Disability Status: 2000 Issued March 2003 Census 2000 Brief
C2KBR-17
Figure 1.
Reproduction of the Questions on Disability From Census 2000
16 Does this person have any of the following long-lasting conditions:
Yes No
a. Blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment?
b. A condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying?
17 Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition lasting 6 months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities:
Yes No
a. Learning, remembering, or concentrating?
b. Dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home?
c. (Answer if this person is 16 YEARS OLD OR OVER.) Going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor’s office?
d. (Answer if this person is 16 YEARS OLD OR OVER.) Working at a job or business?
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.
Census 2000 counted 49.7 million people with some type of long last- ing condition or disabili- ty.1 They represented 19.3 percent of the 257.2 million people who were aged 5 and older in the civilian non- institutionalized popula- tion — or nearly one person in five (see Table 1).2 Within this population, Census 2000 found:
• 9.3 million (3.6 per- cent) with a sensory disability involving sight or hearing.
• 21.2 million (8.2 percent) with a condition limiting basic physical activi- ties, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying.
• 12.4 million (4.8 per- cent) with a physical, mental, or emotional condition causing difficulty
1 The estimates in this report are based on responses from a sample of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary from the actual val- ues because of sampling variation or other factors. All statements made in this report have undergone statistical testing and are significant at the 90-per- cent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.
2 In this report, the population universe for peo- ple with disabilities excludes people in the military and people who are in institutions.
•
•
in learning, remembering, or concen- trating.
6.8 million (2.6 percent) with a physi- cal, mental, or emotional condition causing difficulty in dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home.
18.2 million of those aged 16 and older with a condition that made it difficult to go outside the home to shop or visit a doctor (8.6 percent of
By Judith Waldrop and Sharon M. Stern
USCENSUSBUREAU Helping You Make Informed Decisions
U.S.Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAUTable 1.
Characteristics of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population by Age, Disability Status, and Type of Disability: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see
www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Characteristic
Population 5 and older ...................
Withanydisability.........................
Population 5 to 15........................
Withanydisability......................... Sensory................................ Physical................................ Mental ................................. Self-care ...............................
Population 16 to 64.......................
Withanydisability......................... Sensory................................ Physical................................ Mental ................................. Self-care ............................... Difficulty going outside the home.......... Employment disability....................
Population 65 and older ..................
Withanydisability......................... Sensory................................ Physical................................ Mental ................................. Self-care ............................... Difficulty going outside the home..........
Total
Number
257,167,527
49,746,248
45,133,667
2,614,919 442,894 455,461
2,078,502 419,018
178,687,234
33,153,211 4,123,902 11,150,365 6,764,439 3,149,875 11,414,508 21,287,570
33,346,626
13,978,118 4,738,479 9,545,680 3,592,912 3,183,840 6,795,517
Male Female
Percent Number Percent Number Percent
100.0 124,636,825 100.0 132,530,702 100.0
19.3 24,439,531 19.6 25,306,717 19.1
100.0 23,125,324 100.0 22,008,343 100.0
5.8 1,666,230 7.2 948,689 4.3 1.0 242,706 1.0 200,188 0.9 1.0 251,852 1.1 203,609 0.9 4.6 1,387,393 6.0 691,109 3.1 0.9 244,824 1.1 174,194 0.8
100.0 87,570,583 100.0 91,116,651 100.0
18.6 17,139,019 19.6 16,014,192 17.6 2.3 2,388,121 2.7 1,735,781 1.9 6.2 5,279,731 6.0 5,870,634 6.4 3.8 3,434,631 3.9 3,329,808 3.7 1.8 1,463,184 1.7 1,686,691 1.9 6.4 5,569,362 6.4 5,845,146 6.4
11.9 11,373,786 13.0 9,913,784 10.9
100.0 13,940,918 100.0 19,405,708 100.0
41.9 5,634,282 40.4 8,343,836 43.0 14.2 2,177,216 15.6 2,561,263 13.2 28.6 3,590,139 25.8 5,955,541 30.7 10.8 1,380,060 9.9 2,212,852 11.4
9.5 1,044,910 7.5 2,138,930 11.0 20.4 2,339,128 16.8 4,456,389 23.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
the 212.0 million people this age).
• 21.3 million of those aged 16 to 64 with a condition that affected their ability to work at a job or business (11.9 percent of the 178.7 million people this age).
This report is part of a series that presents population and housing data collected by Census 2000. It presents data on the disability sta- tus of people aged 5 and older in the civilian noninstitutionalized population, and describes the geo- graphic distribution of people with disabilities for the United States,3
including regions, states, counties, and places with populations of 100,000 or more.
