--- title: These 10 States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy description: America’s average teen birth rate has dropped, and Connecticut leads the effort with the biggest 5-year decline in teen births canonical: https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-23T16:45:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T09:31:26.283Z article:section: Health og:title: These States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy og:description: Connecticut leads the effort with the biggest 5-year decline in teen births og:url: https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy twitter:description: Connecticut leads the effort with the biggest 5-year decline in teen births twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # These States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy by [Natalie Morin / HealthGrove](https://time.com/author/healthgrove/) ## Natalie Morin / HealthGrove Jul 23, 2015 4:45 PM UTC by [Natalie Morin / HealthGrove](https://time.com/author/healthgrove/) ## Natalie Morin / HealthGrove Jul 23, 2015 4:45 PM UTC Teen pregnancy in the U.S. has been declining continuously over the past 20 years. [According](http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/teen-pregnancy/trends.html) to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), America’s average teen birth rate has dropped from 61.8 births for every 1,000 adolescent girls in 1991 to 26.5 in 2013\. And this most recent 2013 stat is an impressive 10 percent drop from 2012. Despite these encouraging statistics, unplanned teen pregnancy is still a major public health issue. Many health experts and economists argue that it is a [principal driver](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/science/colorados-push-against-teenage-pregnancies-is-a-startling-success.html?%5Fr=0) of poverty and inequality, as well as high abortion rates and number of children put up for adoption. Some states have worked to find ways to combat teen pregnancy more efficiently, though. Using data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS), [HealthGrove](http://www.healthgrove.com/) mapped the change in teen births (girls 15-19 years old) over the last five years. Why are some states making bigger strides than others? Colorado’s effort against unwanted pregnancy, for example, has been successful due to programs that offer adolescents and poor women long-acting birth control. After being given this choice, the birthrate among these women fell by 37.9%, and abortions plunged by 42%, according to [Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment](https://www.colorado.gov/cdphe). The correlation between early motherhood and poverty was pretty strong in Colorado’s case. Before women were offered intrauterine devices (IUDs) from the free program in 2009, 50% of births to women in low income areas happened before age 21\. In 2014, that age jumped to 24\. And [according](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/06/science/colorados-push-against-teenage-pregnancies-is-a-startling-success.html?%5Fr=0) to Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times, this difference “gives young women time to finish their educations and to gain a foothold in an increasingly competitive job market.” Many of the states that have a low 5-year change—meaning they still haven’t reduced teen pregnancies—also have relatively high poverty levels. New initiatives like the one in Colorado may help states make progress on both goals. HealthGrove ranked the top 10 states that are setting a good example for the rest of the country, ordered by the biggest 5-year declines in teen births. ### 10\. Wisconsin Teen birth rate in 2013: 1.96% Population: 5,706,871 Wisconsin reduced adolescent pregnancies by 33.3% in five years. ### 9\. Oregon Teen birth rate in 2013: 2.16% Population: 3,868,721 Oregon reduced adolescent pregnancies by 33.5% in five years. ### 8\. District of Columbia Teen birth rate in 2013: 3.21% Population: 619,371 The District of Columbia reduced adolescent pregnancies by 33.8% in five years. ### 7\. Virginia Teen birth rate in 2013: 2.01% Population: 8,100,653 Virginia reduced adolescent pregnancies by 33.9% in five years. ### 6\. North Carolina Teen birth rate in 2013: 2.84% Population: 9,651,380 North Carolina reduced adolescent pregnancies by 35.0% in five years. ### 5\. Georgia Teen birth rate in 2013: 3.05% Population: 9,810,417 Georgia reduced adolescent pregnancies by 35.1% in five years. ### 4\. Maryland Teen birth rate in 2013: 1.94% Population: 5,834,299 Maryland reduced adolescent pregnancies by 36.8% in five years. ### 3\. Colorado Teen birth rate in 2013: 2.34% Population: 5,119,329 Colorado reduced adolescent pregnancies by 37.9% in five years. ### 2\. Massachusetts Teen birth rate in 2013: 1.21% Population: 6,605,058 Massachusetts reduced adolescent pregnancies by 37.9% in five years. ### 1\. Connecticut Teen birth rate in 2013: 1.29% Population: 3,583,561 Connecticut reduced adolescent pregnancies by 39.2% in five years. _This_ [_article_](http://conditions.healthgrove.com/stories/5082/states-teen-pregnancy-declining) _originally appeared on_ [_FindTheBest_](http://conditions.healthgrove.com/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/"},"headline":"These States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy","datePublished":"2015-07-23T16:45:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T09:31:26.283Z","description":"Connecticut leads the effort with the biggest 5-year decline in teen births","url":"https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/","keywords":["Public Health","teen pregnancy","States"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Natalie Morin / HealthGrove"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/public-health/","name":"Public Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3969496/states-teen-pregnancy/","name":"These States Have The Biggest Drops In Teen Pregnancy"}}]}] ```