18.8%
2024 (latest)
WOMEN AGED 40–44 WHO ARE CHILDLESS
percent · 1976–2024 · neither direction is "better" · U.S. Census Bureau, CPS June fertility supplement, Historical Table 1
10.2%
1976
20.4%
high · 2006
9.5%
low · 1981
+8.6 pts
since 1976
┊ dashed lines mark 1979 Oil shock & inflation peak · 1987 Black Monday crash · 1991 Gulf War recession · 2001 Dot-com bust & 9/11 · 2008 Global financial crisis · 2020 COVID-19 pandemic
Method & caveats. Percent childless among women aged 40–44, column K of the PERCENT CHILDLESS panel. Selected survey years 1976–2024, primarily biennial in recent decades; gaps are legitimate, not interpolated. Breaks: 2012 processing changes affected childlessness estimates; 2002 counts corrected in 2014.
Sources
Every value on this page is read from the publisher below. Current and historical source documents:
- https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/demo/tables/fertility/time-series/his-cps/h1.xlsx
- https://github.com/danielmiessler/substrate/tree/main/Data/US-Family-And-Society
Data
| Year | Women aged 40–44 who are childless | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 18.8% | +1.1 pts |
| 2022 | 17.7% | +1.2 pts |
| 2020 | 16.5% | +1.5 pts |
| 2018 | 15.0% | +0.6 pts |
| 2016 | 14.4% | −0.9 pts |
| 2014 | 15.3% | +0.2 pts |
| 2012 | 15.1% | −3.7 pts |
| 2010 | 18.8% | +1.0 pts |
| 2008 | 17.8% | −2.6 pts |
| 2006 | 20.4% | +1.1 pts |
| 2004 | 19.3% | +1.3 pts |
| 2002 | 18.0% | −1.0 pts |
| 2000 | 19.0% | +0.0 pts |
| 1998 | 19.0% | +1.5 pts |
| 1995 | 17.5% | +0.0 pts |
| 1994 | 17.5% | +1.8 pts |
| 1992 | 15.7% | −0.3 pts |
| 1990 | 16.0% | +1.3 pts |
| 1988 | 14.7% | +0.5 pts |
| 1987 | 14.2% | +1.0 pts |
| 1986 | 13.2% | +1.8 pts |
| 1985 | 11.4% | +0.3 pts |
| 1984 | 11.1% | +1.0 pts |
| 1983 | 10.1% | −0.9 pts |
| 1982 | 11.0% | +1.5 pts |
| 1981 | 9.5% | −0.6 pts |
| 1980 | 10.1% | −0.1 pts |
| 1976 | 10.2% | — |
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