Annual Report on People with Disabilities in America: 2026 (ADSC)

The Annual Report on People with Disabilities in America (Annual Report) includes many of the key indicators identified in a comprehensive 2008 study, Keeping Track: National Disability Status and Program Performance Indicators¹, conducted by the National Council on Disability (NCD). This NCD report used a systematic approach of stakeholder input to select indicators based on data availability and ability to address key areas of interest. The resulting topical indicators were in the following areas of interest: employment, educational attainment, health and health care, financial status and security, leisure recreation, personal relationships, and crime/safety. The Annual Report tracks statistics on these topics indicate how life for people with disabilities has changed over time. For this reason, we refer to these topics as indicators.

The current set of indicators is derived from the American Community Survey (ACS), from 2008 to 2024 (the most recent year of available data). As other data sources become available, we may use those to examine other NCD indicators of interest. The ACS is an annual survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and is well-suited to track these indicators over time due to its large sample size, consistent questionnaire over the years, and multitude of variables. The ACS Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files, which allow data users to conduct customized analyses, were used to estimate the statistics enclosed. Sample weights and replicate sample weights were used to produce nationally representative statistics that account for sample design effects. Statistical significance is based on a one-tail test using a 95 percent level of confidence. Some of the tables produced here have slightly different results from those published in the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium. The Annual Report includes people living in institutions whereas the Compendium does not include people living in institutions. This year, results are presented with varying number of decimal places. The number of decimal placements is related to the precision of the measurement. Some are more precise (meaning more decimal places) because the groups are larger.

How did the lives of people with disabilities change from 2023 to 2024? The statistics show mixed results, according to the narrowing or widening of the “gaps” in key indicators between people with and without disabilities. “Calls” can be made for each of the indicators. In cases where we are certain (with at least 95 percent confidence) that a given gap exists, we consider that gap to be statistically significant. Comparisons are reported on the year over year changes for people with disabilities – whether the changes are positive or negative and any statistical significance (with at least 95 percent confidence). It is also important to note that understanding how statistical significance can be applied requires context. Whether the magnitude of any gap is meaningful from a social or policy perspective is a matter for further discussion. Please refer to the Glossary for definitions of technical terms

Houtenville, A., Kingsbury, S., Thomas, N. (2026). Annual Report on People with Disabilities in America: 2026. Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability.

1. National Council on Disability. (2008). Keeping Track: National Disability Status and Program Performance Indicators. National Council on Disability. https://files.eric. ed.gov/fulltext/ED503702.pdf

The COVID-19 Pandemic impacted the collection of ACS data in 2020. As a result, statistical tests comparing estimates from 2020 to any other year are less reliable. To explain, the ACS uses a mix of internet, mail, telephone, and in-person interviews to collect data. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, data collection activities were interrupted. In-person interviewing ceased on March 20, 2020, and only internet and telephone interviewing continued through the end of June 2020. In July and August 2020, limited in-person interviewing resumed in certain geographic areas, expanding throughout the year. However, the ACS resumed pre-COVID in-person interviewing coverage in February 2021. Mailings were also limited due to a decrease in federal staff and resources during this same period. This impacted not only mail data collection but also telephone response rates due to the lack of pre-notice mailings typically sent in advance of first contact. These challenges to data collection prompted the U.S. Census Bureau to assess the 2020 ACS 1-year for new biases (i.e., differences from previous years) because of nonresponse and coverage and examined data quality issues associated with low sample sizes high and high item non-response rates. This yielded corresponding bias in some point estimates and lower reliability of estimates. Instead of releasing the standard ACS 1-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau-issued experimental weights which, when applied, provide the best estimates for 2020 at the national and state level. Data users should not interpret substantial differences from 2020 estimates as evidence of a trend or statistically significant difference. Estimates using the experimental weights are generally considered the best possible estimates of U.S. population statistics for 2020, however, these comparisons are less reliable than estimates for other years. Due to the variance properties of the experimental estimation methodology, the standard error estimates for some estimates may be smaller than expected when compared to the equivalent variance estimates from previous years. (Visit the Census Bureau for more information on experimental weights: www. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/data/experimental-data/2020-1- year-pums.html).

This report complements the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium and infographics located online at www.researchondisability.org/ annual-disability-statistics-collection. For reasons discussed in Methods, the statistics reported in the Annual Report might differ from those reported in the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium. Help navigating any of the resources described here can be found in the Frequently Asked Questions section at www.researchondisability.org/frequently-asked-questions. Assistance interpreting and locating additional statistics is available by email at www.disability.statistics@unh.edu. Please visit the Center for Research on Disability online at www.researchondisability. org for more information about our research projects.

This section shows that in 2024, there were 338,845,000 people of all ages living in the United States. Of this group, 47,908,000 were people with disabilities. In other words, people with disabilities made up 14.14% of the US population. Refer to the Appendix to view the ACS disability questions used for these estimates.

This section analyzes the number and percentage of civilians ages 18 to 64 who live in the community, have hearing, vision, ambulatory, and/ or cognitive disability and also have an independent living disability. People could have difficulty living independently because their community is not accessible (or set up so people with disabilities cannot get around by themselves when they want). These estimates help us think about what is working and what can improve to help people live more independently. Refer to the Glossary for definitions on the Disabling Environments Index and Disability.

This section estimates the number and percentage of civilians ages 64 and younger in the U.S. who live in institutional group quarters. Institutional group quarters include places like correctional facilities and mental health treatment centers.

This section estimates the number and percentage of civilians ages 25 to 34 in the U.S. living in the community with less than a high school education.

This section estimates the number and percentage of civilians ages 25 to 34 in the U.S. living in the community with achieved a bachelor’s degree or higher. See the Glossary to learn how this was defined.

This section estimates employment to population ratios for civilians with and without disabilities ages 18 to 64 in the U.S. living in the community. See the Glossary for information about the Employment to Population Ratio.

This section shows the median earnings of full-time, full-year workers with and without disabilities ages 18-64 in the US living in the community.

This section shows the poverty rates of people with and without disabilities ages 18-64 in the US living in the community. Poverty is defined as living at the 100% Federal Poverty Level or below. See the Glossary for definitions.

This section shows health insurance coverage rates for people with and without disabilities ages 18-64 in the US living in the community. These numbers include both public and private types of health insurance. See the Glossary for definitions of public and private health insurance.

This section shows the private health insurance coverage rates of people with and without disabilities ages 18-64 in the US living in the community.

This section shows the percentages of people with and without disabilities ages 18-64 in the US living in the community who use public (or mass) transportation to get to their workplaces.

This section shows the percentages of people with and without disabilities ages 64 and younger, living in community settings who have homes that were built between 1990 and 2024.

19b. Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? [yes or no]

19c. Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing? [yes or no]

20. Answer question 20 if this person is 15 years old or over. Otherwise, SKIP to the questions for Person 2 on page 19.

20. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? [yes or no]