Due to a variety of physical, mental, and emotional conditions, an estimated 49 million noninstitutionalized Americans (about 1 in 5) have a disability. Of these persons, 24 million have a "severe" disability.

The first section of this Brief describes the disability status of persons aged 15 years and older; the last section details children's disabilities. The box on the back defines "severe" disabilities.

This Brief examines the number of persons with specific types of disabilities, their demographic characteristics, the impact of having a disability on employment status and health insurance coverage, and more. The data were collected in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) between October 1991 and January 1992.

Others in Series

Publication

Bureaucrats Are Beyond the Beltway

May 1993

This brief features findings on public employers and employees from selected reports.

Publication

Buying That First Home — A Look At New First-Time Homeowners

April 1993

This brief compares those who moved into the first home they ever owned with others who also moved, but whose home wasn’t the first they had owned.

Publication

Mobile Homes

May 1994

This brief examines the characteristics of mobile homes and their occupants in 1990 and how these characteristics had changed since 1980.

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Related Information

PUBLICATION

Disability Publications

Survey of Income and Program Participation Publications

Page Last Revised - October 8, 2021

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