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IVF Use in America: State IVF Rates and Rankings [Map]

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Americans love in vitro fertilization.

Despite the fact that IVF is expensive and most insurance plans don’t cover it, more than 50,000 American children a year are born using the procedure. That works out to more than 1 percent of US births annually!

The people of Washington D.C. use IVF more than any other state and almost twice as much as the second-ranked state (Massachusetts), while those in Maine, Montana, and Wyoming don’t use IVF treatments at all — at least in their home states.

Scroll down for the complete rankings.

The United States of IVF - State IVF Rates and Rankings - Map Infographic

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The United States of IVF: State IVF Rates and Rankings

Rank State Per Capita IVF Rate
For Every 100,000 People
1 Washington D.C. 227.1
2 Massachusetts 127.9
3 Maryland 98.3
4 New York 92.6
5 New Jersey 90.9
6 Connecticut 90.1
7 Illinois 67.4
8 Rhode Island 62.9
9 Delaware 58.1
10 Hawaii 55.4
11 California 44.1
12 Nevada 42.3
13 Colorado 40.5
14 Minnesota 37.0
15 Virginia 33.9
16 Washington 33.3
17 Florida 31.6
18 Kansas 31.4
19 Ohio 31.1
19 Utah 31.1
21 Texas 30.9
22 Pennsylvania 30.5
23 Michigan 29.5
24 Oregon 29.2
25 North Carolina 27.6
26 Nebraska 27.2
27 Arizona 27.1
28 Iowa 26.6
29 Missouri 26.1
30 Georgia 25.7
31 North Dakota 24.0
32 Indiana 22.9
33 South Dakota 22.1
34 Idaho 20.5
35 South Carolina 20.1
36 Louisiana 19.2
36 Vermont 19.2
38 Alabama 19.0
39 Wisconsin 18.1
40 Oklahoma 17.3
41 Alaska 16.0
42 Tennessee 15.7
43 New Hampshire 13.1
44 Arkansas 11.3
45 New Mexico 11.0
46 Mississippi 8.6
47 Kentucky 8.3
48 West Virginia 5.3
49 Maine* 0
49 Montana** 0
49 Wyoming** 0

* Maine had one fertility clinic fail to report its success rates.
** Montana and Wyoming have no fertility clinics.

States That Use IVF the Most

All of the top five and eight of the top ten states for IVF are located on the east coast (Washington D.C., Massachusetts, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Delaware).

It’s also interesting that all of the top ten states have lower-than-average percentages of people without health insurance coverage (the national average was 15.8).

States That Use IVF the Least

The ten lowest-ranked states are spread over more regions, tend to be located in low-density states with low populations and low average household incomes.

This helps explain why so few IVF procedures are performed in these places. Because IVF treatments cost a lot of money out-of-pocket, people in these states can’t afford as many procedures as their top-ranked counterparts.

How I Created State IVF Rates and Rankings

Using 2008 data on fertility clinic success rates from the CDC and 2008 state populations from the US Census Bureau, I created per capita IVF rates for each state. Per capita IVF rates tell us how many IVF cycles were started in each state for every 100,000 people living there.

These statistics count the total number of IVF cycles started using a woman’s own fresh and frozen eggs. Some IVF cycles may include additional fertility treatments such as GIFT, ZIFT, ICSI, and blastocyst transfers.

These statistics don’t count IVF treatments that used donor eggs, nor do they indicate states’ IVF success rates (live birth rates).


4 Responses to IVF Use in America: State IVF Rates and Rankings [Map]

  1. Em June 14, 2011 at 12:25 pm #

    Thanks for creating this!

    It’s worth noting that MA does have a fertility coverage mandate and one that is very hard for employers to get around (unlike my impression of the IL or LA mandates). I’m not as sure about DC-area law and the federal worker options, but MD also has a mandate. In any case, IVF on my employer’s plan in MA runs $200 out of pocket (including meds) and the insurance covers up to 6 cycles. I think that explains the situation even better

    Also, age at first attempt to get pregnant– places with higher female employment in higher status careers would be more likely to see high IVF rates. I bet that aligns fairly well with your ranking as well.

    Reply
  2. Mae June 16, 2011 at 3:32 am #

    No matter which way you look at it, doing IVF or even a mini IVF is so expensive! Just to give you guys a little hope, my husband and I were heartbroken at the prospect, because we just couldn’t afford $15k upfront. We were pretty desperate and we did a lot of research and then were told about a product called BeeFertile and both decided to try it (they have a couples kit). We were really skeptical, but at this point $300 vs. $15,000 was no contest, and let’s face it, we were willing to try anything at this point! It took just a few months and my pregnancy test came up positive!! And as a side note, I had polycystic ovaries and a really hard time ovulating. Just getting this out for all the girls in my similar circumstance. Good luck everybody!

    Reply
  3. kc June 18, 2011 at 3:47 am #

    From an epidemiologic standpoint, while this is interesting, it’s totally an unfair comparison for DC. They’re comparing one high income city (DC) to whole states. Of course there will be more IVF among the higher income and in cities, and that’s what that number reflects. If they showed NYC alone, numbers probably wouldn’t be that different. Whenever you see any stats for DC, remember that a city is being compared to whole states in any comparison. Truly apples and oranges. Whomever wrote this has little grasp of numbers.

    Reply
  4. Abbie Waters June 20, 2011 at 5:58 pm #

    kc – the methods used on this project are valid. DC stands out because it is our only city state. If DC’s inclusion in the results really concerns you, then ignore DC. Asking and answering questions about IVF–or any other social phenomena– on the state level is valid and common–among epidemiologists, criminologists, sociologists, and all other social researchers.

    How do you think we get per capita murder rates or obesity rates for states?

    Reply

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