Minnesota has some of country’s lowest teen pregnancy rates – but worst racial disparities

Minnesota’s teen pregnancy rates have been falling since 1990, but experts and advocates say federal cuts to pregnancy prevention programs could set back years of progress and leave racial and geographic disparities unaddressed.

A recent annual report showed continued but unequal progress in reducing teen pregnancies in Minnesota. The 2026 Minnesota Adolescent Sexual Health Report showed that in 2024, the most recent data available, there were 11 pregnancies for every 1,000 people between 15-19 years old, compared with 59 per 1,000 in 1990. 

The same trend is happening in Hennepin County, where birth rates among teens aged 15-19 have dropped by 75% since 2006, according to figures provided to MinnPost by the county. 

But while Minnesota has some of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the nation, Jill Farris, director of training and education...