Information on disability was first collected in the 1830 census and the questions have evolved over the decades. Census 2000 asked two questions (see Figure 1) about long- lasting conditions among the popu- lation aged 5 and older. The first question, with two subparts, focused on long-lasting impair- ments involving vision or hearing (sensory disability) and certain physical limitations, such as difficul- ty walking or climbing stairs (physi- cal disability). The second question, with four subparts, concentrated on difficulty performing certain activi- ties due to a physical, mental, or emotional condition. People aged 5
and older were asked if they experi- enced difficulty with cognitive tasks such as learning, remembering, and concentrating (mental disability). They were also asked about difficul- ty in taking care of personal needs like dressing and bathing (self-care disability). People aged 16 and older were asked if they experi- enced difficulty going outside the home to shop or visit the doctor. Additionally, people in this group were asked if a physical, mental, or emotional condition caused them difficulty working at a job or busi- ness (employment disability).
This report uses a disability status indicator to present estimates of the number and percentage of peo- ple with disabilities. People were defined as having a disability if
3 The text of this report discusses data for the United States, including the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in Table 3 and Figure 5.
2 U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 2.
Percentage of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population With Any Disability by Age and Sex: 2000
(For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Male Female
5 to 15
16 to 64
65 and older
7.2 4.3
19.6 17.6
40.4 43.0
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
one or more of the following con- ditions were true:
• They were aged 5 or older and responded “yes” to a sensory, physical, mental, or self-care disability.
• They were aged 16 years or older and responded “yes” to a disability affecting going outside the home.
• They were between the ages of 16 and 64 and responded “yes” to an employment disability.
When referring to people with dis- abilities, this report does not dis- tinguish between people who responded positively to only one of the subparts and those who responded positively to more than one. As a result, the terms “with a disability,” “with any disability,” and “with one or more disabilities” are used interchangeably through- out the report.
Census 2000 asked for disability information from all people aged 5 and older, except those responding to special military or shipboard questionnaires. This report consid-
ers only the civilian noninstitution- alized population.
As a result of extensive discussions with the disability and policy research communities, the Census 2000 questions on disability were substantially different from the 1990 questions on this topic. While Census 2000 gathered data from the population aged 5 and older, data collected in 1990 came only from the population aged 15 and older. The 1990 questions focused on conditions limiting work, going outside the home, and self-care, but did not specify sensory impair- ments or conditions restricting walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying. Because of the major differences between the dis- ability questions in 1990 and 2000, comparisons between the two cen- suses are not recommended.
Census 2000 showed disability rising with age.
Disability rates rose with age for both sexes, but significant differ- ences existed between men and women, as illustrated in Figure 2. For people under 65 years old, the
prevalence of disability among men and boys was higher than among women and girls. In con- trast, disability rates were higher for women than men aged 65 and older.
Specifically, in 2000, the disability rate was 7.2 percent for boys 5 to 15 years old and 4.3 percent for girls the same age. Nearly two- thirds of all children with disabili- ties were boys. Census 2000 found 1.7 million boys this age with one or more disabilities, compared with 949,000 girls this age.
Among people aged 16 to 64 in the civilian noninstitutionalized popula- tion, 19.6 percent of men and 17.6 percent of women reported one or more disabilities. Among people 65 and older, the disability rate was 43.0 percent for women and 40.4 percent for men. In this age group, 59.7 percent of people with disabilities were women. However, 58.2 percent of all people aged 65 and older were women.
In the civilian noninstitutionalized population, people 65 and older were much more likely than people of working age (16 to 64) to report a sensory, physical, mental, or self- care disability, or a disability caus- ing difficulty going outside the home (see Figure 3). While only 6.4 percent of working-age adults experienced difficulty going outside the home alone to shop or visit the doctor, 20.4 percent of older adults reported these prob- lems. Physical disabilities affected 6.2 percent of the working-age population and 28.6 percent of older adults. About 3.8 percent of working-age adults reported diffi- culties in learning, remembering, or concentrating (a mental disabili- ty), compared with 10.8 percent of older adults. The prevalence of a self-care disability was more than 5 times greater among older adults
U.S. Census Bureau 3
(9.5 percent) than among people of working age (1.8 percent). Also, the occurrence of sensory disabili- ties was more than 6 times greater among older adults than working- age people, 14.2 percent compared with 2.3 percent.
Disability rates varied among the major racial and ethnic groups.
