Unmarried Mothers by State

In 2023, the CDC indicated that 40 % of all U.S. births were to unmarried women, which equates to just over 1.44 million births, with a rate of 36.4 births per 1,000 unmarried women aged 15–44. These are trends that come with another leading trend: teen birth rates continued to decline—down 4 % for 15–19 years—and the overall fertility rate fell 3 % to 54.5 per 1,000 women. This broader context sets the stage for our state-by-state breakdown.

The map of the United States above was created by Reddit user cookoutenthusiast, based on CDC’s 2023 National Vital Statistics Report.

State-Level Data

State	Total Births to Unmarried Mothers	%	Black	Black %	White	White %	Hispanic	Hispanic %
Alabama	26,598	46.0 %	12,344	79.4 %	9,752	29.3 %	3,608	52.4 %
Alaska	3,309	36.7 %	69	32.5 %	870	20.0 %	248	31.3 %
Arizona	35,556	45.5 %	2,622	60.5 %	8,720	29.4 %	19,889	56.5 %
Arkansas	16,244	46.1 %	5,247	82.3 %	7,658	34.6 %	2,243	52.1 %
California	154,739	38.7 %	11,125	60.7 %	21,719	20.8 %	103,484	53.1 %
Colorado	14,793	24.1 %	1,270	43.7 %	4,951	14.7 %	7,292	37.3 %
Connecticut	12,955	37.5 %	2,522	62.2 %	3,709	20.6 %	6,122	62.5 %
Delaware	4,889	46.9 %	1,863	69.2 %	1,504	32.0 %	1,235	61.3 %
District of Columbia	3,668	46.5 %	2,599	77.3 %	190	7.4 %	785	55.6 %
Florida	101,399	45.8 %	30,042	66.9 %	29,550	32.8 %	38,940	51.2 %
Georgia	57,981	46.3 %	29,365	71.4 %	14,100	26.8 %	12,102	55.0 %
Hawaii	6,035	40.8 %	48	15.3 %	521	18.6 %	1,230	47.1 %
Idaho	5,947	26.6 %	93	32.0 %	3,502	21.0 %	1,996	46.8 %
Illinois	49,556	39.7 %	13,914	77.2 %	16,440	25.4 %	16,989	55.8 %
Indiana	33,859	42.9 %	7,417	73.9 %	18,453	34.3 %	6,328	59.8 %
Iowa	13,039	36.2 %	1,591	60.9 %	7,969	29.6 %	2,418	57.4 %
Kansas	12,167	35.7 %	1,514	68.5 %	6,346	27.5 %	3,562	54.2 %
Kentucky	22,144	42.6 %	3,326	67.4 %	14,890	37.5 %	2,957	60.9 %
Louisiana	30,484	55.5 %	16,122	82.2 %	9,742	35.8 %	3,696	62.0 %
Maine	4,260	36.6 %	257	32.5 %	3,652	36.5 %	157	47.0 %
Maryland	26,855	40.9 %	11,213	59.2 %	5,890	22.9 %	8,336	57.7 %
Massachusetts	22,645	33.8 %	3,816	52.3 %	8,152	22.6 %	9,036	57.6 %
Michigan	38,311	38.6 %	12,972	79.5 %	19,039	28.1 %	4,099	54.3 %
Minnesota	19,955	32.3 %	3,617	48.8 %	8,920	22.1 %	3,643	56.1 %
Mississippi	18,919	54.9 %	11,449	82.4 %	5,666	32.6 %	1,289	60.7 %
Missouri	26,284	39.2 %	6,483	76.2 %	14,984	30.9 %	2,988	54.2 %
Montana	3,426	30.9 %	15	25.0 %	2,197	24.7 %	294	41.8 %
Nebraska	8,325	34.5 %	938	62.3 %	3,683	23.5 %	2,856	57.0 %
Nevada	15,508	48.8 %	2,914	71.2 %	3,552	34.0 %	7,111	56.3 %
New Hampshire	3,417	28.6 %	120	39.5 %	2,749	27.2 %	419	47.1 %
New Jersey	33,855	33.5 %	7,610	63.3 %	6,897	14.9 %	17,751	58.7 %
New Mexico	11,042	52.7 %	199	52.2 %	1,673	32.0 %	7,285	58.5 %
New York	76,877	37.8 %	17,347	66.2 %	23,027	22.7 %	31,621	62.2 %
North Carolina	48,924	40.7 %	17,860	71.1 %	14,869	24.3 %	12,757	53.6 %
North Dakota	3,085	32.0 %	254	46.2 %	1,690	24.3 %	362	47.7 %
Ohio	53,790	42.4 %	14,734	73.3 %	29,601	33.3 %	6,045	62.0 %
Oklahoma	21,456	44.8 %	2,647	71.9 %	9,123	35.8 %	4,728	53.7 %
Oregon	14,404	37.6 %	506	50.4 %	7,091	31.3 %	4,811	54.2 %
Pennsylvania	49,205	38.8 %	11,677	74.1 %	22,665	27.5 %	11,693	63.2 %
Rhode Island	4,261	43.5 %	464	58.2 %	1,613	30.6 %	1,860	61.8 %
South Carolina	25,908	44.9 %	11,419	77.4 %	8,753	27.5 %	4,405	55.4 %
South Dakota	3,930	35.1 %	132	38.3 %	1,834	22.9 %	473	56.6 %
Tennessee	35,261	42.5 %	11,113	77.3 %	16,096	30.4 %	6,734	56.6 %
Texas	163,261	42.1 %	29,776	63.2 %	29,522	24.8 %	99,063	51.6 %
Utah	9,581	21.3 %	234	35.8 %	4,377	13.8 %	4,016	43.5 %
Vermont	1,807	35.7 %	46	37.4 %	1,627	35.9 %	66	43.4 %
Virginia	32,785	35.4 %	11,256	63.9 %	11,328	23.0 %	8,619	53.1 %
Washington	25,723	31.8 %	1,521	41.6 %	10,441	24.7 %	8,851	51.6 %
West Virginia	7,482	45.1 %	424	74.0 %	6,476	43.6 %	249	49.2 %
Wisconsin	22,157	37.1 %	4,629	82.8 %	10,604	25.6 %	4,681	61.7 %
Wyoming	1,970	32.9 %	13	0.0 %	1,269	27.9 %	422	49.2 %
United States	1,440,031	40.0 %	340,748	69.3 %	479,646	26.8 %	511,844	54.2 %

There’s a big gap in how common births outside of marriage are across the U.S. In 2023, just over 1 in 5 babies in Utah were born to unmarried mothers — the lowest rate in the country. Meanwhile, in Louisiana, that number was closer to 1 in 2. Differences like these often reflect a mix of local culture, economic pressures, and changing views on family life.

Nationwide, the trends also vary by race and ethnicity. About 69% of births to Black mothers were to unmarried women, compared to 27% for White mothers and 54% for Hispanic mothers. In places like Louisiana and Mississippi, over 80% of births to Black women were outside marriage. On the other hand, states like Idaho and Utah saw lower rates across all groups, mostly under 50%.

Teen birth rates are also continuing to fall. In 2023, the rate for girls aged 15 to 19 dropped to 13.1 per 1,000 — the lowest ever recorded and about two-thirds lower than it was in 2007. The overall fertility rate also declined, down to 54.5 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 44.