Utah Leads Nation in Births Compared to Deaths

Utah continues to stand out nationally for a key population measure: births compared to deaths.

A new ValuePenguin analysis of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data found Utah had the highest birth-to-death ratio in the country in 2024. Utah recorded 2.17 births per death, ahead of Texas at 1.70 and Alaska at 1.62. Nationally, births still outpaced deaths, but by a much smaller margin. The U.S. birth-to-death ratio was 1.18 in 2024, with 3.63 million births compared with 3.07 million deaths. That means Utah is not just slightly above the national average — it is far ahead of it.

The National Rate

The finding comes even as fertility rates continue to fall across the country. ValuePenguin reported the U.S. fertility rate dropped to 53.8 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 2024, down from 54.5 in 2023. The national rate has fallen 22.4% since 2007, when it reached 69.3.

The Utah Rate

Utah is part of that decline, too. The state’s fertility rate was 59.9 births per 1,000 women ages 15 to 44 in 2024, ranking sixth nationally. USAFacts reports Utah’s fertility rate fell from 92.5 in 2004 to 59.9 in 2024, the largest drop of any state over that period. Even with that major decline, Utah remains one of the youngest and most birth-heavy states in the country. That helps explain why births still outpace deaths here by more than two-to-one. The contrast with other states is sharp. ValuePenguin found 16 states had more deaths than births in 2024. Maine and West Virginia had the lowest birth-to-death ratios at 0.70, meaning only seven births occurred for every 10 deaths.

Photo by: valuepenguin.com

For Utah, the data points to a state that is changing but still demographically distinct. Families may be having fewer children than in past generations, but compared with the rest of the country, Utah still has a strong natural population increase. That matters for schools, housing, health care, the workforce and long-term planning across the state.