Wyoming’s birth rates have been steadily declining over the last five years, according to a report backed up by state data.
According to personal finance website QuoteWizard, Wyoming, Alaska and Vermont saw the largest birth declines from 2014 to 2019.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said births across the nation are the lowest they have been in 35 years, with 3.75 million births recorded in 2019.
According to the Wyoming Department of Health’s vital statistics records, Wyoming saw 6,549 births in 2018, the most recent year covered by the state’s annual report on vital statistics. This is down almost 1,000 compared to 2013, when the state saw 7,617 births.
QuoteWizard stated that Wyoming saw a 14.7% decline of births, over two times more than the national average of a 6.3% decline. WDH spokeswoman Kim Deti didn’t comment on the article, instead directing Cowboy State Daily to the department’s vital statistic records.
In 2018, Uinta and Goshen counties saw drastic birth rate declines, at 20% and 28%, respectively.
The state has seen a steady decline in teen pregnancies, down to 20.7 per 1,000 people in 2018. However, there was no national data to compare to for that year.
2020 was the fifth year in a row that the number of births is down by an average of 1% every year. When looking at pre-pandemic pregnancy trends, rates from all age groups have been on a gradual decline, with the exception of women in their 40s.
In total, eight states saw a decline of more than 10% in births, and all but one state (Florida) saw a decline from 2014 to 2019.
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the cost of raising a child to be over $230K from birth to 18 years of age.
