Data Sources, Continued

Many states also release birth data. Some states use age groups that aren’t used by the federal government, such as ages 10-17 or 13-19. For these states, rates from the state should not be compared with federal rates.

Even among states that use the same age ranges as the federal government, slight variations may exist. For example, the California Department of Health Services published a 1997 birth rate for California teens aged 15-19 of 56.7 per 1,000, while NCHS published a rate of 57.3. It is unclear whether such differences are due to different population estimates or different counts of births (either due to different treatment of birth certificates with missing data or different policies on births to out-of-state residents).

Just the Facts (October 2000) – Page 69

Previous slide Next slide Back to first slide View graphic version

Questions? Please contact Anastasia Snyder, Assistant Professor of Rural Sociology and Demography
Copyright 2002. The Pennsylvania State University.
Penn State is committed to affirmative action, equal opportunity, and the diversity of its workforce.

Data Sources, Continued

Many states also release birth data. Some states use age groups that aren’t used by the federal government, such as ages 10-17 or 13-19. For these states, rates from the state should not be compared with federal rates.