More North Dakota Women Opting Out of Motherhood

NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

September 3, 1998

More North Dakota Women Opting Out of Motherhood

More women in North Dakota are opting to not have children. As reported in the September Population Bulletin released by the North Dakota State Data Center at North Dakota State University, the percentage of North Dakota women ages 15 to 44 with no children rose from 41.1 percent in 1990 to 47 percent in 1995.

"Women who are not high school graduates are more likely to have children than are women with a bachelor's or an advanced degree," says Richard Rathge, data center director.

For women ages 25 to 34 that distinction is dramatic: 13.8 percent of women without a high school diploma had no children in 1990—while 45 percent of women with a bachelor's and 49 percent of women with a graduate or professional degree had no children.

Employment also plays a role in whether women have children. Women ages 25 to 34 who were employed in 1990 were more likely not to have children than women who were unemployed or out of the labor force.

Based on 1990 Census data, the four North Dakota counties with the highest proportions of women ages 15 to 44 without children were Cass, 50.1 percent; Grand Forks, 48.3 percent; Burleigh, 44.7 percent; and Barnes 43.1 percent.

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Source: Richard Rathge (701) 231-8621

Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136

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