The average age of first-time mothers in the U.S. has risen to almost 30, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
New data published in a National Vitals and Statistics Report on Friday shows the mean age of mothers at first birth increased by 0.9 years between 2016 and 2023, rising from 26.6 years to 27.5.
Asian women reported the largest increase in mean age at first birth between those years, rising from 30.1 years in 2016 to 31.5 by 2023.
Meanwhile, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander mothers had the lowest, bumping up from 24.8 to 25.2 years of age.
The report shows a similar increase in the mean age at which women have their second and third child between 2016 and 2023.
Those increases pushed the mean age of birth for all mothers by 0.9 years, from 28.7 in 2016 to 29.6 in 2023.
“This analysis demonstrates that the shift toward older motherhood occurred across birth orders, among nearly all racial and ethnic groups, and in both urban and rural areas,” the report reads.
The report’s findings follow a years-long trend as women and men wait longer to have children.
The high cost of child care is one of the many reasons why Americans are thinking twice before having children.
Research shows some women are delaying having children because they are prioritizing education, career or because of changing societal norms.
Child care costs have been on the rise for decades. In 2022, the median cost of child care in the country ranged from $6,552 to $15,600 a year, according to data from the Department of Labor.
That sum represents between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of a family’s income.
