Pregnancy can derail a young woman's life, preventing her from furthering her education or growing up to be self-sufficient. Babies born to teen mothers are at higher risk of having a low birth weight and of infant mortality compared to babies born to older mothers. They are also at risk of lower cognitive development, poor educational outcomes and living in poverty.

In 2021, the teen birth rate was 27 per 1,000 in Arkansas, making the state 51st in the nation for this indicator, including the 50 states and Washington, D.C. The rate has fallen 49% since 2010. Despite this improvement, the state's rate is still far higher than the national rate of 14 per 1,000. In 2022, the rate was higher among Black or African American (35) and Hispanic or Latino (28) teens than among white teens (24). The rate declined the most among Hispanic teens, falling 58% since 2010.

Within Arkansas, teen birth rates in 2022 ranged from less than 15 per 1,000 in Saline, Faulkner, and Columbia counties to more than 70 per 1,000 in Monroe and Dallas counties. Data from counties with a count of less than ten was suppressed.

Rates do not represent a unique count of births as a female may have more than one pregnancy within a given year.