Population - Women Ages 18-44

Population - Women Ages 18-44 in United States

United States

Women of reproductive age represent 17.7% of the total population in the United States, more than 58.4 million individuals. Between 1980 and 2017, the number of women ages 25-44 increased by 35%. 

Working women, who represent a substantial portion of the U.S. labor force, were hit especially hard by the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. More than half of the 4.2 million Americans who left the labor force in the first year of the pandemic were women. In particular, Hispanic and Black women in particular faced a sharper decline in employment than other women during this period. Because 2 out of 3 caregivers are women, the pandemic has added additional stress to many women’s lives. Caregivers are at higher risk for depression, anxiety and poor physical health.

Women ages 18-44 have specific health concerns, which include: 

• Heavy menstrual bleeding or menorrhagia happens to one in every five women.
• In addition to immediate trauma, intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with negative mental and physical health outcomes that may affect the heart, digestive, reproductive, nervous or other systems in the long term. 
• Mental health conditions such as depression heavily impact women more than men and tend to impact them differently. 
• HIV and sexually transmitted infections since women still struggle to get the protection and treatment they need to fight against these infections. 

Some health conditions are more common among women than men. For example, the prevalence of depression is higher among women than men, due in part to puberty-, pregnancy-, menstruation- and menopause-related conditions and hormonal changes.

Racial/ethnic minority women face even more severe health disparities. For example, Black women experience exponentially higher rates of maternal mortality and a higher prevalence of several chronic diseases associated with maternal morbidity, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and anemia.

Albert, Paul R. “Why Is Depression More Prevalent in Women?” Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience 40, no. 4 (July 2015): 219–21. https://doi.org/10.1503/jpn.150205.

Brody, Debra J., Laura A. Pratt, and Jeffery P. Hughes. “Prevalence of Depression Among Adults Aged 20 and Over: United States, 2013–2016.” NCHS Data Brief No. 303. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics, February 2018. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db303.htm.

Chinn, Juanita J., Iman K. Martin, and Nicole Redmond. “Health Equity Among Black Women in the United States.” Journal of Women’s Health 30, no. 2 (February 1, 2021): 212–19. https://doi.org/10.1089/jwh.2020.8868.