Census 2000 allowed respondents to choose more than one race. With the exception of the Two or more races group, all race groups discussed in this report refer to people who indicated only one racial identity among the six major categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race.4 The use of the single-race popula- tion in this report does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches.5
Interestingly, people who indicated that they were White (and no other race) and were not of Hispanic or Latino origin had a low overall disability rate despite the fact that their median age was higher than for other racial and ethnic groups
examined in this brief.6 2000, they reported a disability rate of 18.3 percent, compared with 19.3 percent for all noninsti- tutionalized civilians aged 5 and older, as shown in Table 2.7
Among the racial and ethnic groups examined in this report, the highest overall estimated disability rate, 24.3 percent, was shared by two groups — people
who reported Black and people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native. The disability rates for these two groups were higher than the rates for non-Hispanic Whites in each of the broad age groups investigated in this report (see Table 2). Among children 5 to 15 years old, the disability rate was 5.7 percent for non-Hispanic Whites, but 7.0 percent for Black children and 7.7 percent for American Indian and Alaska Native children. Although the disability rate was 16.2 percent for non- Hispanic Whites of working age (16 to 64), it was 26.4 percent for Blacks and 27.0 percent for American Indians and Alaska Natives. Among people 65 and older, the rates were 40.4, 52.8, and 57.6 percent, respectively.
Asians who reported only one race had the lowest overall disability
In Census
Figure 3.
Percentage of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population With a Disability by Age and Type of Disability: 2000
(For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
1.8
3.8
2.3
6.4
6.2
16 to 64 65 and older
Self-care disability
Mental disability
Sensory disability
Difficulty going outside
Physical disability
9.5
10.8
14.2
20.4
28.6
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
4 For further information on each of the 6 major race groups and the Two or more races population, see reports from the Census 2000 Brief series (C2KBR/01), avail- able on the Census 2000 Web site at www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/ briefs.html.
5 This report draws heavily on Summary File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be accessed through American FactFinder, avail- able from the Census Bureau’s Web site, www.census.gov. Information on people who reported more than one race, such as “White and American Indian and Alaska Native” or “Asian and Black or African American,” is forthcoming in Summary File 4, which will also be available through American FactFinder in 2003. About 2.6 percent of people report- ed more than one race.
6 For information on median age, see Age: 2000 (C2KBR/01-12).
7 Hereafter this report uses the term Black to refer to people who are Black or African American, the term Pacific Islander to refer to people who are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and the term Hispanic to refer to people who are Hispanic or Latino.
Because Hispanics may be of any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap with data for racial groups. Based on Census 2000 sample data, the proportion Hispanic was 8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for Blacks, 14.6 percent for American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians, 9.5 percent for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those reporting Some other race, and 31.1 percent for those reporting Two or more races.
4 U.S. Census Bureau
Table 2.
Percentage of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population With Any Disability by Age and Selected Race and Hispanic Origin Groups: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see
www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Race and Hispanic or Latino origin
Total population aged 5 and older
Percent with a disability
5 to 15 16 to 64 65 and older
5 and older
Total...................................... 257,167,527
19.3 5.8 18.6 41.9
18.5 5.6 16.8 40.6 24.3 7.0 26.4 52.8 24.3 7.7 27.0 57.6 16.6 2.9 16.9 40.8 19.0 5.1 21.0 48.5 19.9 5.2 23.5 50.4 21.7 7.1 25.1 51.8
20.9 5.4 24.0 48.5 18.3 5.7 16.2 40.4
White alone.................................... Black or African American alone.................. American Indian and Alaska Native alone . . . . . . . . . Asian alone.................................... Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone . . Some other race alone.......................... Two or more races..............................
Hispanic or Latino (of any race) .................. White alone, not Hispanic or Latino...............
195,100,538 30,297,703 2,187,507 9,455,058 337,996 13,581,921 6,206,804
31,041,269 180,151,084
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
rate of any of the racial and ethnic groups examined in this report: 16.6 percent. Their child disability rate, 2.9 percent, was also the lowest. The disability rate for working-age Asians (16.9 percent) was slightly higher than the rate for working-age non-Hispanic Whites, whereas the rates for those 65 and older were not sig- nificantly different.
The overall disability rate for single- race Pacific Islanders (19.0 percent) and their child disability rate (5.1 percent) were both slightly higher than the corresponding rates for Asians, but not statistically dif- ferent from the rates for non- Hispanic Whites. However, the rates for Pacific Islander working-age adults (21.0 percent) and older adults (48.5 percent) were higher than the rates for Asians and non- Hispanic Whites in these same age groups.
Even though people reporting two or more races had the lowest median age among the racial or ethnic groups examined in this
report, their disability rates were among the highest in 2000 — 21.7 percent overall. Among those reporting two or more races,
7.1 percent of children, 25.1 per- cent of working-age adults, and 51.8 percent of older adults report- ed at least one disability.
The overall disability rate was higher for Hispanics (20.9 percent) than for non-Hispanic Whites (18.3 percent). However, their child disability rate was lower — (5.4 percent compared with 5.7 percent). Still, the disability rates for Hispanics of working-age (24.0 percent) and older (48.5 per- cent) exceeded the rates for non- Hispanic Whites.
GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
The following discussion on the geographic distribution of people with disabilities is based on the civilian noninstitutionalized popu- lation aged 5 and older.
