Teen birth rate by state
Mississippi had the highest teen birth rate in 2024, 22.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, followed by Arkansas (22.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Louisiana (21.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). New Hampshire had the lowest, 4.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, ahead of Massachusetts (5.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Vermont (6.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). The national rate was 12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191.
Data as of June 9, 2026 (newest release used on this page).
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births; Census Bureau, 2024 Cartographic Boundary Files. Darker states are higher; DC is the dot. Period: 2024.
| 1 | Mississippi | 22.8 | Higher | 53.9% | 1.74 | 33,473 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Arkansas | 22.2 | Higher | 44.4% | 1.76 | 35,395 |
| 3 | Louisiana | 21.3 | Higher | 54.9% | 1.77 | 53,305 |
| 4 | Kentucky | 20.4 | Higher | 42.2% | 1.80 | 52,913 |
| 5 | Tennessee | 19.9 | Higher | 41.8% | 1.72 | 83,833 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 19.6 | Higher | 44.5% | 1.76 | 47,962 |
| 7 | Alabama | 19.1 | Higher | 44.9% | 1.72 | 57,934 |
| 8 | Texas | 18.5 | Higher | 42.1% | 1.77 | 390,828 |
| 9 | New Mexico | 18.0 | Higher | 53.2% | 1.56 | 21,328 |
| 10 | West Virginia | 17.8 | Higher | 43.9% | 1.63 | 17,022 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 17.4 | Higher | 44.6% | 1.67 | 58,768 |
| 12 | Georgia | 16.0 | Higher | 46.0% | 1.64 | 126,437 |
| 13 | Missouri | 15.9 | Higher | 38.8% | 1.67 | 67,998 |
| 14 | South Dakota | 15.3 | Higher | 35.3% | 2.04 | 11,451 |
| 15 | Indiana | 15.0 | Higher | 42.3% | 1.77 | 80,257 |
| =16 | Kansas | 14.7 | Higher | 36.0% | 1.77 | 33,984 |
| =16 | Wyoming | 14.7 | Higher | 33.6% | 1.70 | 6,089 |
| 18 | Alaska | 14.5 | Higher | 36.5% | 1.80 | 8,943 |
| 19 | North Carolina | 14.3 | Higher | 40.8% | 1.66 | 122,856 |
| =20 | Nebraska | 14.0 | Higher | 34.8% | 1.92 | 24,785 |
| =20 | Ohio | 14.0 | Higher | 41.7% | 1.65 | 126,795 |
| 22 | Arizona | 13.9 | Higher | 45.4% | 1.57 | 78,711 |
| 23 | Delaware | 13.1 | Higher | 47.3% | 1.61 | 10,550 |
| 24 | Nevada | 12.5 | Lower | 48.5% | 1.48 | 32,381 |
| 25 | District of Columbia | 12.3 | Lower | 45.2% | 1.11 | 7,616 |
| 26 | Iowa | 12.2 | Lower | 36.2% | 1.80 | 36,436 |
| 27 | Florida | 11.8 | Lower | 45.1% | 1.55 | 224,389 |
| 28 | North Dakota | 11.7 | Lower | 32.5% | 1.81 | 9,634 |
| 29 | Colorado | 11.2 | Lower | 24.0% | 1.49 | 64,268 |
| 30 | Montana | 11.1 | Lower | 30.3% | 1.59 | 11,331 |
| 31 | Hawaii | 11.0 | Lower | 41.0% | 1.68 | 14,917 |
| 32 | Virginia | 10.7 | Lower | 35.1% | 1.60 | 94,054 |
| 33 | Illinois | 10.4 | Lower | 39.6% | 1.47 | 125,731 |
| =34 | Maryland | 10.3 | Lower | 40.4% | 1.59 | 65,797 |
| =34 | Michigan | 10.3 | Lower | 38.0% | 1.52 | 99,525 |
| 36 | Idaho | 9.9 | Lower | 26.5% | 1.82 | 23,276 |
| =37 | Pennsylvania | 9.7 | Lower | 38.3% | 1.53 | 127,299 |
| =37 | Wisconsin | 9.7 | Lower | 36.7% | 1.60 | 59,686 |
| 39 | Washington | 9.3 | Lower | 31.5% | 1.48 | 83,118 |
| 40 | Oregon | 9.0 | Lower | 37.1% | 1.36 | 38,963 |
| 41 | California | 8.7 | Lower | 37.9% | 1.46 | 402,075 |
| 42 | Utah | 8.2 | Lower | 22.1% | 1.80 | 46,664 |
| 43 | New York | 8.0 | Lower | 37.0% | 1.51 | 205,489 |
| 44 | Maine | 7.8 | Lower | 36.0% | 1.38 | 11,601 |
| 45 | Rhode Island | 7.5 | Lower | 41.4% | 1.33 | 10,009 |
| =46 | Minnesota | 7.3 | Lower | 32.4% | 1.67 | 62,110 |
| =46 | New Jersey | 7.3 | Lower | 32.9% | 1.64 | 101,372 |
| 48 | Connecticut | 6.5 | Lower | 36.6% | 1.48 | 34,599 |
| 49 | Vermont | 6.3 | Lower | 37.3% | 1.27 | 5,023 |
| 50 | Massachusetts | 5.4 | Lower | 33.5% | 1.38 | 68,184 |
| 51 | New Hampshire | 4.6 | Lower | 28.4% | 1.35 | 11,770 |
| United States | 12.6 | 39.5% | 1.60 | 3,628,934 |
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births; CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Stats of the States. Period: 2024. "=" marks a tie at the displayed precision.
