Birth rate patterns also vary greatly by mothers age. For women with college degrees, rates are highest for those in their early thirties, perhaps signaling the preferred time for childbearing by this group. First birth rates for women in their thirties with a college degree were two to five times the first birth rates for women with less education. Birth rates also vary by race and ethnicity. The disparity is particularly evident for birth rates for women with less than a high school education.
Educational attainment is a very critical factor in accounting for lifetime fertility differentials.
Women with 1 or more years of college have sharply lower lifetime fertility than less educated women, regardless of race or Hispanic origin.