Almost two out of every five people with a disability lived in the South, while about one in five lived in each of the other three regions of the United States.8
Even though 35.5 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized popu- lation 5 and older lived in the South in 2000, this region was home to 38.3 percent of people with disabilities, as shown in Figure 4. The 20.9-percent disabili- ty rate in the South was higher than the rate in any other region. This high rate, coupled with the
8 The Northeast region includes the states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The Midwest region includes the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South region includes the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, a state equivalent. The West region includes the states of Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
U.S. Census Bureau 5
fact that the South contained the largest total population among the four regions, accounted for the fact that the South recorded the largest disabled population in 2000 — 19.1 million people.
The West and the Midwest had the second and third largest disabled populations — 10.8 million and 10.5 million, respectively. However, the percentage of people with disabilities was low in both these regions — 18.7 percent in the West and 17.7 percent in the Midwest. Among the four regions, the Northeast had the fewest peo- ple with disabilities — 9.5 million or 19.2 percent of its total popula- tion — but it also had the smallest total population.
Among the states, the disability rate was highest in West Virginia.
Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, the highest disability rates were in the South, as shown in Table 3. West Virginia, the state with the highest median age in the United States, also recorded the highest disability rate, 24.4 percent. It was followed closely by four other southern states: Kentucky (23.7 percent), Arkansas (23.6 percent), Mississippi (23.6 percent), and Alabama (23.2 percent).9 Not all states in the South had high dis- ability rates. In fact, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia had disabili- ty rates that were significantly below the national rate.
Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and West Virginia — the states with highest overall dis- ability rates — also registered high rates for each of the individual
measures. For example, in Mississippi 4.8 percent of people reported a sensory disability, 11.3 percent reported a physical disability, and 6.4 percent reported a mental disability. These rates exceeded the national rates of 3.6 percent, 8.2 percent, and 4.8 percent, respectively.10
The states with the lowest disabili- ty rates were in the West and Midwest. Alaska (14.9 percent), Utah (14.9 percent), and Minnesota (15.0 percent) topped the list of states with the lowest disability rates.11 Wisconsin and Nebraska, both of which had an estimated disability rate of 16.0 percent, fol- lowed.12
Minnesota and Utah registered low rates by every measure. Even so, low disability rates by one measure did not guarantee low rates by every measure. For example, Nevada had one of the lowest
percentages of the civilian noninsti- tutionalized population with difficul- ty learning, remembering, or con- centrating (mental disability), 3.8 percent compared with 4.8 percent nationwide. However, among the civilian noninstitutionalized popula- tion 16 to 64 years old, the percent- age of Nevadans who reported diffi- culty working at a job or business was high, 14.5 percent compared with 11.9 percent, nationally.
In 2000, counties with very high disability rates were clustered in the coal mining areas of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia.13
Included in this group of counties were Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Harlan, Leslie, Martin, and Owsley counties in Kentucky; Buchanan County, Virginia; and McDowell County,
Figure 4.
Percent Distribution of All Noninstitutionalized
Civilians Aged 5 and Older and All People With
Disabilities by Region: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Northeast Midwest South West
19.2
22.9
35.5
22.4
19.0
21.0
38.3
21.6
Percentage of total
Percentage of people with disabilities
Note: Numbers may not add to 100 percent due to rounding. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
13 Although the point estimate for the dis- ability rate in Kalawao county, Hawaii, (60 percent) was the highest, it was not sta- tistically different from high disability rates in other counties. Kalawao County registered a high disability rate in Census 2000 in part because of its charter. According to Hawaii state law (§324-34(b)), it is “under the juris- diction and control of the [state] department of health and is governed by the laws and rules relating to the department and the care and treatment of persons affected with Hansen’s disease.” Hansen’s disease is also called leprosy.
10 The rate of sensory disability in Mississippi and the rate of mental disability in the United States are not significantly dif- ferent.
11 The disability rates in Alaska, Utah, and Minnesota were not significantly different from one another.
12 The disability rate in Nebraska was not significantly different from the rate for Colorado (16.3 percent).
9 The disability rate for Kentucky was not significantly different than the rates for Arkansas or Mississippi, and the rate for Arkansas is not significantly different than the rate for Mississippi.
6 U.S. Census Bureau
Table 3.
