State birth rate down, but Branch County was tops in Michigan

COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – While a new report shows Michigan reported the fewest babies born in 2023 since the 1940’s, Branch County bucked that trend.

While state officials say the low birth rate has been a downward trend since the 1990’s, Branch County led all other counties in 2023 with 13 births per 1,000 residents. Its 611 live births ranked 20th in the state. With 355 deaths recorded in 2023, that was a net gain of 256 for the county.

St. Joseph County ranked sixth in births per 1,000 residents, while Hillsdale County was seventh. The lowest birth rates were largely in Northern Michigan.

Michigan had more people born than died annually from 1900 to 2019. The deaths outpaced births during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021. Even after COVID deaths flattened out, total deaths were still higher than births in the state.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says the state reported 99,178 live births in 2023, down about 3.2% from 2022.