If birth rates are a window into the health of an economy, Americans have reason to be concerned.
To keep the population from shrinking over time, women on average need to have just 2.1 children each, a level known as the replacement fertility rate. It means enough babies are born to replace the previous generation.
The US is now well below that line. As of 2024, the country's fertility rate has fallen to 1.6, an all-time low in what experts have dubbed America's 'baby bust.'
That is a dramatic shift from the decades after World War II, when families were much larger. In 1957, the height of the baby boom, women had 3.8 children on average.
Those extra babies didn't just reshape family life. They helped power decades of economic growth, creating demand for homes, fueling the rise of the suburbs, and eventually supplying a huge workforce.
When birth rates stay low for long periods, the effects ripple outward. Fewer young people today means fewer workers tomorrow, slower economic growth, and greater pressure on programs like Social Security and Medicare as the population ages.
Lower birth rates are also a symptom of deeper money worries. Americans are putting off having children -- or deciding not to have them at all -- because housing is expensive, childcare costs are soaring and jobs feel less secure.
While the trend is national, some states are seeing especially sharp shifts. One of the most surprising is Utah, long known for its family-friendly reputation.
For the United States to prevent its population from dwindling, every women should give birth to 2.1 children
Utah (pictured) has one of the steepest declines in birth rate
At first glance, the data suggests that Utah's cities are rapidly losing young children. What's really happening is more complicated.
The numbers don't simply count how many babies are born. Instead, they measure how large a share of the population is made up of children under the age of five.
That share can shrink either because fewer children are being born -- or because the adult population is growing much faster.
In Utah, both forces are at work. The state's total fertility rate has been sliding for about 15 years, falling to around 1.8 children per woman.
At the same time, Utah has become a magnet for working-age professionals and retirees, drawn by a strong job market -- especially in tech -- and a lower cost of living than many coastal states.
As more adults move in, the population grows quickly, and even if the number of young children holds steady, kids make up a smaller slice of a much larger population.
That shift is clear in city-level data. Realtor.com analysis of US Census figures comparing 2010 to 2024 shows Logan, Ogden, Provo, and St. George each saw the share of children under five fall by about 3.2 percent. Salt Lake City saw a similar decline.
Five of the steepest declines in the country occurred in Utah -- a striking development for a state known for its strong family culture.
Utah has become a magnet for working-age professionals and retirees
The stunning Western state is projected to gain a whopping 2 million newcomers by 2065 (Pictured: a Hyatt resort in Utah)
Five of the steepest birth rate declines in the country occurred in Utah, a striking development for a state known for its strong family culture (pictured: Park City, Utah)
That reputation is closely tied to Utah's large Mormon population, which accounts for about half the state's residents, according to Pew Research.
The faith emphasizes family life and has long been associated with larger households, a perception reinforced by pop culture.
TV shows, such as The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, have really hammered home that stereotype.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, a reality show set in Salt Lake City, pulled over 5 million views in the first few days of its second season's release.
The first season became the most-watched unscripted premiere of 2024 on Hulu.
All of the 'wives' initially connected over being mothers on social media and created a viral TikTok community called 'MomTok' -- which fascinated people all over the world and led to the Hulu show's creation.
Similarly, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City -- which built a cult following, gaining 500,000 views per episode -- focused heavily on family dynamics for many of its core cats members.
Yet the demographic shift extends beyond Utah.
The first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives became the most-watched unscripted premiere of 2024 on Hulu
All of the 'wives' connected over being mothers on social media, and created a viral TikTok community called 'MomTok'
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City has built a cult following, gaining 500,000 views per episode
Smaller Western metros like Grand Junction, Colorado, and Carson City, Nevada, have seen even sharper declines in their under-five population share.
In Grand Junction, that figure fell from 6.6 percent in 2010 to just 3.6 percent in 2024, among the lowest in the dataset. Carson City dropped from 6.6 percent to 4 percent over the same period.
Like Utah's cities, these communities have attracted retirees and lifestyle-driven newcomers drawn by mountain views, lower housing costs, and tax advantages -- growth that can dilute the presence of young children even if birth rates don't collapse.
In simple terms, Americans -- including those in famously family-oriented Utah -- are having fewer children than in the past.
But in many fast-growing Western cities, the story isn't just about fewer babies. It's also about a flood of adults reshaping the population, making young children a smaller share of a rapidly expanding whole.