New Jersey is among the states having the least babies in America, according to one recent publication.

The Stacker ranked each state based on the ratio of the number of births per 100,000 people of the total state's population, and according to their results, the Garden State ranked 40th among the 50 states and D.C.

Here are some of the statistics they worked from (all stats are based on 2016 data). 103,847 women gave birth in '16. And the number of babies born per 100,000 people was  1,148.

In comparison, the state that ranked #1 for most births in 2016 was Utah with 1,654 babies per 100,000 people. The lowest ratio was in New Hampshire, which had 919 babies born per 100,000 people.

Two things immediately came to my mind as potential  reasons for our ranking here in the Garden State. My first reactions were that it must be money and time. Everything is just so expensive around here, and people are spending long hours just trying to make ends meet.

My gut tells me that if you put those things together it just creates a time and money crunch, and that may contribute to these stats. So I did a little research to learn more.

It turns out our 'cost rate' for having babies supports my theory, with New Jersey ranking 43rd best state in that category. But there is some good news in this Stacker study. We rank in the top 20 in baby friendliness (#16) and family friendliness (#12).

And in a recent New York Times survey, young adults said their top reasons for having fewer children than their ideal number include price of child care (64%), wanting to spend more time with the kids they have (54%) and concerns about the economy (49%). And 44% say they just cant afford any more children.

There are undoubtedly many, many very personal reasons that go into this decision, but it shouldn't come as a surprise that money is a big factor in many instances. It always seems to be that way when you live in New Jersey.

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