2021 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium

Section 11: Health
This section presents statistics on health in the United States, especially the health of people with disabilities. The data address the prevalence of disabilities, health behaviors such as smoking, obesity, and binge drinking by disability status. These statistics were generated by the authors using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. See the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Disability and Health Data System for additional information on the health of the population with disabilities. Statistics for people with disabilities (disability status) are based on having responded ‘yes’ to a series of questions within the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (see glossary for greater detail). The data for the state of New Jersey is not available for 2020.
Tables
Table 11.1: In 2020, there were 242,761,493 individuals ages 18 and over living in the community, and 63,152,941 had a disability (26.0 percent). The state with the largest number of individuals with disabilities was California, with 6,734,666 individuals with disabilities, while the state with the smallest number was Wyoming, with 107,514 individuals with disabilities.
Table 11.2: In 2020, individuals ages 18 years and over (adults) with disabilities were more likely to smoke (21.7 percent) than adults without disabilities (11.7 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to smoke in West Virginia (29.8 percent) and least likely to smoke in Utah (14.2 percent).
Table 11.3: In 2020, individuals ages 18 years and over (adults) with disabilities were more likely to be obese (40.4 percent) than adults without disabilities (29.0 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to be obese in Delaware (49.0 percent) and least likely to be obese in Massachusetts (31.0 percent).
Table 11.4: In 2020, individuals ages 18 years and over (adults) with disabilities were less likely to binge drink (13.1 percent) than adults without disabilities (16.4 percent). Adults with disabilities were most likely to binge drink in the District of Columbia (22.6 percent) and least likely to binge drink in Illinois (9.5 percent).