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America’s political divide is extending into the nursery, as data shows conservatives are having more children than liberals.
The Atlantic, citing research from the Institute for Family Studies (IFS), reported that self-identified conservatives have an average of 1.4 children, compared to 1.09 for liberals. It’s a gap IFS researchers said remained even after controlling for other variables, such as sex, religion, race, income, age, marital status and education.
“Having children — particularly lots of children — has become a bit right-coded, as the kids say. Americans and Europeans who identify as leftist or liberal tend to have fewer children than those who identify as conservative or right-leaning,” Atlantic staff writer Olga Khazan wrote in her article, “Another Big Difference Between Liberals and Conservatives.”
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Conservatives have more children than liberals, with an average of 1.4 kids compared to 1.09, according to Institute for Family Studies research on the fertility rate gap. (Vincent Alban/Getty Images)
The Trump administration has positioned itself as pro-family, with prominent members, including Vice President JD Vance, urging the country to have more babies.
The administration has also proposed financial incentives aimed at raising the birthrate, including a $5,000 “baby bonus” for mothers giving birth, while Trump signed an executive order expanding access to in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Khazan argues that research shows that the birthrate divide between parties may have more to do with lifestyle choices and different priorities between the two groups. She argues that conservatives are more likely to view family as vital to a fulfilled life, while liberals may place greater emphasis on higher education, creative pursuits or career success.
“In one recent Pew Research Center poll, for instance, Republicans were more likely than Democrats to say that having children was ‘highly important’ for living a fulfilling life, and in another, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to say that creative activities were ‘one of the most important things’ to them,” Khazan said.
“Democrats, then, may be less willing to choose parenthood when it competes as a priority with career, friendships, travel, and other pursuits,” she added.
The article also suggested that liberal anxiety extends beyond daily stress to include systemic worries over climate change, reproductive healthcare access and therapy-driven fears of repeating family trauma.
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Research from the Institute for Family Studies found that self-identified conservatives have an average of 1.4 children, compared with 1.09 among liberals. (Damircudic/iStock)
The Institute for Family Studies research also found that liberals report significantly higher levels of concern about parenting and their mental health.
Ken Burchfiel, an IFS research fellow who worked on the study, told Fox News Digital that where Democrats live could also help explain the difference.
“We found that partisan differences in parenting attitudes held up even when controlling for age, sex, race, household income, relationship status, education, religion, and parental status. That means that these differences aren’t merely a result of diverging faith preferences or income gaps,” Burchfiel said.
“The question remains, then: what is driving this change? My hypothesis is that Democrats’ tendency to live in more urban areas may help explain these gaps. If you live in a small apartment in a major city, you probably are more likely to see parenting as very stressful and difficult; after all, raising a child is more expensive and complicated in the heart of an urban area than in the suburbs,” he added.
Burchfiel also suggested that adults in major urban centers may have fewer daily opportunities to interact with parents and children, potentially leaving them less confident about starting families of their own.
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The Trump administration has positioned itself as pro-family, with prominent members, including Vice President JD Vance, urging the country to have more babies. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
“As a result, you might feel less confident about your own ability to be a parent. Such opportunities might continue to decline now that major cities are experiencing a drop in the numbers of children,” Burchfiel added.
Overall, the number of births in the United States and the general fertility rate have decreased, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
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A CDC report shows that provisional U.S. births decreased by 1% from 2024 to 2025.