Disability Status of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population of the United States, Regions, States, and for Puerto Rico: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Population 5 and older
Population 16 and older
Population 16 to 64
Percentage with employment Number disability
178,687,234 11.9
34,177,140 11.9 40,836,120 10.3 63,405,874 13.0 40,268,100 11.9
2,815,333 13.7 401,841 8.3 3,169,173 12.2 1,666,895 13.8 21,570,148 12.8 2,847,842 9.9 2,149,614 11.0 497,601 11.2 391,946 13.5 9,715,134 14.2
5,306,618 12.6 745,317 11.4 807,071 9.4
7,919,587 10.8 3,884,065 11.3 1,826,699 9.3 1,669,088 10.2 2,604,977 13.9 2,799,048 12.9
818,423 11.7
3,412,197 10.8 4,111,458 11.8 6,332,137 10.7 3,163,716 8.6 1,767,972 14.4 3,516,489 10.8 571,484 9.3 1,066,390 9.4 1,294,567 14.5 807,076 10.1
5,362,242 11.6
1,133,564 12.3 12,193,044 13.2 5,172,069 13.3 398,305 9.3 7,186,632 10.3 2,147,470 12.5 2,210,613 10.6 7,668,809 10.6 667,036 12.7
2,553,295 14.3 459,778 9.4 3,678,482 13.2 13,176,208 12.5 1,391,541 8.9 399,438 9.7 4,536,339 10.9 3,809,080 10.6 1,164,290 13.2 3,413,234 9.1 315,859 9.8
2,392,893 15.0
Area
United States . . Region
Northeast.......... Midwest........... South............. West .............
State
Alabama .......... Alaska............ Arizona ........... Arkansas.......... California.......... Colorado .......... Connecticut........ Delaware.......... District of Columbia . . Florida............
Georgia........... Hawaii............ Idaho............. Illinois ............ Indiana............ Iowa.............. Kansas ........... Kentucky .......... Louisiana.......... Maine.............
Maryland.......... Massachusetts. . . . . . Michigan .......... Minnesota ......... Mississippi......... Missouri........... Montana .......... Nebraska.......... Nevada ........... New Hampshire . . . . .
NewJersey........ NewMexico ........ NewYork.......... NorthCarolina . . . . . . NorthDakota....... Ohio.............. Oklahoma ......... Oregon ........... Pennsylvania. . . . . . . RhodeIsland.......
South Carolina. . . . . . SouthDakota....... Tennessee......... Texas............. Utah.............. Vermont........... Virginia ........... Washington........ WestVirginia....... Wisconsin ......... Wyoming..........
PuertoRico........
Percentage
with selected disabilities
Percentage with difficulty going outside the home
8.6
8.8 7.4 9.3 8.5
10.6 5.3 8.0 9.9 9.7 6.1 7.6 7.2 11.0 9.8
9.2 8.9 6.0 8.3 7.5 6.2 6.9 9.7 9.5 6.5
7.9 7.9 8.0 5.8
11.1 7.9 5.7 6.3 8.3 5.6
8.8
8.6 10.5 9.2 6.4 7.6 8.6 6.8 7.9 8.6
9.9 6.2 9.4 9.0 5.8 5.5 7.7 6.9
10.1 6.4 5.3
17.3
Number
257,167,527
49,386,446 59,017,677 91,179,367 57,584,037
4,071,185 557,705 4,667,187 2,440,964 30,853,063 3,926,325 3,120,953 716,691 528,933 14,730,208
7,402,293 1,087,490 1,174,093
11,350,345 5,563,619 2,686,760 2,440,373 3,695,005 4,045,963 1,187,124
4,843,046 5,860,845 9,138,340 4,526,211 2,575,139 5,120,568
831,694 1,561,301 1,823,351 1,145,557
7,735,218
1,659,502 17,464,264 7,316,733 586,289 10,417,902 3,124,998 3,158,684 11,336,483 967,557
3,652,809 686,094 5,214,986 18,761,475 1,998,373 568,445 6,377,588 5,395,395 1,681,351 4,939,875 451,175
3,482,047
Any Sensory Physical disability disability disability
19.3 3.6 8.2
19.2 3.3 7.7 17.7 3.5 7.8 20.9 4.0 9.2 18.7 3.5 7.5
23.2 4.7 11.0 14.9 3.8 6.6 19.3 3.8 8.2 23.6 5.1 11.8 19.2 3.2 7.2 16.3 3.3 6.7 17.5 3.1 6.9 18.4 3.2 8.0 21.9 3.2 8.0 22.2 4.1 9.6
19.7 3.4 8.2 18.4 3.5 7.2 17.1 4.2 7.9 17.6 3.1 7.2 19.0 3.8 8.3 16.6 3.5 7.5 17.6 3.7 8.0 23.7 5.1 12.2 21.8 4.3 9.8 20.0 4.4 9.5
17.6 3.0 7.0 18.5 3.2 7.1 18.7 3.5 8.3 15.0 3.0 6.4 23.6 4.8 11.3 19.0 3.9 9.1 17.5 4.4 8.6 16.0 3.4 7.0 20.6 3.5 7.9 16.9 3.4 7.2
18.0 2.9 6.9 20.4 4.5 9.0 20.6 3.2 8.0 21.1 3.9 9.3 16.7 3.7 7.1 18.3 3.6 8.5 21.6 5.0 10.7 18.8 4.1 8.7 18.6 3.7 8.4 20.2 3.5 7.8
22.2 4.1 9.6 16.7 3.8 7.6 22.0 4.5 10.6 19.2 3.5 7.6 14.9 3.1 5.9 17.1 3.8 7.7 18.1 3.3 7.8 18.2 4.1 8.1 24.4 5.8 13.5 16.0 3.1 6.9 17.1 4.2 7.7
