PROFILE AMERICA FACTS FOR
FEATURES: CB17-FF.11
JUNE
6, 2017
On
July 26, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed
into law the Americans with Disabilities Act,
which prohibits discrimination against people with
disabilities in employment, transportation, public
accommodations, commercial facilities,
telecommunications, and state and local government
services.
This
Facts for Features provides a demographic snapshot
of the U.S. population with a disability and
examines various services available to them. The
statistics come from various Census Bureau
censuses and surveys, covering differing periods
of time.
Population
Distribution
56.7
million
The number of people in the United
States with a disability in 2010, representing
19.0 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population. People with a disability have a
physical or mental impairment that affects one or
more major life activities, such as walking,
bathing, dressing, eating, preparing meals, doing
errands alone or doing housework. A disability can
occur at birth or at any point in a person’s
life.
Source: Americans With Disabilities: 2010
www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2012/demo/p70-131.pdfht
15.7
million
The
number of people age 65 and older with at least
one disability, according to data collected from
2008 to 2012, which makes up 39.0 percent of the
population in this age group. Of this group,
two-thirds had difficulty in walking or climbing
stairs. The second-most cited disability was
difficulty with independent living, such as
visiting a doctor’s office or shopping. Source:
Older Americans With a Disability:
2008-2012
www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2014/acs/acs-29.pdf
19.4%
The percentage of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population in West Virginia
in 2015 with a disability — the highest rate of
any state in the nation. Utah, at 9.9 percent, had
the lowest rate. Source: 2015 American Community
Survey, Table S1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US01PR
28.7%
The percentage of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population in Pike County,
Ky., in 2015 with a disability — among the highest
rate in the nation for counties with populations
of 65,000 or more. Kendall County, Ill., at 4.9
percent, had among the lowest rate. Source: 2015
American Community Survey, Table S1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US05PR
22.4%
The percentage of the civilian
noninstitutionalized population in Flint, Mich.,
in 2015 with a disability — among the highest rate
in the nation among places with populations of
65,000 or more. Fishers, Ind., at 3.5 percent, had
among the lowest rate. A place is a city, town,
village or borough, either legally incorporated or
not. Source: 2015 American Community Survey, Table
GCT1810 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/GCT1810.US13PR
Services
for Those With Disabilities
2,833
The number of business establishments
providing special needs transportation in 2012, up
20.7 percent from 2,347 in 2007. Such
businesses
may use specially equipped vehicles to provide
passenger transportation. These businesses
employed 61,605 people in 2012 and generated
revenues of $3.5 billion. Employment was up 24.0
percent and revenues increased 27.7 percent since
2007. Source: 2012 and 2007 Comparative Economic
Census Geographic Area Series (NAICS
485991) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/48A2//naics~485991
14,060
The number of business establishments
that provided pet care (except veterinary
services) in 2012. These businesses generated
revenues of $3.4 billion. Among these businesses
are those that train assistance dogs. Source: 2012
and 2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic
Area Series (NAICS
812910)
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/81A2//naics~812910
25,964
The number of business establishments
primarily providing services for the elderly and
persons with disabilities in 2012. These
establishments provided for the welfare of these
individuals in such areas as day care, nonmedical
home care or homemaker services, social
activities, group support and companionship. These
businesses employed 901,359 workers and generated
$34.1 billion in revenues. In 2015, these
businesses generated $40.7 billion in revenues.
