56.7 Million Americans Have a Disability

Last Friday, Matthew Brault from the Health and Disability Statistics Branch of the Census Bureau appeared on C-SPAN to discuss Americans with disabilities in the U.S.  There were 56.7 million people with a disability in 2010, up 2.3 million from 2005.  38.3 million possessed a severe disability – a disability that totally prevents the survey respondent from doing many different activities listed in the Survey of Income and Program Participation.  Of Americans aged 21 to 64 with a disability, just 4-in-10 were employed, and 11% of Americans aged 15 to 64 with a severe disability experienced persistent poverty.