26.8 7.1 11.2
Mental Self-care disability disability
4.8 2.6
4.6 2.6 4.6 2.4 5.2 2.9 4.6 2.4
6.2 3.6 4.4 1.9 4.6 2.4 6.5 3.7 4.6 2.5 4.2 1.9 4.2 2.3 4.6 2.3 4.9 3.0 5.1 2.9
4.8 2.6 4.6 2.3 4.9 2.1 4.1 2.4 4.8 2.5 4.2 2.1 4.3 2.3 6.9 3.6 5.9 3.3 5.8 2.5
4.3 2.2 4.7 2.4 5.2 2.7 4.1 1.9 6.4 3.8 5.2 2.7 4.9 2.1 3.8 2.0 3.8 2.2 4.6 2.0
4.0 2.4 5.4 2.7 4.7 2.8 5.1 2.9 4.2 1.9 5.0 2.6 5.7 3.1 5.5 2.5 4.8 2.7 5.1 2.4
5.6 3.2 3.9 1.9 6.2 3.3 4.4 2.6 4.2 1.7 5.1 2.1 4.7 2.4 5.1 2.4 7.7 4.1 4.2 2.1 4.4 1.8
7.8 4.6
Number
212,033,860
41,161,934 48,620,454 75,292,633 46,958,839
3,370,738 436,142 3,822,951 2,021,501 25,039,958 3,246,486 2,589,549 594,673 458,424 12,435,261
6,061,272 903,314 947,715
9,336,005 4,591,434 2,230,430 1,999,749 3,081,517 3,288,622
993,421
3,985,174 4,918,464 7,503,217 3,717,854 2,093,773 4,227,906
685,843 1,283,164 1,508,632
946,154
6,426,224
1,339,155 14,526,599 6,096,197 485,666 8,608,703 2,577,036 2,634,072 9,478,129 810,601
3,019,142 560,279 4,346,553 15,142,480 1,575,354 472,793 5,290,221 4,448,728 1,430,049 4,076,047 370,489
2,810,111
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
U.S. Census Bureau 7
Figure 5.
Disability Status: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
Percent of people aged 5 and older in the civilian noninstitutionalized population with any disability by state
32.7 (Puerto Rico) 19.3 to 24.4 17.0 to 19.2 14.9 to 16.9
Percent of people aged 5 and older in the civilian noninstitutionalized population with any disability by county
0
100 Miles
U.S. percent 19.3
U.S. percent 19.3
28.5 and higher 24.0 to 28.4 19.3 to 23.9 16.5 to 19.2 8.0 to 16.4
0
100 Miles
0
100 Miles
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools.
0
100 Miles
8 U.S. Census Bureau
Table 4.
Ten Places of 100,000 or More With the Highest Percentage of People Aged 5 and Older With Disabilities in the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling tions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/sf3.pdf)
error, and defini-
Margin of error*
Place
Paterson, NJ............... Miami, FL ................. Newark, NJ................ Detroit, MI................. Birmingham,AL............ Springfield, MA............. Hartford, CT ............... Baltimore, MD ............. Gary, IN................... Buffalo, NY ................
Number with disabilities
Percent
40,068 29.8 97,782 29.4 71,291 29.0
244,893 28.3
61,421 27.6 38,264 27.6 29,669 27.2
162,044 27.2 25,182 26.9 69,927 26.2
0.4 0.2 0.3 0.1 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.3
* When the margin of error is added to or subtracted from the estimate, it produces a 90-percent confidence interval.
Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from one another or from other places not listed in this table.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
West Virginia, as shown in Figure 5. Counties with high disability rates covered most of the South, with the exception of the Atlanta metropoli- tan area and a few counties scat- tered around the region.
The West, especially Colorado, con- tained many of the counties with the lowest disability rates. The disability rate was about 10 per- cent or less in Yakutat City and Borough in Alaska; Douglas, Gunnison, Routt, and San Miguel counties in Colorado; Madison County, Idaho, Summit County, Utah, and Teton County, Wyoming.
Counties with disability rates below the national rate distin- guished the upper Midwest, espe- cially the Minneapolis-St. Paul met- ropolitan area. Grant County, Nebraska, had a disability rate of about 10 percent. In fact, only a handful of counties in either the Midwest or the Northeast exhibited extremely high rates of disability. Many counties with low rates were found in the high-density area that stretched from New York City to Richmond, Virginia.
More than one person in four reported a disability in each of the ten places with the highest disability rates.
