During a 12-month period in 2005 and 2006, Utah saw 83.2 births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age, compared with the national average of just 54.9 births per 1,000 women.

The report, based on a survey of women who gave birth during that period, also shows that compared with the national average, new mothers in Utah were less likely to be foreign-born, single parents, or living in poverty.

Utah also ranked higher than the national average in the number of new mothers who had graduated from high school.

Pam Perlich, a demographer at the University of Utah, said that the rankings are not surprising, because Utah has more children per capita than any other state, has the youngest population and the largest households in the nation.

"Utahns traditionally marry young and start their families early," she said. "Women in Utah have more kids period. That's been the case for many generations."

Utah women between the ages of 15 and 50 who were on public assistance had almost four times the normal Utah birthrate at 264.6 births per 1,000 women, making it the highest such rate in the nation, but that statistic reports a 66.6 plus or minus margin of error, which could change the state's ranking in that category.

cmayorga@utah.edu