2021 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

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 of people with and without disabilities (poverty gap). 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 2020, of the 21,523,050 individuals with disabilities ages 18-64 years who were living in the community, 11,951,538 individuals lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 27.8 percent. In contrast, of the 178,475,229 individuals without disabilities ages 18-64 years living in the community, 42,551,532 individuals lived in poverty—a poverty rate of 11.9 percent. The poverty rate for people with disabilities was highest in the District of Columbia (49.0 percent) and lowest in Utah (19.4 percent).
Table 6.3: In 2020, the poverty rate of individuals with disabilities ages 18-64 years living in the community was 11.9 percent, while the poverty rate of individuals without disabilities ages 18-64 years living in the community was 27.8 percent—a difference of 15.9 percentage points. The poverty gap was smallest in North Dakota and Utah (a difference of 11.5 percentage points) and greatest in the District of Columbia (a difference of 33.7 percentage points).