(from Education Next) A long-term decline in U.S. birthrates could lead to more challenges filling seats in the years ahead. The Hechinger Report's Jill Barshay, using data from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, projects that the number of students in U.S. schools will drop 8.5 percent in the coming decades. The decline began in the recesion year of 2010, three years after the 2007 all-time high of 4.32 million births. But while birthrates often decline during economic downturns, the downward trend has continued even through years of recovery. In 2017, 3.85 million babies were born, representing a 10.7 percent decline from the 2007 high.
Factors behind the slowing birthrate include later marriage ages and a variety of economic barriers, including increased student-loan debt, rising housing costs and more expensive childcare.
Listen to the latest episode of the Net Assets podcast.
