a woman intended to get pregnant just before the 

pregnancy occurred (9,11).
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■  6  ■

Data sources and methods

This report contains data from the NVSS Natality Data File. The vital statistics natality file 

includes information for all births occurring in the United States. Mother’s marital status is 

collected by all states. This report includes final data through 2012 and preliminary data for 

2013. Data for 2012 and earlier years may also be accessed from the interactive data access tool, 

VitalStats, available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/VitalStats.htm.

Data on cohabitation and pregnancy intentions are from the 2002 and 2006–2010 NSFG, 

conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health 

Statistics, available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nsfg/about_nsfg.htm. The data are based on 

pregnancies that ended within 5 years of the interview date.

Details on the collection of formal and informal marital status (including cohabitation) are 

available from: http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/webdocs/Controller?displayPage=labelDetails&fileC

ode=FEM§ion=R&subSec=7713&srtLabel=596889.

Estimates of the female population by marital status used to produce birth rates for unmarried 

women are based on distributions of the population by marital status averaged over a 3-year 

period for each year. Details of the estimation procedures are presented elsewhere (2,5). Rates 

shown here for black and for API women are for all black and API women, respectively, including 

Hispanic and non-Hispanic women; 93% of nonmarital births to black women in 2012 were nonHispanic; 88% of nonmarital births to API women in 2012 were non-Hispanic. Population data 

by marital status for non-Hispanic black and non-Hispanic API women separately have become 

available only in recent years. 

About the authors

Sally C. Curtin, Stephanie J. Ventura, and Gladys M. Martinez are with CDC’s National Center 

for Health Statistics, Division of Vital Statistics. 

References

1. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Report to Congress on out-of-wedlock 

childbearing. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 1995. Available from: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/wedlock.pdf.

2. Ventura SJ, Bachrach CA. Nonmarital childbearing in the United States, 1940–99. National 

vital statistics reports; vol 48 no 16. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2000. 

Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr48/nvs48_16.pdf.

3. Ventura SJ. Changing patterns of nonmarital childbearing in the United States. NCHS data 

brief, no 18. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2009. Available from:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db18.htm.

4. Copen CE, Daniels K, Mosher WD. First premarital cohabitation in the United States: 

2006–2010 National Survey of Family Growth. National health statistics reports; no 64. 

Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2013. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/

nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr064.pdf.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

■ 7  ■

5. National Center for Health Statistics. User’s guide to the birth data file. 2012. Available from:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/Vitalstatsonline.htm. 

6. Mathews TJ, MacDorman MF. Infant mortality statistics from the 2010 period linked birth/

infant death data set. National vital statistics reports; vol 62 no 8. Hyattsville, MD: National 

Center for Health Statistics. 2013. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/

nvsr62_08.pdf.

7. McLanahan SS. The consequences of nonmarital childbearing for women, children, and

society. In: Report to Congress on out-of-wedlock childbearing. Hyattsville, MD: National Center 

for Health Statistics. 1995. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/misc/wedlock.pdf.

8. Hamilton BE, Martin JA, Osterman MJK, Curtin SC. Births: Preliminary data for 2013.

National vital statistics reports vol 63 no 2. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health 

Statistics. 2014. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr63/nvsr63_02.pdf.

9. Mosher WD, Jones J, Abma JC. Intended and unintended births in the United States:

1982–2010. National health statistics reports; no 55. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health 

Statistics. 2012. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr055.pdf.

10. Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK, et al. Births: Final data for 2012. National vital

statistics reports; vol 62 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2013. 

Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr62/nvsr62_09.pdf.

11. Martinez GM, Daniels K, Chandra A. Fertility of men and women aged 15–44 years in the

United States: National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010. National health statistics reports; 

no 51. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012. Available from: http://www.

cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr051.pdf.

12. Jones J, Mosher WD. Fathers’ involvement with their children: United States, 2006–2010.

National health statistics reports, no 71. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 

2013. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr071.pdf.
NCHS Data Brief ■ No. 162 ■ August 2014

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

3311 Toledo Road, Room 5419

Hyattsville, MD 20782

OFFICIAL BUSINESS 

PENALTY FOR PRIVATE USE, $300

For more NCHS Data Briefs, visit: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs.htm.

FIRST CLASS MAIL 

POSTAGE & FEES PAID 

CDC/NCHS

PERMIT NO. G-284

Suggested citation

Curtin SC, Ventura SJ, Martinez GM. 

Recent declines in nonmarital childbearing 

in the United States. NCHS data brief, no 

162. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for 

Health Statistics. 2014.

Copyright information

All material appearing in this report is in 

the public domain and may be reproduced 

or copied without permission; citation as to 

source, however, is appreciated.

National Center for Health 

Statistics

Charles J. Rothwell, M.S., M.B.A., Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate 

Director for Science

Division of Vital Statistics

Delton Atkinson, M.P.H., M.P.H., P.M.P., 

Director

For e-mail updates on NCHS publication 

releases, subscribe online at: 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/govdelivery.htm.

For questions or general information 

about NCHS: 

Tel: 1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636)

TTY: 1–888–232–6348

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs 

Online request form: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/

dcs/RequestForm.aspx

ISSN 1941–4927 Print ed.

ISSN 1941–4935 Online ed.

DHHS Publication No. 2014–1209

CS249792