Disability Impacts All of Us

US Population with Disabilities

• 26 percent (1 in 4) of adults in the United States have some type of disability
• The percentage of people living with disabilities is highest in the South.

Data by state can be referenced on State Population with Disabilities

Percentage of adults with functional disability types

• 13.7% of people with a disability have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.
• 10.8% of people with a disability have a cognition disability with serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions.
• 6.8% of people with a disability have an independent living disability with difficulty doing errands alone.
• 5.9% of people with a disability are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing
• 4.6% of people with a disability have a vision disability with blindness or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses.
• 3.6 percent of people with a disability have a self-care disability with difficulty dressing or bathing.

Disability and Communities

Disability is especially common in these groups, older adults, women and minorites.

• 2 in 5 adults age 65 years and older have a disability
• 1 in 4 women have a disability.
• 2 in 5 non-Hispanic American Indians/ Alaska Natives have a disability.

Disability and Health

Adults living with disabilities are more likely to be obese, smoke, have heart disease and diabetes:

• 38.2% of adults with a disability are obese while 26.2% of adults without a disability are obese.
• 28.2% of adults with a disability smoke while 13.4% of adults without a disability smoke.
• 11.5% of adults with a disability have heart disease while 3.8% of adults without a disability have heart disease.
• 11.5% of adults with a disability have heart disease while 3.8% of adults without a disability have heart disease.

Disability and Healthcare Access

Health care access barriers for working-age adults include:

• 1 in 3 adults with disabilities 18 to 44 years do not have a usual health care provider
• 1 in 3 adults with disabilities 18 to 44 years have an unmet health care need because of cost in the past year
• 1 in 4 adults with disabilities 45 to 64 years did not have a routine check-up in the past year

Making a Difference

Public health is for all of us.

Join CDC and its partners as we work together to improve the health of people living with disabilities. CDC and its partners work together to improve the lives of people with disabilities by:

• Promoting healthy living
• Monitoring public health data
• Researching and reducing health disparities
• Building inclusive health programs
• Improving access to health care