In 2022, it was estimated that around 26 percent of people in the United States living with a disability were in poverty. In comparison, the poverty rate among people in the U.S. without a disability was 11.5 percent. A disability is any physical or mental condition that significantly impacts a person's ability to carry out daily tasks or life activities.
How many people in the United States are disabled?
In 2022, around 14 percent of people in the United States were thought to be living with a disability. Types of disabilities include those that affect hearing, cognition, self-care, mobility, and vision. The most common type of disability in the United States is ambulatory disabilities, which impair a person’s ability to walk. In 2021, almost 30 percent of those aged 75 years and older in the U.S. had an ambulatory disability. However, disabilities are far less common among younger people, with less than five percent of those aged 21 to 64 suffering from an ambulatory disability.
Employment among the disabled
The most obvious reason why the poverty rate among those with a disability is higher than those without a disability is because disabilities affect a person’s ability to work and be employed. In 2022, the employment rate for those with a disability was 44.5 percent, compared to an employment rate of 79 percent among those without a disability. Those with hearing disabilities are the most likely to be employed, with a rate of around 56 percent, compared to an employment rate of 27 percent among those with an ambulatory disability. Still, those with disabilities who do work have lower annual median earnings than those without disabilities. In 2022, the annual median earnings for U.S. adults without a disability was 55,208 U.S. dollars, compared to 46,887 U.S. dollars for those with a disability.
