Series Factoid #4: The Future of the Youth Consumer: Women of Childbearing Age Projected Population in Selected Years 2015, 2020, 2025
April 10,
2015 by in General 
This is the fourth and last factoid in a series detailing demographic shifts over the next five and ten years that will impact the Youth Furniture industry.
A major factor in determining the future of the Youth Furniture market is the projected population of women of childbearing age. Are they increasing in number and are they having enough babies to support healthy growth in Youth Furniture sales?
While the crude birth rate (number of births per 1,000 women) continues to decline and is expected to drop (-3.2)% from 2015 to 2025, the population of women of childbearing age (18 to 44) is estimated to increase by 6.5% during the next decade – accounting for increases in projected births.
The number of women ages 35 to 44 is projected to increase by 12% in the next 10 years as the children of the Baby Boomers finally reach their prime furniture purchasing years. According to the National Center of Health Statistics, the number of first births to women 35 and over is nine times higher than in 1970. These women are delaying childbirth or having additional births well into their 30s.
Women ages 25 to 34 are also expected to increase in population – growing 7% over the next 10 years, while ages 18 to 24 is projected to decrease by (-1.2)% as the children of baby boomers begin to leave that age group.
Sources: National Center for Health Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau, Projections of the Population of the U.S.