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Basic Facts: People with Disabilities

How Many People in the United States Have a Disability?

• An estimated 48.9 million people, or 19.4% of the non-institutionalized civilians, have a disability.
• An estimated 24.1 million people have a severe disability.
• An estimated 34.2 million people, or 17.5%, have a functional limitation.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) - 1992

As defined in the 1994 Census survey, a person with a severe disability is one who is unable to perform one or more activities of daily living; has one or more specific disabilities; or is a long-term user of assistive devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, and walkers.

As defined in the 1994 Census survey, a person with a non-severe disability is one who has difficulty performing functional activities such as hearing, seeing, having one's speech understood, lifting, carrying, climbing stairs and walking; or has difficulty with activities of daily living.

What Are the Employment Rates for People with Disabilities?

People with disabilities of working age (21 to 64 years old) are employed at a rate considerably below the general population. The U.S. Census Bureau information for individuals of working age in the United States indicates that:

• 82% of the general population are employed
• Among all people with disabilities of working age (29.4 million), 52% are employed
• Among people with severe disabilities (14.2 million), 26% are employed

Source: U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) - 1994

The more recent U.S. Current Population Survey indicates similar findings. From 1997-1999, for individuals aged 25 to 61 years old, in the United States:

• 88% of people without disabilities worked 52 hours or more in the previous year
• 34% of people with disabilities worked 52 hours or more in the previous year

Source: U.S. Current Population Survey, analysis by Cornell University RRTC. The definition of disability is based on self-reporting a health problem or disability that prevents an individual from working or that limits the kind or amount of work an individual can do

Employment and People with Disabilities

• Among adults with disabilities of working age (18 to 64 years old), three out of ten (29%) work full- or part-time, compared to eight out of ten (79%) of those without disabilities-- a gap of fifty percentage points.
• Among those with disabilities age 16 to 64 who are not employed, seven out of ten (72%) say that they would prefer to work.
• Among adults with disabilities who work full-time, fewer than half (46%) say that their work requires them to use their full talents or abilities, compared to two out of three (66%) in 1994.
• Fully one-third (34%) of adults with disabilities lived in a household that had an annual income of less than $15,000 in 1997, compared to only about one in eight (12%) of those without disabilities. This twenty-two-point gap between the percentage of disabled and non-disabled persons living in very low income households has remained virtually the same since 1986.
• Just over half (54%) of adults with disabilities have heard of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Source: 1998 National Organization on Disability/Louis Harris & Associates Survey of Americans with Disabilities

Facts About Specific Disabilities

• An estimated 2.5 million people, or 1% of the population, have a developmental disability
• In any one-year period, an estimated 51.3 million people, or 28% of the population, have a developmental disability
• About 5 million people, or 2.8% of the adult population, have a severe developmental disability

Source: National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research - 1996

Almost One-Third of All Families Are Impacted by Disability

• An estimated 20.3 million families, or 29% of all families in the United States, have at least one member with a disability

Source: 1990 Family Resource Supplement to the National Health Interview Survey

©The National Service Inclusion Project is a cooperative agreement (#01CAM0016) between the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Institute for Community Inclusion at UMass Boston in collaboration with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities.