Total births by race and ethnicity in the United States

Definitions: Live births by race and ethnicity of mother. 
Figures represent the race of the mother, not the race of the child. This is important because increasing numbers of children are born to parents of different races. On birth certificates, as on most federal data collection forms, the question regarding whether a person is Hispanic is separate from the question asking whether a person is white, black, Asian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian. Thus, people are asked to select a racial group and to indicate whether they are of Hispanic origin. Race/ethnic groups represented in this table are not mutually exclusive and therefore percentages will not total to 100%.

Data Source: PRB analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC Wonder 2016-2020 birth data.

Footnotes: Updated April 2022.
N.A. - Data not available.
S - Data suppressed due to small number of cases.

Definitions: Live births by race and ethnicity of mother. 
Figures represent the race of the mother, not the race of the child. This is important because increasing numbers of children are born to parents of different races. On birth certificates, as on most federal data collection forms, the question regarding whether a person is Hispanic is separate from the question asking whether a person is white, black, Asian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian. Thus, people are asked to select a racial group and to indicate whether they are of Hispanic origin. Race/ethnic groups represented in this table are not mutually exclusive and therefore percentages will not total to 100%.

Data Source: PRB analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data: National Center for Health Statistics, CDC Wonder 2016-2020 birth data.

Footnotes: Updated April 2022.
N.A. - Data not available.
S - Data suppressed due to small number of cases.