Sources:
2012 Comparative-Economic Census
Geographic Area Series (NAICS
624120)
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/62A2//naics~62412
2015
Service Annual Survey (NAICS
624120)
www.census.gov/services/index.html,
Table 2
7,832
The number of business establishments
providing vocational rehabilitation services in
2012. These businesses employed 312,659 people and
generated revenues of $12.4 billion. In 2007,
there were 7,631 such establishments, employing
303,713 people and producing revenues of $11.5
billion. These businesses provide job
counseling, job training and work experience to
people with disabilities. Source: 2012 and
2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area
Series (NAICS
624310)
http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/62A2//naics~624310
2,344
The number of business establishments
providing translation and interpretation services
in 2012. These businesses employed 24,926 people
and generated revenues of $4.2 billion. In 2007,
there were 1,975 such establishments, employing
14,546 people and producing revenues of $1.9
billion. Among these businesses are those that
provide sign language services. Source: 2012 and
2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area
Series (NAICS
541930) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/54A2//naics~541930
3,597
The number of business establishments
providing home health equipment rental in 2012,
down 4.4 percent from 3,762 in 2007. Such
businesses
rent home-type health and invalid equipment, such
as wheelchairs, hospital beds, oxygen tanks, etc.
These businesses employed 33,935 people in
2012 and generated revenues of $5.4 billion.
Employment was up 2.8 percent while revenues
decreased 7.8 percent since 2007. Source: 2012 and
2007 Comparative Economic Census Geographic Area
Series (NAICS
532291) http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ECN/2012_US/53A2//naics~532291
Specific
Disabilities
Note:
All statistics in this section come from the 2015
American Community Survey, measuring the civilian
noninstitutionalized population. http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/S1810
10.8
million
The
number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who
reported being deaf or having significant
difficulty hearing. Among the population age 65
and older, 6.9 million reported being deaf or
having significant difficulty hearing.
6.8
million
The number of people age 18 and older
in 2015 who had serious difficulty seeing even
when wearing glasses. Among
people age 65 and older, 3.0 million had serious
difficulty seeing.
20.6
million
The
number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had
serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
Among people age 65 and older, 10.5 million had
serious difficulty walking or climbing
stairs.
12.9
million
The
number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had
serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or
making decisions due to a physical, mental or
emotional condition. Among people age 65 and
older, 4.2 million had serious difficulty
concentrating, remembering or making
decisions.
14.2
million
The
number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had
difficulty doing errands alone, such as visiting a
doctor’s office or shopping,
due to a physical, mental or emotional
condition.
Among people age 65 and older, 6.9 million had
difficulty doing errands alone.
7.5
million
The
number of people age 18 and older in 2015 who had
difficulty dressing or bathing. Among people age
65 and older, 3.8 million had difficulty dressing
or bathing.
Older
People With a Disability
Note:
The source for this section is Older
Americans With a Disability: 2008-2012,
which presents statistics from the 2008-2012
American Community Survey.
25.4%
The
percentage of the population age 85 and older with
a disability among the population age 65 and
older.
More
Than One-Third
The
proportion of people age 85 and older with a
disability who lived alone, is about one-fourth of
those aged 65 to 74.
54.4%
The
percentage of the older population who had not
graduated from high school and had a disability,
twice the rate of those with a bachelor’s degree
or higher (26.0 percent).
12.6%
The
percentage of older Americans living in a
household with a disability living in poverty,
compared with 7.2 percent of the older household
population without a disability.
Earnings
$21,572
The
median earnings in the past 12 months for people
with a disability. This is 69.0 percent of the
median earnings, $31,872, for those without a
disability. (Both figures pertain to the civilian,
noninstitutionalized population age 16 and older,
with earnings in the past 12 months.) Source: 2015
American Community Survey, Table B18140 http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/ACS/15_1YR/B18140
Mobility
Note:
The source for the statistics in this section
is
Desire
to Move and Residential Mobility:
2010-2011,
which come from the Survey
of Income and Program Participation.
12.5%
The
percentage of householders with a disability who
desired to move to another residence, higher than
the corresponding figure of 8.2 percent for those
without a disability. Those with mental
disabilities were the most likely to desire to
move (20.6 percent).
17.3%
The
percentage of householders with a disability who
desired to move to another residence and actually
did so over a one-year period.
9.3%
The
percentage of all householders with a disability
who moved to another residence over a one-year
period.
The
following is a list of observances typically
covered by the Census Bureau’s
Facts
for Features
series:
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