PORTLAND — The maternity ward might feel a little lonely these days.

Oregon has one of the lowest birth rates in the nation, according to newly released federal data from 2022.

The state had just about 9 births for each 1,000 residents. Only Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont — the latter being the lowest in the nation at 8.2 births per 1,000 residents — had fewer.

Utah was tops at 13.5. The national average was 11.0.

Oregon’s schools, restaurants and factories figure to be emptier in the years ahead unless something changes in the state’s anemic migration levels or something big changes in its birth rates.

“We need people to work,” said Kanhaiya Vaidya, demographer with the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis.

“We need people to support the elderly, not only financially but also for care,” Vaidya said. “For child care, for elderly care, we need people — working-age people.”

Oregon’s birth rates have long been among the nation’s lowest. The continued decline is in line with trends across the country and — increasingly — around the world.

Families are waiting longer to have children and choosing to have fewer children overall, Vaidya said. He attributes that partly to women taking time to get settled into careers and partly to the cost of raising kids.

“People, they want smaller families. That’s what they prefer,” Vaidya said.

Oregon women are averaging 1.4 children over their lifetimes, according to the latest state fertility rate estimates, down from 3.2 in the 1950s.

Contraception has long been reducing the number of unplanned pregnancies. That trend accelerated in the 1960s, once birth control bills became widely available.

Demographers say fertility rates of 2.1 produce a stable population size, excluding the effects of migration.

So Oregon’s low fertility rates could point to a long-term decline in the state’s population. That’s especially true because in the years since the pandemic more people have been moving out of the state than moving in.

Already, deaths outnumber births in Oregon.

There are many possible reasons why Oregon’s birth rates are particularly low, but one explanation stands out to Vaidya: “We’re an older state.”

One of the oldest states, in fact. The median Oregonian is about 17 months older than the median American. And older people aren’t likely to have many more kids, or any more at all.

Over time, fewer births might ease traffic congestion and the state’s housing crunch. But a shrinking Oregon could have serious economic and cultural implications in the generations to come.

Some economists expect at least a modest rebound in migration into Oregon. But if migration doesn’t bounce back, the state could feel the impact of low birth rates in many ways.

“The (school) enrollment will go down and also college enrollment will go down. The main impact is on the labor force,” Vaidya said. “We will have fewer workers in the future.”