Local Statistics

Montgomery County Teen Birth Rates 1996 - 2012 (click on Attachment below)

Slide 1:

  • The top graph line shows the US birth rate 1996-2012; the middle line shows Maryland’s birth rate; the bottom shows Montgomery County. 
  • We can see the decline and we can see that in 2002 the rates seem to plateau and then begin to increase again in Montgomery County.
  • Montgomery County births to teens 15-19 years increased by 27% from 2002 (17.4) to 2007 (22.0), but have declined  since 2007 – dropping by almost  39% from 2007 (22.0)  to 2012 (13.5).
  • Montgomery County has one of the lowest overall rates of adolescent births in the State.  However, the number of teen births (2012=414) is among the highest 24 counties in Maryland.

 Slide 2:

  • Most notable is that births to teens 18-19 years old increased 36% from 2002 to 2007, but then decreased by 41% over the next five years to historic lows in 2012.  

Slide 3:

  • Adolescent births among all females 15-17 years have declined over the past decade, with some fluctuations over the decade. Rates in 1996-1998 were at a high of 12.8, dropped to 9.2 in 2002-2005, increased to 10.7 in 2006-2008, with a decline to an historic low of 6.8 in 2010-2012.
  • The rate of White births among females 15-17 years has remained relatively the same over the past decade with a slight reduction during 2002-2004 to 7.1 per 1,000 population. Most recent rates in 2010-2012 approach that low  with the 2010-2012 rate being 7.5.
  • Hispanic births among females 15-17 years have increased steadily over the decade encompassed by 1996-98 through 2006-2008, with a corresponding widening of the gap with White and Black/African American births in that time period; since 2006-2008, the Hispanic teen birth rate for 15-17 yrs has declined substantially – almost in half from its rate of 41.6 in 2006-2008 to 22.9 in 2010-2012 (a 45% reduction). The gap between Hispanic and White rates has dropped from a 4-fold higher rate (Hispanic 41.6: White 10.7) in 2006-2008 to a 3-fold higher rate in 2010-2012 (22.9:6.8). Work remains to get disparities eliminated.
  • While the Black/African American births among females 15-17 years have declined in the 1996-1998 through 2004-2006 time period, and were closing the gap with White births, the birth rate increased 10 percent from 2005-2007 to 2007-2009 before a continued decline from 2007-2009 rate of 14.9 to 8.6 in 2010-2012. Black teens 15-17 years had birth rates that were 2.5 times higher than White rates in 1996-1998. In 2010-2012, the rate dropped to 1.1 times the White rate. (FYI -- at 1.0, disparities are eliminated.)

Slide 4:

  • Adolescent births among all females 18-19 years have declined over the past decade from its peak rate of 50.4 in 2000-2002, to historic lows in 2010-2012 of 31.1 births per 1,000 population; there was an increase in 2002-2007 (36% increase) before reverting to a pattern of decline; birth rates among females 18-19 years are over 4 times higher than rates among females 15-17 years.
  • Hispanic births among females 18-19 years have increased from 76.2 in 1996-1998 to historic high of 136.4 in 2005-2007 with a corresponding widening gap with White and Black/African American births.  In 2005-2007 the Hispanic/Latino rate was over 3 times higher than the birth rate among White teens.  Since then, the rate has declined in recent years – almost in half by 2010-2012 to 70.1.  The gap with White and Black/African American teen births among 18-19 year-olds has decreased to a rate that is 2 times higher than White and Black/African American  teen births.
  • After a brief decline from 1996-1998 through 2002-2004, Black/African American births among females 18-19 years have experienced modest increases and decreases, but have been steadily decreasing since 2007-2009.  Disparity gaps with White teen births dropping slightly from 1.3 times White births (57.4: 43.8) to 1.2 times the White births (40.4: 33.0) in 2010-2012.