2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

Poverty

Section 6: Poverty

This section presents statistics on poverty in the United States. The statistics describe the number and percentage of people with and without disabilities who experience poverty as well as the difference between the poverty rates (poverty gap) of people with and without disabilities. The principal source of these data is the American Community Survey. For these tables, statistics for people with disabilities (disability status) are based on having responded ‘yes’ to a series of questions within the American Community Survey (see the glossary for details). Poverty is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and set as a dollar threshold by the U.S. Census Bureau (see the glossary for details).

Tables

Tables 6.1 and 6.2: In 2018, of the 20,069,355 individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years who were living in the community, 5,234,106 individuals lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 26.1 percent. In contrast, of the 175,130,499 individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community, 18,782,015 individuals lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 10.7 percent. The poverty rate for people with disabilities was highest in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (48.7 percent) and lowest in Hawaii (18.6 percent).

Table 6.3: In 2018, the poverty rate of individuals with disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 26.1 percent, while the poverty rate of individuals without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 10.7 percent—a difference of 15.4 percentage points. The poverty gap was smallest in Wyoming (a difference of 9.2 percentage points) and greatest in the District of Columbia (a difference of 25.3 percentage points).

Table 6.4: In 2017, the poverty gap between individuals with and without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 14.9 percent. In 2018, the poverty gap between individuals with and without disabilities ages 18 to 64 years living in the community was 15.4 percent—a change of -0.5 percentage points. The largest percentage point decrease in the poverty gap from 2017 to 2018 was in Wyoming, a change of 8.6 percentage points, while the largest increase in the poverty gap was in the District of Columbia, a change of -5.4 percentage points.

Table 6.1 Poverty — Civilians with Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2018
State Total Count %   State Total Count %
U.S. 20,069,355 5,234,106 26.1 MT     66,611    17,918 26.9
AL    415,958   118,757 28.6 NE    105,888    25,620 24.2
AK     51,289    10,613 20.7 NV    184,860    47,987 26.0
AZ    445,249   109,417 24.6 NH     89,923    17,590 19.6
AR    274,381    80,303 29.3 NJ    415,852    91,026 21.9
CA  1,886,915   445,740 23.6 NM    158,164    51,254 32.4
CO    308,895    68,855 22.3 NY  1,051,414   313,557 29.8
CT    178,584    46,146 25.8 NC    677,778   179,732 26.5
DE     60,563    15,699 25.9 ND     37,663     7,684 20.4
DC     44,434    16,446 37.0 OH    838,215   247,907 29.6
FL  1,243,349   299,253 24.1 OK    325,521    84,353 25.9
GA    654,789   163,780 25.0 OR    293,209    84,868 28.9
HI     66,303    12,309 18.6 PA    873,215   249,406 28.6
ID    116,958    27,115 23.2 RI     78,944    24,083 30.5
IL    670,354   176,538 26.3 SC    364,202    95,015 26.1
IN    467,560   126,960 27.2 SD     53,410    14,295 26.8
IA    172,944    42,626 24.6 TN    549,922   159,945 29.1
KS    191,914    48,882 25.5 TX  1,631,021   386,773 23.7
KY    414,676   127,559 30.8 UT    154,970    30,108 19.4
LA    372,621   111,831 30.0 VT     42,585    11,880 27.9
ME    112,763    35,186 31.2 VA    479,728   109,963 22.9
MD    338,100    66,903 19.8 WA    476,750   111,657 23.4
MA    376,370    95,127 25.3 WV    174,338    56,091 32.2
MI    726,103   204,722 28.2 WI    318,167    76,493 24.0
MN    293,566    72,559 24.7 WY     35,488     6,880 19.4
MS    261,493    83,602 32.0 PR    328,284   159,897 48.7
MO    445,386   125,093 28.1                            

Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). American community survey, 1-year estimates. In Lauer, E.A., Boege, S.L., & Houtenville, A.J. (Eds.), Annual disability statistics compendium: 2019 (Table 6.1). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability.
Table 6.2 Poverty — Civilians without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2018
State Total Poverty   State Total Poverty
Count % Count %
U.S. 175,130,499 18,782,015 10.7 MT     548,024     62,777 11.5
AL   2,455,247    343,009 14.0 NE   1,006,391     98,298  9.8
AK     390,692     36,388  9.3 NV   1,651,544    172,907 10.5
AZ   3,691,986    442,308 12.0 NH     731,973     42,711  5.8
AR   1,466,150    203,089 13.9 NJ   4,981,938    364,667  7.3
CA  22,419,311  2,394,938 10.7 NM   1,052,071    175,637 16.7
CO   3,198,625    260,272  8.1 NY  10,858,473  1,166,992 10.7
CT   1,967,257    166,070  8.4 NC   5,460,960    637,320 11.7
DE     501,437     53,298 10.6 ND     411,243     42,495 10.3
DC     413,657     48,565 11.7 OH   6,047,365    668,666 11.1
FL  11,146,131  1,267,675 11.4 OK   1,950,904    256,989 13.2
GA   5,666,045    653,383 11.5 OR   2,234,080    239,519 10.7
HI     733,343     57,463  7.8 PA   6,666,208    646,563  9.7
ID     889,333     89,591 10.1 RI     559,307     51,287  9.2
IL   7,025,346    704,928 10.0 SC   2,594,723    330,351 12.7
IN   3,470,851    370,132 10.7 SD     447,830     50,527 11.3
IA   1,646,433    167,053 10.1 TN   3,480,098    421,011 12.1
KS   1,487,866    150,675 10.1 TX  15,568,988  1,856,505 11.9
KY   2,215,673    304,600 13.7 UT   1,686,894    142,145  8.4
LA   2,363,871    361,693 15.3 VT     324,424     29,188  9.0
ME     679,540     57,124  8.4 VA   4,572,784    413,093  9.0
MD   3,310,298    242,303  7.3 WA   4,109,734    358,880  8.7
MA   3,836,641    304,710  7.9 WV     872,376    134,148 15.4
MI   5,241,135    604,706 11.5 WI   3,133,926    297,869  9.5
MN   3,054,169    241,913  7.9 WY     300,525     30,584 10.2
MS   1,462,229    233,462 16.0 PR   1,594,091    619,144 38.8
MO   3,144,450    331,538 10.5                              

Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). American community survey, 1-year estimates. In Lauer, E.A., Boege, S.L., & Houtenville, A.J. (Eds.), Annual disability statistics compendium: 2019 (Table 6.2). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability.
Table 6.3 Poverty Gap — Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States, by Disability Status: 2018
State Poverty Rate (%) Gap (% pts) [2]   State Poverty Rate (%) Gap (% pts) [2]
Disability [1] No Disability [1] Disability [1] No Disability [1]
U.S. 26.1 10.7 15.4 MT 26.9 11.5 15.4
AL 28.6 14.0 14.6 NE 24.2  9.8 14.4
AK 20.7  9.3 11.4 NV 26.0 10.5 15.5
AZ 24.6 12.0 12.6 NH 19.6  5.8 13.8
AR 29.3 13.9 15.4 NJ 21.9  7.3 14.6
CA 23.6 10.7 12.9 NM 32.4 16.7 15.7
CO 22.3  8.1 14.2 NY 29.8 10.7 19.1
CT 25.8  8.4 17.4 NC 26.5 11.7 14.8
DE 25.9 10.6 15.3 ND 20.4 10.3 10.1
DC 37.0 11.7 25.3 OH 29.6 11.1 18.5
FL 24.1 11.4 12.7 OK 25.9 13.2 12.7
GA 25.0 11.5 13.5 OR 28.9 10.7 18.2
HI 18.6  7.8 10.8 PA 28.6  9.7 18.9
ID 23.2 10.1 13.1 RI 30.5  9.2 21.3
IL 26.3 10.0 16.3 SC 26.1 12.7 13.4
IN 27.2 10.7 16.5 SD 26.8 11.3 15.5
IA 24.6 10.1 14.5 TN 29.1 12.1 17.0
KS 25.5 10.1 15.4 TX 23.7 11.9 11.8
KY 30.8 13.7 17.1 UT 19.4  8.4 11.0
LA 30.0 15.3 14.7 VT 27.9  9.0 18.9
ME 31.2  8.4 22.8 VA 22.9  9.0 13.9
MD 19.8  7.3 12.5 WA 23.4  8.7 14.7
MA 25.3  7.9 17.4 WV 32.2 15.4 16.8
MI 28.2 11.5 16.7 WI 24.0  9.5 14.5
MN 24.7  7.9 16.8 WY 19.4 10.2  9.2
MS 32.0 16.0 16.0 PR 48.7 38.8  9.9
MO 28.1 10.5 17.6                 

Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. (2018). American community survey, 1-year estimates. In Lauer, E.A., Boege, S.L., & Houtenville, A.J. (Eds.), Annual disability statistics compendium: 2019 (Table 6.3). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability.
[1] Poverty as a percent of the total.
[2] The difference in the percentage points of poverty rates between disability and no disability.
Table 6.4 Change in Poverty Gap — Civilians with and without Disabilities Ages 18 to 64 Years Living in the Community for the United States and States: 2017 and 2018
State 2017 2018 Gap Change (% pts) [1]   State 2017 2018 Gap Change (% pts) [1]
U.S. 14.9 15.4 -0.5 MT 13.2 15.4 -2.2
AL 15.7 14.6  1.1 NE 13.0 14.4 -1.4
AK 10.0 11.4 -1.4 NV 13.0 15.5 -2.5
AZ 11.2 12.6 -1.4 NH 14.6 13.8  0.8
AR 15.1 15.4 -0.3 NJ 12.9 14.6 -1.7
CA 12.0 12.9 -0.9 NM 13.3 15.7 -2.4
CO 13.7 14.2 -0.5 NY 18.4 19.1 -0.7
CT 15.7 17.4 -1.7 NC 15.9 14.8  1.1
DE 10.0 15.3 -5.3 ND 14.5 10.1  4.4
DC 19.9 25.3 -5.4 OH 18.1 18.5 -0.4
FL 13.5 12.7  0.8 OK 14.7 12.7  2.0
GA 14.4 13.5  0.9 OR 15.8 18.2 -2.4
HI 12.6 10.8  1.8 PA 16.6 18.9 -2.3
ID 11.0 13.1 -2.1 RI 16.0 21.3 -5.3
IL 14.9 16.3 -1.4 SC 11.7 13.4 -1.7
IN 15.3 16.5 -1.2 SD 13.2 15.5 -2.3
IA 16.9 14.5  2.4 TN 17.6 17.0  0.6
KS 13.4 15.4 -2.0 TX 11.7 11.8 -0.1
KY 20.2 17.1  3.1 UT  7.6 11.0 -3.4
LA 12.8 14.7 -1.9 VT 14.5 18.9 -4.4
ME 20.0 22.8 -2.8 VA 14.1 13.9  0.2
MD 14.2 12.5  1.7 WA 14.4 14.7 -0.3
MA 17.3 17.4 -0.1 WV 18.1 16.8  1.3
MI 16.2 16.7 -0.5 WI 16.9 14.5  2.4
MN 16.3 16.8 -0.5 WY 17.8  9.2  8.6
MS 16.0 16.0  0.0 PR 11.7  9.9  1.8
MO 16.6 17.6 -1.0                 

Citation: U.S. Census Bureau. (2017-2018). American community survey, 1-year estimates. In Lauer, E.A., Boege, S.L., & Houtenville, A.J. (Eds.), Annual disability statistics compendium: 2019 (Table 6.4). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. Based on a sample and subject to sampling variability.
[1] The difference of the difference in percentage points of poverty rates between disability and no disability between 2017 and 2018.