The December 2025 reading was 50.4, and the 3-month rolling average in January 2026 hit 52.3. Both of those numbers are the lowest ever seen on this report going all the way back to the late 1970s.

The U.S. birth rate plunged to an all-time low in 2024 after being on a downward trajectory for roughly 20 years, with soaring housing costs widely cited as a major contributing factor. Earlier this ...