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• In 1955, 14% of all births to females ages 15–19 were to unmarried women. By 2005, this proportion had increased to 83%.
• In 1955, of the 90 births per 1,000 females ages 15–19, 77 were to married women and 13 were to unmarried women. In 2005, of the 41 births per 1,000 females ages 15–19, 7 were to married women and 34 were to unmarried women.
• Since 1955, mothers under age 15 were more likely to be unmarried than their counterparts ages 15–19. However, the gap has declined in recent years. In 1955, for example, the proportion of mothers under age 15 who were unmarried was more than 4 times that of unmarried mothers ages 15–19 (66% vs. 14%). This gap narrowed by 2005, such that younger mothers were about 1.2 times as likely to be unmarried as older teen moms (98% vs. 83%).
• Overall, births to unmarried women ages 15–17 totaled 120,900 in 2005.
• Although the majority of unmarried teen mothers were white, black teens were more likely than others to be unmarried mothers.

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