State Teen Birth Rate Continues Plunge

The birthrate among California's teenagers continues to plummet among all demographic groups, according to new data from the Department of Public Health.

The state's birth rate has dropped to 25.7 births per 1,000 females age 15 to 19 in 2012, compared to 28 per 1,000 in 2011, a decline of 8%.

In 2000, the rate in California stood at 46.7 per 1,000 teens. It has dropped 45% in a dozen years. Among those between the ages of 15 and 17, it dropped by more than half, from 26.5 per 1,000 in 2000, to 13.1 in 2012. Among those age 18-19, it dropped from 77.1 per 1,000 to 43.1.

The dramatic drop has put California significantly below the U.S. teen birth average of 29.4 births per 1,000 in 2012. In 2000, the U.S. rate was 47.7, only one point higher than in California. California began to pull away from the nationwide average starting in 2006.

"I am very pleased with the positive strides California is making in reducing teen pregnancy,” said CDPH Director Ron Chapman, M.D. “By encouraging positive and sensible choices for our young men and women, we can inspire our youth to strive for successful futures.”

The birth rate has dropped among all ethnic groups since 2000. The biggest drop has been among Latina teens, whose birth rate dropped 49.7% from 77.3 in 2000 to 38.9 in 2012, although it is still the highest rate among all ethnic groups.

The birth rate among African-American teens also dropped by nearly half, from 59.1 in 2000 to 30.8.

But the birth rates among white and Asian teens took the biggest plunge. Asian teen births dropped from 15 per 1,000 in 2000 to five in 2012, a drop of 66%. Births among white teens dropped from 22.3 to 10.2 per 1,000, a drop of 53%.

CDPH officials credited the decrease in part to state laws mandating school-based and other state-funded sex education programs.