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 (BRFSS). Go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Disability and Health Data System for additional information on the health of the population with disabilities (Disability and Health Data System). 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 (go to glossary for greater detail).
In 2023 Kentucky and Pennsylvania were unable to collect the necessary sample responses to meet minimum requirements to be included in the publicly available BRFSS dataset, and are therefore not included in this section.
Tables
Table 11.1: In 2023, there were 254,070,000 individuals ages 18 and over living in the community, of which 72,151,000 had a disability, representing 30.1%. Puerto Rico/PR had the highest percentage of individuals with disabilities at 43.2%, while the District of Columbia/DC had the lowest percentage of individuals with disabilities was at 22.4%. Table 11.1 Health - Persons with and without Disabilities Ages 18 and Over: 2023
Tables 11.2: In 2023, the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over with disabilities who smoke was 17.1%; while the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over without disabilities who smoke was 8.7%. The state with the greatest disparity in the percent who smoke between people with and without disabilities was Utah/UT, with a relative ratio of 2.413. Table 11.2 Health - Smoking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Tables 11.3: In 2023, the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over with disabilities who were obese was 39.6%; while the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over without disabilities who were obese was 29.9%. The state with the greatest disparity in the percent who were obese between people with and without disabilities was the District of Columbia/DC, with a relative ratio of 1.859. Table 11.3 Health - Obesity Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Tables 11.4: In 2023, the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over with disabilities who binge drank was 13.4%; while the percent of individuals ages 18 years and over without disabilities who binge drank was 16%. The state with the greatest disparity in the percent who binge drank between people with and without disabilities was Guam/GU, with a relative ratio of 0.43. Table 11.4 Health - Binge Drinking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Table 11.1 Health - Persons with and without Disabilities Ages 18 and Over: 2023
Table 11.1 Health - Persons with and without Disabilities Ages 18 and Over: 2023 | ||||||||||
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Notes: Authors’ calculations using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Annual Survey Data, Public Use Microdata Sample, (2023), which is subject to sampling variability. Slight differences in percentages may appear due to rounding when compared to populations. The margin of error (ME) is based on a 95% confidence level and is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. | ||||||||||
Citation: Thomas, N., Bach, S., & Houtenville, A. (2025). Annual Disability Statistics Compendium: 2025 (Table 11.1). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. |
Table 11.2 Health - Smoking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Table 11.2 Health - Smoking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023 | |||||||||||
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Notes: Authors’ calculations using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Annual Survey Data, Public Use Microdata Sample, (2023), which is subject to sampling variability. Slight differences in percentages may appear due to rounding when compared to populations. The margin of error (ME) is based on a 95% confidence level and is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. The relative ratio (RR) is the ratio of the percentage of people with disability who smoke over the percentage of people without disability who smoke. Therefore, a relative ratio further from 1.000 indicates a greater disparity in smoking percentage. | |||||||||||
Citation: Thomas, N., Bach, S., & Houtenville, A. (2025). Annual Disability Statistics Compendium: 2025 (Table 11.2). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. |
Table 11.3 Health - Obesity Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Table 11.3 Health - Obesity Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023 | |||||||||||
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Notes: Authors’ calculations using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Annual Survey Data, Public Use Microdata Sample, (2023), which is subject to sampling variability. Slight differences in percentages may appear due to rounding when compared to populations. The margin of error (ME) is based on a 95% confidence level and is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. The relative ratio (RR) is the ratio of the percentage of people with disability with obesity over the percentage of people without disability with obesity. Therefore, a relative ratio further from 1.000 indicates a greater disparity in obesity percentage. | |||||||||||
Citation: Thomas, N., Bach, S., & Houtenville, A. (2025). Annual Disability Statistics Compendium: 2025 (Table 11.3). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. |
Table 11.4 Health - Binge Drinking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023
Table 11.4 Health - Binge Drinking Among Persons Ages 18 and Over with and without Disabilities for the United States and States: 2023 | |||||||||||
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Notes: Authors’ calculations using the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Annual Survey Data, Public Use Microdata Sample, (2023), which is subject to sampling variability. Slight differences in percentages may appear due to rounding when compared to populations. The margin of error (ME) is based on a 95% confidence level and is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. The relative ratio (RR) is the ratio of the percentage of people with disability who binge drink over the percentage of people without disability who binge drink. Therefore, a relative ratio further from 1.000 indicates a greater disparity in binge drinking percentage. | |||||||||||
Citation: Thomas, N., Bach, S., & Houtenville, A. (2025). Annual Disability Statistics Compendium: 2025 (Table 11.4). Durham, NH: University of New Hampshire, Institute on Disability. |