What the teen birth rate counts
The teen birth rate is the number of babies born in a year to mothers aged 15 to 19 divided by the number of females of that age living in the state and expressed per thousand. The national figure, 12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191, means that in 2024 that many babies were born to teen mothers for every thousand females in the age group. The figures come from Births: Final Data for 2024, the National Center for Health Statistics report built from every birth certificate filed in the United States. They are complete counts, not survey estimates, so they have no margin of error, and states with the same rate to one decimal share a rank.
23 states are above the national rate and 28, counting DC, are below it. The median of the 51 values is 12.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191, a little under the national rate.
A Southern belt at the top
All but one of the ten highest rates are in Southern states. After Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana come Kentucky (20.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), Tennessee (19.9 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), Oklahoma (19.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), Alabama (19.1 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Texas (18.5 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). West Virginia is tenth (17.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). The one exception is New Mexico, ninth at 18.0 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 and the highest in the West1.
The South still spans a wide range. Its lowest rate, Maryland's 10.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, is 18% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), and Virginia (10.7 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Florida (11.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191) are also below the national rate. The other regions look like this:
- Northeast. Its highest rate, Pennsylvania's 9.7 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, is 23% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), so every state in the region is under the national figure. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut hold the four lowest rates in the country, and New Jersey (7.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) ties for fifth lowest.
- Midwest. The range runs from 7.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 in Minnesota to 15.9 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 in Missouri. South Dakota (15.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is 2nd highest in the Midwest, and its rate is higher than every bordering state (Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and Wyoming).
- West. New Mexico is highest and Utah lowest (8.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). Alaska (14.5 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is the 3rd highest in the West; California (8.7 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is 11th lowest and its rate is lower than every bordering state (Arizona, Nevada and Oregon)1.
The lowest rates
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births. Period: 2024.
Show the numbers
| State | Teen birth rate |
|---|---|
| United States | 12.6 |
| Oregon | 9.0 |
| California | 8.7 |
| Utah | 8.2 |
| New York | 8.0 |
| Maine | 7.8 |
| Rhode Island | 7.5 |
| Minnesota | 7.3 |
| New Jersey | 7.3 |
| Connecticut | 6.5 |
| Vermont | 6.3 |
| Massachusetts | 5.4 |
| New Hampshire | 4.6 |
Most of the rest of the low end is in the Northeast too. Minnesota and New Jersey share fifth lowest at 7.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19; Rhode Island (7.5 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), Maine (7.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19), New York (8.0 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Utah (8.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) complete the ten lowest. Minnesota and Utah are the only states outside the Northeast in that group. Minnesota's rate is lower than every bordering state (Iowa, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin), and Utah is lowest in the West1. New York, the 4th largest4 state by population, sits among much smaller states such as Rhode Island and Maine.
Where neighbors differ most
State lines can separate quite different rates. Kentucky, 4th highest at 20.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, is higher than every bordering state (Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia). Across the Ohio River, Illinois has 10.4 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 and Ohio 14.0 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191.
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births. Period: 2024.
Show the numbers
| State | Teen birth rate |
|---|---|
| Kentucky | 20.4 |
| Tennessee | 19.9 |
| West Virginia | 17.8 |
| Missouri | 15.9 |
| Indiana | 15.0 |
| Ohio | 14.0 |
| United States | 12.6 |
| Virginia | 10.7 |
| Illinois | 10.4 |
Other pairs show the same thing:
- Utah (8.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is lower than every bordering state (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming); Nevada has 12.5 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 and Wyoming 14.7 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19.
- New Mexico is higher than Arizona and Colorado; lower than Oklahoma and Texas; Colorado's rate (11.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is 11% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19).
- Maryland (10.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is higher than Pennsylvania; lower than Delaware, the District of Columbia, Virginia and West Virginia. West Virginia, on its western border, is 10th highest.
- The District of Columbia (12.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) is higher than every bordering state (Maryland and Virginia)1. As a single city, it is not directly comparable with states that include suburbs and rural areas.
