“Baby Bust” As Calif. Birth Rate Declines

The California birth rate has been steadily declining.

Baby Boomers, meet the Baby Busters.

The California birthrate is steadily declining, according to Bay Area News Group. The birthrate is now below 2.1 children per couples' lifetime, barely enough to produce growth, the newspaper reported.

According to studies, the birthrate declined throughout all demographics in California, including among the Latinas whose birthrates kept the baby population up for some time, the newspaper reported.

Children were one-third of the California population in 1970, but project to be just one-fifth by 2030, according to the newspaper.

Couples are waiting longer and longer to have children -- often for financial reasons, the newspaper reported. Many parents simply feel they cannot afford to have more children.

Researchers and demographers say that the declining birth rate will have an impact in later years, as the state struggles to replace its workforce, and as an larger aged population struggles to be supported by a smaller, younger population, the newspaper reported.

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