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

 

• 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