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More and More Americans Don’t Want Kids, Poll Shows

Those who don’t want kids cite apathy, financial instability, and lack of a significant other as contributing factors.

A new survey by Pew Research Center suggests an increasing amount of childless adults want to stay that way, Bloomberg reports. The research says about nine in 20 non-parents ages 18 to 49—about 44 percent of those surveyed—say it’s not likely or not at all likely they’ll become parents one day, a 7 percent increase from 2018. Those who don’t want kids cite apathy, financial instability, and lack of a significant other for their potentially child-free futures. The trend does not bode well for U.S. fertility rates. According to the CDC, the number of babies born fell about 4 percent to 3.6 million in 2020, the most significant drop since 1973. Nearly a quarter of parents under 40 say they don’t expect to have more children, citing financial costs and age as contributing factors.