Among places with populations of 100,000 or more,14 Paterson, New Jersey; Miami, Florida; and Newark, New Jersey, registered the highest proportions of people with disabili- ties, as shown in Table 4.15 At least one person in four experienced some type of disability in each of the ten places with the highest point estimates for disability. Most of these places were older industri- al cities. High concentrations of Blacks, Hispanics, and other populations exhibiting high disabil- ity rates were also common in these areas.
In 2000, many of the places with the lowest disability rates were
fast growing areas on the outskirts of metropolitan areas — places with high concentrations of fami- lies with children (see Table 5). Naperville, Illinois, was the place with the lowest percentage of peo- ple with disabilities, 7.9 percent. One of the reasons why some places had low disability rates may be that only a small proportion of residents were aged 65 and older. Provo, Utah; Gilbert, Arizona; Plano, Texas; and Carrollton, Texas, were among the ten places with the lowest disability rates and the lowest percentage of older resi- dents.16
ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
How many people had more than one disability in 2000?
Disability measures from Census 2000 were not mutually exclusive and 46.3 percent of people with any disability reported more than one. A person with a single condi- tion might report both a physical disability and an employment dis- ability. For example, a person with severe asthma may have also experienced difficulty climbing stairs and difficulty working at a job or business. The people who responded positively to more than one of the Census 2000 disability questions demonstrated the degree to which a long-lasting physical, mental, or emotional condition could affect more than one aspect of a person’s life.
Of the people who reported an employment disability, 56.4 percent also reported at least one other type of condition. (See Figure 6.) Additionally, 63.7 percent of people
14 Census 2000 shows 245 places in the United States with 100,000 or more popula- tion. They include 238 incorporated places (including 4 city-county consolidations) and 7 census designated places that are not legally incorporated. For a list of these places by state, see www.census.gov/ population/www/cen2000/phc-t6.html.
15 The disability rates in Paterson, Miami, and Newark were not significantly different from one another. The percentage in Newark was not significantly different than Detroit.
16 The disability rates in Provo, Gilbert, and Plano were not significantly different from one another. For more information on the popula- tion aged 65 and over, see The 65 Years and Over Population: 2000 (C2KBR/01-10).
U.S. Census Bureau 9
Table 5.
Ten Places of 100,000 or More With the Lowest Percentage of People Aged 5 and Older With Disabilities in the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population: 2000
(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling tions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/sf3.pdf)
error, and defini-
Margin of error*
Place
Naperville, IL .............. Provo, UT ................. Gilbert, AZ................. Plano, TX ................. Irvine, CA ................. Ann Arbor, MI.............. Fort Collins, CO............ Overland Park, KS ......... Carrollton, TX.............. Santa Clarita, CA...........
Number with disabilities
Percent
9,261 7.9
9,823 10.3 10,598 10.8 22,233 10.9 14,985 11.1 12,062 11.2 12,727 11.5 16,252 11.9 12,338 12.3 18,242 13.1
0.2 0.3 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.3
* When the margin of error is added to or subtracted from the estimate, it produces a 90-percent confidence interval.
Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from one another or from other places not listed in this table.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
Figure 6.
Percent Distribution of People With Disabilities in the Noninstitutionalized Civilian Population by Type and Number of Disabilities: 2000
(For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
One disability only Two or more disabilities
Employment disability Sensory disability Physical disability Mental disability Difficulty going outside Self-care disability
Note: The statistics for difficulty going outside the home are only for people aged 16 and older. The statistics on employment disability are only for people 16 to 64. All other disability estimates include people 5 and older. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
43.6
56.4
36.3
63.7
32.4
67.6
29.1
70.9
18.5
81.5
3.0 97.0
17 Poverty status was determined for all noninstitutionalized civilians, except those in military group quarters and dormitories, and unrelated individuals under age 15. For more information on poverty, see www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty.html.
with a sensory disability, 67.6 per- cent of people with a physical dis- ability, and 70.9 percent of people with a mental disability reported more than one condition. Among people with difficulty going outside the home, 81.5 percent indicated at least one other measure of disabili- ty. The disability most likely to be linked to multiple conditions was the self-care measure — 97.0 per- cent of people who marked this type of condition also reported one or more of the other measures of disability.
Were people with disabilities less likely to be employed than others?
Census 2000 showed that people between the ages of 16 and 64 were less likely to be employed if they were disabled (see Figure 7). While 79.9 percent of working-age men without a disability were employed, only 60.1 percent of those with a disability worked. Among women of working age, the respective employment rates were 67.3 percent and 51.4 percent. Altogether, 10.4 million men and 8.2 million women with disabilities were employed.
How many people with disabilities lived in poverty in 2000?17
In 2000, 8.7 million people with dis- abilities were poor — a substantially higher proportion (17.6 percent) than was found among people aged 5 and older without disabilities (10.6 percent). However, the pattern of poverty by age was similar for both groups, with the highest poverty rates found among children aged 5 to 15 (see Figure 8). The
poverty rate for young people with disabilities was 25.0 percent, com- pared with 15.7 percent for those without disabilities. The next high- est poverty rates for both groups were found among people 16 to 64
years old — 18.8 percent for those with disabilities, nearly double the rate for those without (9.6 percent). Among people 65 years old and over, the respective proportions were 13.2 percent and 7.4 percent.
