Nearly Half the 75-Plus Population Has a Disability

Forty-one million Americans have a disability, according to the Census Bureau's 2018 American Community Survey—12.6 percent of the total population. The percentage of people with a disability rises with age, from less than 1 percent of children under age 5 to nearly half the population aged 75 or older.

Percent of Americans with a disability by type and age, 2018

	all ages	75-plus
Any disability	12.6%	47.5%
Hearing difficulty	3.6	21.7
Vision difficulty	2.4	9.0
Cognitive difficulty	5.1	13.1
Ambulatory difficulty	6.8	31.0
Self care difficulty	2.6	12.8
Independent living difficulty	5.8	23.4

Note: Ambulatory difficulty is serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Self care difficulty is difficulty dressing or bathing. Independent living difficulty is difficulty doing errands such as visiting a doctor or shopping.

Source: Census Bureau, Disability Characteristics, 2018 American Community Survey