Objective—This report presents 2019 total fertility rates for the United States, by educational attainment and race and Hispanic origin of mother.

—Descriptive tabulations of the total fertility rate by educational attainment of mother for the United States are presented and described. The total fertility rate is the average number of children a group of women would expect to have at the end of their reproductive lifetimes. Data are based on the 2003 revision of the U.S. Standard Certificate of Live Birth.

Results—In 2019, the U.S. total fertility rate (TFR) for all women aged 15–49 was 1,705 expected births per 1,000 women. TFRs decreased as level of education increased from women with a 12th grade education or less through an associate’s and bachelor’s degree, and then rose from bachelor’s degree through a doctorate or professional degree. Among the race and Hispanic- origin groups, TFRs were highest for Hispanic women (1,939), followed by non-Hispanic black (1,774) and non-Hispanic white (1,610) women. Rates generally declined from the lowest educational level through a bachelor’s degree for non-Hispanic white women, and through an associate’s degree for Hispanic women, and then generally rose for both groups for women with advanced degrees. TFRs for non-Hispanic black women declined by educational level through a master’s degree. Across the race and Hispanic-origin groups, the lowest TFR by educational level was for non-Hispanic black women with a master’s degree (1,038), and the highest was for Hispanic women with a 12th grade education or less (3,025). TFRs for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women with some college credit or less were generally higher than the rates for non-Hispanic white women, but TFRs for non-Hispanic black and Hispanic women with a master’s degree or more were generally lower than the rates for non-Hispanic white women.

Suggested citation: Hamilton BE. Total fertility rates, by maternal educational attainment and race and Hispanic origin: United States, 2019. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 70 no 5. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:105234.

CS323483

nvsr70-05-508.pdf