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Disabilities

Quick Takes

Published: August 2011

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Population
  • In 2009, it is estimated there were 36,150,710 people with disabilities in the U.S.1*
    • 12.0% of the U.S. population
    • 19,008,782 women and 17,141,928 men
  • 10,214,797 people had a hearing disability.2
  • 6,451,397 people had a vision disability.3
  • 13,533,535 had a cognitive difficulty.4
  • 19,367,109 had an ambulatory difficulty.5
  • 7,161,997 had a self-care difficulty.6
  • 12,792,159 had an independent living difficulty.7
Labor Force8

 chart

  • In 2009, an estimated 8,202,830 of people ages 18-64 in the labor force with a disability.9
  • Median Earnings:
    • All workers with a disability: $18,865
    • Women with a disability: $15,459
    • Men with a disability: $22,35110
  • In 2009, of people with disabilities, 6,723,694 were employed, 1,479,136 were unemployed, and 10,851,757 were not in the labor force.11
  • During the Fiscal Year 2010, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received 25,165 charges of disability discrimination.12
  • The Job Accommodation Network discovered that of accommodations done by employers, 49.4% of employers completed accommodations with no cost, and 50.6% of employers who completed accommodations had a cost of less than $600.13
    • Of those with cost, 84.7% was a one-time cost
    • The remaining 15.3% had either an annual cost or a combination of one-time and annual costs
Race/Ethnicity

Race

# of People with Disabilities

% of Race

% of Disabled Population

% of Total Population

African American14

5,023,180

13.7

13.9

1.7

White (Non-Hispanic)15

25,305,921

12.9

70.0

8.4

American Indian/Alaska Native16

389, 602

16.3

1.1

0.1

Asian17

897,256

6.6

2.5

0.3

Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander18

42,835

9.7

0.1

0.001

Hispanic19

3,963,235

8.3

11.0

1.3

* People may have more than one disability.

Sources

1 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18101: Sex by Age By Disability Status For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

2 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18102: Sex by Age By Hearing Disability For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

3 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18103: Sex by Age By Vision Disability For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

4 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18104: Sex by Age By Cognitive Difficulty For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

5 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18105: Sex by Age By Ambulatory Difficulty For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population 5 Years And Over" (2009).

6 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18106: Sex by Age By Self-Care Difficulty For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

7 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18107: Sex by Age By Independent Living Difficulty For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

8 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18120: Employment Status by Disability Status For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Aged 18 to 64 Years," (2009).

9 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18120: Employment Status by Disability Status For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Aged 18 to 64 Years," (2009).

10 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18140: Median Earnings in the Past 12 Months (in 2009 Inflation-Adjusted Dollars) by Disability Status by Sex for the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population 16 Years and Over with Earnings," (2009).

11 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "C18120: Median Employment Status by Disability Status For The Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population Aged 18 to 64 Years," (2009).

12 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, "Charge Statistics: FY 1997 Through FY 2010."

13 Job Accommodation Network, "Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost, High Impact" (2007).

14 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101B: Age by Disability Status (Black or African American Alone) For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

15 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101H: Age by Disability Status (White Non-Hispanic Alone) For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

16 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101C: Age by Disability Status (American Indian/Alaska Native Alone) For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

17 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101D: Age by Disability Status (Asian Alone) For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

18 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101E: Age by Disability Status (Native Hawaiian & Other Pacific Islander Alone) For The Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

19 U.S. Census, American Community Survey 2009 1-Year Estimates, "B18101I: Age by Disability Status (Hispanic or Latino Alone) For the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population," (2009).

UPDATED on August 16, 2011

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