Does the average age of first-time mothers differ by race and Hispanic origin?
The average age at first birth increased for all racial and ethnic groups between 1990 and 2006 with increases ranging from 0.6 years for American Indian or Alaska Native (AIAN) women to 1.7 years for Asian or Pacific Islander (API) women. In 2006, API women had the oldest average age at first birth (28.5 years), whereas AIAN women had the youngest (21.9 years); a difference of 6.6 years. The average age at first birth for non-Hispanic white women (26.0 years) was older than the average for the U.S. population (25.0 years) while those for non-Hispanic black (22.7 years) and Hispanic women (23.1 years) were younger (Figure 4). Variations among race and Hispanic origin groups within states tend to mirror these patterns with API women being the oldest first-time mothers, and AIAN women the youngest (access Table 2 online [PDF – 23 KB]).
