Disability and Functioning

• Number of adults aged 18 and over with hearing trouble: 41.3 million
• Percent of adults aged 18 and over with hearing trouble: 16.5%
• Number of adults aged 18 and over with vision trouble: 32.2 million
• Percent of adults aged 18 and over with vision trouble: 12.9%

Source: Summary Health Statistics Tables for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2018, Tables A-6b, A-6c pdf icon[PDF – 147 KB]

• Number of adults aged 18 and over unable (or very difficult) to walk a quarter mile: 19.4 million
• Percent of adults aged 18 and over unable (or very difficult) to walk a quarter mile: 7.8%
• Number of adults aged 18 and over with any physical functioning difficulty: 40.7 million
• Percent of adults aged 18 and over with any physical functioning difficulty: 16.3%

Source: Summary Health Statistics Tables for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2018, Tables A-10b, A-10c pdf icon[PDF – 263 KB]

• Number of adults aged 18 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 20.7 million (2017)
• Percent of adults aged 18 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 8.7% (2017)
• Number of adults aged 65 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 9.5 million (2017)
• Percent of adults aged 65 and over reporting a lot of difficulty or cannot do at all in at least one domain of functioning: 19.5% (2017)

Source: Health, United States, 2018, table 15 pdf icon[PDF – 9.8 MB]

• National Health Interview Survey
• National Health Interview Survey on Disability
• Disability and Health Data System
• National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities
• National Institutes of Healthexternal icon
• National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR)external icon
• Washington Group on Disability Statisticsexternal icon