KIRO NEWSRADIO OPINION

Gee ‘not surprised’ Seattle has one of nation’s steepest drops in fertility rates

Oct 2, 2025, 5:45 PM

Fewer women are having children across America, with Seattle hit particularly hard—the city has the second-lowest fertility rate among major U.S. cities, according to The Seattle Times, citing census data. Portland was the only city with lower fertility rates.

KIRO host Gee Scott said he’s not surprised people aren’t having children, given the uncertainty around future benefits like Social Security.

“In this area, most people that aren’t having kids—you do have some that don’t want to have kids—it’s not that they don’t want to have kids. There’s a lot of folks walking around who can’t afford to have kids,” he said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio.

Gee pointed out that none of his kids live in Seattle.

“None of them live here in Seattle. And good, because I got to tell you—it’s tough living here, like the cost of living is real,” he said.

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.

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