Fertility rates across the country have decreased, and while that pattern is also true for the Lone Star state, Texas is giving birth to more babies compared to the country’s average.
Based on the number of births and the number of women in recently released 2025 Census Data, Spectrum News calculated the General Fertility Rate (GRF) in the U.S.
Out of 1,000 childbearing-aged women, there were about 53 births across the country. But in Texas, there were about 58 births per 1,000 women.
That number is still down from the 60 births per 1,000 women in 2022. Texas state demographer Lloyd Potter explained that while some areas may have seen a higher number of births, that doesn’t mean they always have a higher birth rate.
“If it’s a big population, it could be a lower rate, but you can have more babies,” Potter said. “If you have a small population and a higher rate, it still might have, rate wise, a lot of babies, but numerically fewer. “
It was uncommon for larger cities to have both a high number of births and a high birth rate, but data showed that out of all the counties in the U.S. with at least 20,000 births in 2025, three of the highest general fertility rates were in Texas counties. Dallas County had 37,108 births and a rate of 62.6, Harris County had 65,753 births and a rate of 59.2 and Tarrant County had 27,795 births and a rate of 57.
Experts like Potter emphasize that while fertility rates play a role in population growth, it’s just one piece of the puzzle.
“We’ve seen dramatic decrease in international migration, and a bit of a slowdown in terms of domestic migration,” Potter said. “But given the fact that we continue to have, relatively speaking, high fertility rates and, relatively speaking, fewer deaths, that natural change will continue to be a significant component of our population growth going forward.”