If you don’t have a child, a parent or a spouse with a disability, you may think it’s an unusual phenomenon. But the U.S. Census offers some numbers that are worth sharing:
36 million people — one in five Americans — has a disability.
By age —
— 5 percent of children ages 5 to 17 have a disability
— 10 percent of adults ages 18 to 64 have a disability
— 37 percent of adults ages 65 and older have a disability
21% of the population age 16 and older with a disability lives below the poverty level.
$18,865
Median earnings of the population age 16 and older with a disability. This compares with $28,983 for the population without a disability.
28% of people 25 and older with a disability have less than a high school graduate education. This compares with 12 percent for those with no disability.
13% of people 25 and older with a disability have a B.A. or higher. This compares with 31 percent for those with no disability.
But perhaps the most startling statistic: More than three-quarters of Americans age 22 to 64 with disabilities do not receive public assistance.