Teen births and the wider fertility picture
A state's teen birth rate does not simply follow its overall fertility. Utah has the highest birth rate of any state and a fertility rate of 1.80 births per woman, 12% above the US figure (1.60), yet its teen rate is 10th lowest. South Dakota has the highest fertility rate in the nation (2.04), but its teen rate ranks only 14th highest, 21% above the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). The District of Columbia has the lowest fertility rate (1.11) but a teen rate close to the national figure, 2% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19)1. The teen rate measures one age group, while the fertility rate adds up the rates at every age, so a state can rank high on one and low or middling on the other.
The share of all births to unmarried mothers lines up more closely at the extremes. In 2024 it was 54.9% in Louisiana, 53.9% in Mississippi and 53.2% in New Mexico, the three highest shares, against 39.5% nationally; all three are in the top ten for teen births. Utah has the lowest share (22.1%). The pattern breaks in between: Nevada's share is 48.5%2, among the highest, while its teen rate is 1% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19)1. The unmarried share covers mothers of every age and the teen rate only teenagers, so the two describe overlapping groups, not the same one.
| Mississippi | 22.8 | 1.74 | 53.9% | 9.7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 22.2 | 1.76 | 44.4% | 8.3 |
| Louisiana | 21.3 | 1.77 | 54.9% | 7.6 |
| New Mexico | 18.0 | 1.56 | 53.2% | 5.2 |
| South Dakota | 15.3 | 2.04 | 35.3% | 7.3 |
| Nevada | 12.5 | 1.48 | 48.5% | 5.3 |
| District of Columbia | 12.3 | 1.11 | 45.2% | 6.0 |
| Utah | 8.2 | 1.80 | 22.1% | 5.2 |
| Minnesota | 7.3 | 1.67 | 32.4% | 4.6 |
| New Hampshire | 4.6 | 1.35 | 28.4% | 3.0 |
| United States | 12.6 | 1.60 | 39.5% | 5.5 |
Source: CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births; CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Stats of the States.
Mississippi also has the highest infant mortality rate in the nation (9.7 per 1,000 live births), and New Hampshire, with the lowest teen birth rate, has the lowest infant mortality rate (3.0 per 1,000 live births2). The table places these measures side by side; it does not show that one causes another. The infant mortality ranking covers deaths before age one in detail.
Before you compare states
- Calendar year 2024, final data. NCHS final birth data for 2025 are expected in mid-2027. Provisional figures released earlier are revised and are not used here.
- Ages 15 to 19 only. Births to mothers under 15 are not included in this rate. NCHS also publishes separate rates for ages 15 to 17 and 18 to 19; this page does not show them.
- Mother's state of residence. A birth in a hospital across a state line counts in the state where the mother lives.
- Small states move more. Vermont recorded 5,023 births of all ages in 2024 and Wyoming 6,089, against 402,075 in California. With few teen births, a small change in the count shifts a small state's rate, and its rank, more from year to year.
- Rates, not counts. Texas (390,828 births in total) and California have similar numbers of births, but Texas's teen rate is 47% above the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and California's 31% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19)1. The rate, not the number of births, is what compares states fairly.
- States only. Rates for counties, cities, or by race and ethnicity within states are outside this site's coverage; the birth and fertility rate ranking covers births at all ages.
Questions about teen birth rates by state
Which state has the highest teen birth rate?
Mississippi, with 22.8 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19 in 2024, 81% above the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19). Its rate is higher than every bordering state (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee). Arkansas (22.2 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and Louisiana (21.3 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191) come next.
Which state has the lowest teen birth rate?
New Hampshire, at 4.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19, 63% below the US figure (12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 19) and lower than every bordering state (Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont). Massachusetts, Vermont and Connecticut1 follow, so the four lowest rates are all in New England.
What is the teen birth rate in the United States?
12.6 per 1,000 females aged 15 to 191 in 2024, from final birth certificate data compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics. The CDC reports that the national rate has continued to decline since 1991, and the 2024 rate was lower than the 2023 rate (NCHS data brief Births in the United States, 2024).
Is the teen birth rate the same as the teen pregnancy rate?
No. The birth rate counts only live births. Pregnancies that do not end in a live birth are not in it, so a teen pregnancy rate is always higher than the birth rate for the same group and year. This page covers births only.
Related rankings
Sources
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Births; 2024 final natality; released June 9, 2026. www.cdc.gov
- CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Stats of the States. www.cdc.gov
- Census Bureau, 2024 Cartographic Boundary Files; table cb_2024_us_state_20m; 2024; released April 10, 2025. www2.census.gov
- Census Bureau, Population Estimates Program, Vintage 2025; released January 27, 2026. www2.census.gov
Margins of error (±) are at the 90% confidence level. A difference is called significant only when it passes the Census Bureau's test at that level. How every figure is built: methodology. Found an error? Write to [email protected]; corrections are listed on the updates page.