alt Hacker NewsUS total fertility rate is at record lows, and continues to decline. Childfree/childless rates are up, and will continue to climb.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11537490/
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/09/nx-s1-5777587/teen-birth-rate...
https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/09/older-mothers...
https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/number-of-americans-who-...
https://ifstudies.org/report-brief/the-demographic-dead-end-...
https://ifstudies.org/blog/theres-no-mystery-to-americas-fer...
https://ifstudies.org/insights?id=3886
https://ifstudies.org/blog/1-in-4-projecting-childlessness-a...
> Childfree/childless rates are up, and will continue to climb
Desired family size is still 2.7 kids, and has been stable at that number for over 50 years: https://news.gallup.com/poll/694640/americans-ideal-family-s...
A growing gap between how many kids people want and how many they have militates against copying the dense housing patterns of Asian countries that have the lowest birth rates in the world.