10 U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 7.
Employed Men and Women Aged 16 to 64 as a Percentage of the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population by Disability Status: 2000
(For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
With a disability Without a disability
Women
Men
51.4
67.3
60.1
79.9
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
Figure 8.
Poverty Rates for People With and Without Disabilities in the Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population by Age: 2000
(For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)
With a disability Without a disability
25.0
5 to 15
16 to 64
65 and older
15.7 18.8
9.6
13.2
7.4
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.
ABOUT CENSUS 2000
Why Census 2000 Asked About Disability
Information on disability is used by a number of federal agencies to distribute funds and develop pro- grams for people with disabilities and the elderly. Among these are the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Training Act, the School Dropout Demonstration
Assistance Act, and State Literacy Initiatives. Data about the number, distribution, and needs of people with disabilities are essential under the Rehabilitation Act, which guar- antees benefits to qualified people with disabilities. Data about difficul- ties going outside the home and work disabilities are important to ensure comparable public trans- portation services for all segments of the population, according to the
goals of the Americans With Disabilities Act. Disability data also are used to allocate funds for employment and job training pro- grams for veterans under the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program. Under the Older Americans Act, federal grants are awarded based on the number of elderly people with physical and mental disabilities. Medicare and medicaid programs and federal edu- cation programs also use data on people with disabilities.
Accuracy of the Estimates
The data contained in this report are based on the sample of house- holds who responded to the Census 2000 long form. Nationally, approximately one out of every six housing units was included in this sample. As a result, the sample estimates may differ somewhat from the100-per- cent figures that would have been obtained if all housing units, peo- ple within those housing units, and people living in group quarters had been enumerated using the same questionnaires, instructions, enu- merators, and so forth. The sam- ple estimates also differ from the values that would have been obtained from different samples of housing units, people within those housing units, and people living in group quarters. The deviation of a sample estimate from the average of all possible samples is called the sampling error.
In addition to the variability that arises from the sampling proce- dures, both sample data and 100-percent data are subject to nonsampling error. Nonsampling error may be introduced during any of the various complex opera- tions used to collect and process data. Such errors may include: not enumerating every household or every person in the population, failing to obtain all required
U.S. Census Bureau 11
information from the respondents, obtaining incorrect or inconsistent information, and recording infor- mation incorrectly. In addition, errors can occur during the field review of the enumerators’ work, during clerical handling of the cen- sus questionnaires, or during the electronic processing of the ques- tionnaires.
Nonsampling error may affect the data in two ways: (1) errors that are introduced randomly will increase the variability of the data and, therefore, should be reflected in the standard errors; and (2) errors that tend to be consistent in one direction will bias both sample and 100-percent data in that direc- tion. For example, if respondents consistently tend to underreport their incomes, then the resulting estimates of households or fami- lies by income category will tend to be understated for the higher income categories and overstated for the lower income categories. Such biases are not reflected in the standard errors.
While it is impossible to completely eliminate error from an operation as large and complex as the decen-
nial census, the Census Bureau attempts to control the sources of such error during the data collec- tion and processing operations. The primary sources of error and the programs instituted to control error in Census 2000 are described in detail in Summary File 3 Technical Documentation under Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the Data,” located at www.census.gov/prod/ cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf.
All statements in this Census 2000 Brief have undergone statistical testing and all comparisons are significant at the 90-percent confi- dence level, unless otherwise noted. Further information on the accuracy of the data is located at www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/ doc/sf3.pdf. For further informa- tion on the computation and use of standard errors, contact the Decennial Statistical Studies Division at 301-763-4242.
For More Information
For more information on people with disabilities in the United States, visit the U.S. Census Bureau’s Internet site on disability at www.census.gov/hhes/www/ disability.html. Data on people with
disabilities from Census 2000 Summary File 3 were released on a state-by-state basis during the summer of 2002. The Census 2000 Summary File 3 data are available on the Internet via factfinder.census.gov and for pur- chase on CD-ROM and on DVD.
For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling error, and definitions, also see www.census.gov/prod/ cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf or contact our Customer Services Center at 301-763-INFO (4636).
Information on other population and housing topics is presented in the Census 2000 Brief series, locat- ed on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at www.census.gov/population/ www/cen2000/briefs.html. This series presents information on race, Hispanic origin, age, sex, household type, housing tenure, and other social, economic, and housing characteristics.
For more information about Census 2000, including data prod- ucts, call our Customer Services Center at 301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail webmaster@census.gov.
U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAU Washington, DC 20233
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