US Disability Statistics From 2004 American Community Survey

An estimated 39,395,000 people in the United States have a disability, or 14.8% of the population age 5 and over. An estimated 7,000 people, or 2.7% of the population 5 and over, have difficulty performing self-care activities, also known as Activities of Daily Living, such as dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home.

Subject

Population (Thousands)

With a disability (Thousands)

With a disability (Percent)

With a self-care difficulty (Thousands)

With a self-care difficulty (Percent)

Total in US
(ages 5 and over)

265,672

39,395

14.8%

2.7%

Disability Type

Sensory

10,920

20.5%

Mobility

23,853

26.7%

Cognitive

13,875

27.5%

Self-care

7,092

Leaving the home

10,849

48.2%

Work disability

21,853

27.2%

Gender

Male

129,586

18,303

14.1%

2.2%

Female

136,086

21,092

15.5%

3.1%

Age

Children (5-17)

52,876

3,370

6.4%

407

0.8%

5-15

44,851

2,821

6.3%

354

0.8%

16-17

8,025

549

6.8%

0.7%

Working Ages (18-64)

178,587

21,011

11.8%

2.0%

18-44

108,519

8,400

7.7%

1.1%

45-64

70,068

12,610

18.0%

3.3%

Elderly (65+)

34,209

15,013

43.9%

9.3%

65-74

17,985

5,867

32.6%

977

5.4%

75-84

12,366

6,293

50.9%

10.5%

85+

3,858

2,854

74.0%

899

23.3%

Race

White

206,161

31,146

15.1%

2.6%

African American

33,271

5,579

16.8%

3.5%

Asian/Pacific Islander

12,900

1,066

8.3%

203

1.6%

American Indian/Alaska Native

3,701

895

24.2%

163

4.4%

Ethnicity

Hispanic

36,098

3,764

10.4%

671

1.9%

Non-Hispanic

229,574

35,630

15.5%

2.8%

Family Income

In poverty

33,440

8,010

24.0%

4.8%

Above poverty

231,443

31,296

13.5%

2.4%

Benefit Recipiency

Social Security (OASDI)

39,528

18,207

46.1%

10.1%

Supplemental Security Income

4,742

4,532

95.6%

25.5%

Employment (Ages 18-64)

Employed

127,574

7,856

6.2%

615

0.5%

Unemployed (in labor force)

9,555

1,352

14.2%

115

1.2%

Not in labor force

40,740

11,777

28.9%

6.8%

Living Arrangement

Lives alone

30,360

9,053

29.8%

5.4%

Lives with others

235,312

30,341

12.9%

2.3%

Source: Tabulations by the Center for PAS from the 2004 American Community Survey (ACS).

About the US 2004 ACS Disability Data

The Center for Personal Assistance Services has compiled state and national data on the prevalence of overall disability and of self-care difficulty, by gender, age, race and ethnicity, type of disability, family income, benefit recipiency, employment status, and living arrangement. These statistics are based on our tabulations of public use data from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) for 2004, containing information on over 1 million residents of randomly selected U.S. households. Because it is a household survey, people living in institutions such as nursing homes are not included.

Previous years of disability data from the ACS:

Choose Another State
Select from Map	OR	Select from List

Introduction

US Statistics

State Program Data

US Legal Information

US PAS Projects

US Resources

US Library

US Links

US Disability Data Table From the 2004 American Community Survey

Estimates for 2004

About the US 2004 ACS Disability Data

Previous years of disability data from the ACS:

Choose Another State