Latest U.S. Disability Statistics and Facts
Topic: Disability Statistics
Author: U.S. Census Bureau
Published: 2011/07/26
Contents: Summary - Introduction - Main Item - Related Topics
Synopsis: Figures facts and statistics relating to disability in America today supplied by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Introduction
Census Bureau News - Facts for Features: Anniversary of Americans with Disabilities Act: July 26.Main Item
On July 26th 19 years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act became effective. Signed into law two years earlier, the goal was to guarantee equal opportunity for people with disabilities in public and commercial facilities.
The Americans with Disabilities Act guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities in public accommodations, commercial facilities, employment, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunications.
Quick Facts:
There are 36 million people who have at least one disability, about 12 percent of the total U.S. population.
Those with vision difficulties number 6.5 million, while 19.4 million have problems walking or climbing stairs.
Another 13.5 million have difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
Population Distribution:
36 million - Number of people who have a disability. They represent 12 percent of the civilian non-institutionalized population.
By age:
5 percent of children 5 to 17 have disabilities.
10 percent of people 18 to 64 have disabilities.
37 percent of adults 65 and older have disabilities.
12.3% - Percentage of females with a disability, compared with 11.6 percent of males.
18.8% - Percentage of people with a disability in West Virginia, highest of all states. Utah has the lowest with 8.9 percent of its residents reporting a disability.
Specific Disabilities:
10.2 million - Number of people who have a hearing difficulty. Of these, 5.8 million are 65 and older.
6.5 million - Number of people with a vision difficulty.
13.5 million - Number of people 5 and older who have difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions. Of these, 2.1 million are children 5 to 17 years of age.
19.4 million - Number of people 5 and older who have difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
On the Job:
6% - Percentage of disabled workers 16 and older who use public transportation to commute to work. In addition, 70 percent of people with a disability drive alone, 13 percent carpool, 4 percent walk and 3 percent use a taxicab, motorcycle, bicycle or other means.
22% - Percentage of disabled workers 16 and older who work in the educational services and health care and social assistance industries, the highest of any industry.
Income and Poverty:
21% - Percent of the population age 16 and older with a disability that are below the poverty level. Eleven percent of the population age 16 and older without a disability are below the poverty level.
72% - Percentage of disabled people 16 and older who are not in the labor force. Twenty-seven percent of people without a disability are not in the labor force.
$18,865 - Median earnings of the population age 16 and older with a disability, this compares with $28,983 for the population without a disability.
Serving Our Nation:
$35.3 billion - Amount of compensation veterans received for service-connected disabilities in fiscal year 2008.
Education:
28% - Percentage of people 25 and older with a disability who have less than a high school graduate education. This compares with 12 percent for those with no disability.
13% - Percentage of people 25 and older with a disability who have a bachelor's degree or higher. This compares with 31 percent for those with no disability.
Source: 2009 American Community Survey factfinder.census.gov
NOTE: The preceding data were collected from a variety of sources and may be subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.
Explore Related Topics
1 - Long COVID Among People With Pre-existing Disabilities - Survey reveals individuals with pre-existing disabilities had long COVID and much higher rates than peers.
2 - Factors Associated With Learning Disabilities and Autism Led to Euthanasia Requests and Assisted Suicide in the Netherlands - The study found reasons for people with learning disabilities and autism choosing euthanasia and assisted suicide included feelings of loneliness and a struggle to form friendships.
3 - U.S. Rates of Autism Climb to 1 in 44 (2.3%) Children - U.S. federal studies coauthored by autism experts find more children have been diagnosed with autism than at any time since monitoring began over two decades ago.
4 - Major Improvement in Disability Prevalence Among U.S. Seniors - Statistics reveal the prevalence of disabilities among American adults aged 65 and older is much lower than it was for the same age group a decade earlier.
5 - Wheelchairs Users Least Accommodated Among Marginalized Groups - BraunAbility survey reveals people who use wheelchairs found least accommodated among marginalized groups with only 23% of mobility disability community believing people with mobility challenges are fairly accommodated.
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Cite This Page (APA): U.S. Census Bureau. (2011, July 26). Latest U.S. Disability Statistics and Facts. Disabled World. Retrieved October 11, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/census-figures.php
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