Though the teen birth rate has declined dramatically since the early 1990s, it remains much higher in Texas than the United States.
Additionally, some Texas counties have rates much higher than the state average. Click on any county to see how the teen birth rate has changed over time and compare rates in different counties. If you just want to see the numbers, click the box on the right titled “Data.”
Data Notes:
Rates are shown per 1,000 girls aged 15-19. For example, a rate of 30 per 1,000 means that 3% of teenage girls give birth that year.
If there were fewer than 10 teen births in a county, data is hidden for that year to protect privacy.
2021 rates are preliminary and subject to change.
When available, birth counts come from the Texas Department of State Health Services. Otherwise, birth counts come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Division of Vital Statistics, Natality public-use datasets accessed via the WONDER Online Database.
Population estimates for most years come from Texas State Demographer. Rates vary slightly from teen birth estimates based on American Community Survey population data. The Texas State Demographer utilizes an advanced methodology to determine county-level population, resulting in more accurate population estimates. However, when conducting comparisons across states, American Community Survey population estimates are used.
Repeat Teen Birth
While teen parents can complete their education, form strong workforce attachments and achieve their potential, it becomes harder with each additional unintended birth.
Texas had the second highest rate of repeat teen births in the country in 2021. According to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more young women in Texas become parents for a second or third time in their teenage years than any other state in the nation. In 2021, 17% of births to Texas teens aged 15-19 were not the teen’s first. Additionally, among unmarried young women aged 20-24, more than half of births were a repeat birth.
In Texas, teen parents have medical authority over their children, but they don’t have the ability to make decisions about their own healthcare. That means that most cannot access effective contraception without their parents’ approval, even though they are already parents themselves. Texas is one of only 17 states in the country that requires unmarried teen mothers to secure parental consent for birth control.
Health care providers and communities can:
Help provide medically accurate information to teen mothers about the most effective types of contraception, and make sure they know how to access birth control if desired.
Provide long-acting, reversible contraception such as an IUD or implant in the immediate postpartum period.
Provide teen parents with support services, such as home visiting programs.
Provide wraparound services, if needed, so teens can raise their babies in a safe environment.
Support and empower teens who already are parents, and provide extra services if needed to help them complete their education.
Refer parenting teens to a Title X clinic for contraceptive care, if needed.
The chart above shows counts of first births to Texas teens and counts of repeat teen births, as well as the percentage of births that are repeated. To see more data, hover over any part of the chart.
