The ranks of disabled Americans climbed by more than 3 million people between 2012 and 2018, a rate of growth that was more than twice as much as the growth in the overall U.S. population.

A Social Explorer analysis of five-year trends from the 2012 and 2018 American Community Survey data found the percentage of disabled Americans increased from 12 percent to 12.6 percent. The increase from to 36.6 million disabled Americans to 40.1 million marked a 9.6 percent jump during the six-year period; the overall population grew from approximately 304 million to 318 million, a 4.6 percent increase.

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Although the growing number of disabled people is generally considered to be a function of an aging population, the Census Bureau data shows that the disabled rate for Americans older than 75 fell between the 2008-2012 and 2014-2018 surveys. The percentage of disabled females older than 65 fell; the figures for men older than 65 rose only slightly. The data show that the sharpest increases occurred among men between the ages of 18 and 34, providing more evidence for a National Bureau of Economic Research study that showed more than 1.4 million people attempted to replace lost income by requesting disability benefits in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.  

Carson City, Nev., registered the largest percentage increase in disabled people. The disabled population of Nevada’s capital grew by almost 4,000 people between 2012 and 2018. Almost 22 percent of its residents were disabled in 2018, a 7.8 percent increase from the previous five-year period. The Nevada metro was trailed by some of the nation’s poorest micropolitan areas, including Middlesborough, Ky. (32 percent disabled, a 6.6 percent increase); Las Vegas, N.M. (28.5 percent disabled, a 6.5 percent increase); and Cleveland, Miss. (19.4 percent disabled, a 6.5 percent increase).

Middlesborough and Las Vegas reported the highest percentages of disabled residents in the 2017 survey. They were trailed by Bluefield, W.Va. (24.8 percent); Poplar Bluff, Mo. (24.8 percent); and Grants, N.M. (24.8 percent).

Among states, West Virginia had the largest percentage of disabled people in 2018, with 19 percent, a 0.5 percent increase from 2012. It was trailed by Kentucky (17.4 percent, a 0.6 percent increase) and Arkansas (17.2 percent, a 0.4 percent increase).

Almost one-third of U.S. metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas registered either decreases or no gain in the percentage of disabled people. The Henderson, N.C., micro area reported its disabled population fell by almost 4,500 people, or 18.7 percent of its total population. The decline represented a 9 percent drop from the 2012 figure of 27.7 percent. Other micro areas reporting significant declines included Pecos, Texas (10.6 percent disabled, a 7.8 percent decrease); Fitzgerald, Ga.. (16.1 percent, a 6.6 percent drop); Alice, Texas  (15.4 percent, a 5.2 percent decline); and West Point, Miss. (11.1 percent, a 5 percent decrease).

All five places with the lowest percentages of disabled residents in the 2018 survey were located close to western U.S. downhill skiing resorts. Edwards, Colo., a micro in the heart of Colorado ski country, reported 4.3 percent of its population was disabled, unchanged from 2012. It was followed by Summit Park, Utah (4.9 percent), Steamboat Springs, Colo. (5.1 percent), Breckenridge, Colo. (6.3 percent), and Glenwood Springs, Colo. (7.1 percent).

Author: Frank Bass