U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Teen birth rates differ substantially by age, racial and ethnic group, and region of the country. Most adolescents who give birth are 18 or older; in 2016, 74 percent of all teen births occurred to 18- to 19-year-olds. Birth rates are also higher among Hispanic and black adolescents than among their white counterparts. In 2016, Hispanic adolescent females ages 15-19 had a higher birth rate (31.9 births per 1,000 adolescent females) than black adolescent females (29.3) and white adolescent females (14.3). To help put these differences in perspective, estimates from 2013 show that eight percent of white adolescent females will give birth by their 20th birthday, as will 16 percent of black adolescent females and 17 percent of Hispanic adolescent females. Although Hispanics still have a higher teen birth rate than their black and white peers, the rate has declined substantially in recent years. Since 2007, the teen birth rate among Hispanics has declined by 58 percent, compared with declines of 53 percent for blacks and 47 percent for whites.