Fertility in Two Urban Mexican-American Populations

Mexican-Americans are commonly described as exhibiting exceptionally high fertility levels and large completed families. This generalization is explored in two urban Mexican-American populations in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Completed fertility in both populations, measured by the achieved reproduction (number of live births) of women age 40 and older, is lower than the Mexican-American national average, and this is probably related to certain unique features of population structure and demographic dynamics.The two urbanized populations are geographically distinct from other Mexican-Americans, and they are heterogeneous "cosmospolitan" communities rather than closed endogamous enclaves. This study supports the generally observed association between urbanization and fertility reduction.