American women frequently have fewer children than they wish. On average, the fertility gap in the U.S.—the difference between a woman’s desired number of children and her actual family size—stands at 0.76. This nearly amounts to one child.
The fertility gap differs notably among states. In North Dakota, the gap is about one-third of a child. Conversely, states like New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Alaska see gaps exceeding one child.
A key determinant of this gap appears to be the extent of childcare regulations in each state. States with fewer childcare rules tend to have a smaller gap between the number of children people wish for and the number they have.
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