People with Disabilities: A Texas Profile

Disabilities can occur at any age and may result from numerous factors including accidents, disease,
developmental difficulties, occupational hazards, and military service. However, Table 2 illustrates that
the prevalence of disability increases as age increases. Age is an important covariate of disability.
Because of the numerous scientific and social advances made during the 20th century, life expectancies
in the U.S. have increased. Individuals in the U.S. now live long enough to experience chronic and
degenerative diseases instead of experiencing mortality at younger ages from infectious disease. These
degenerative diseases can be associated with many reported disabilities, especially for individuals in the
older age categories.
Differences also exist regarding educational attainment. Table 3 illustrates that in 2011 a greater
percentage of individuals 25 years of age and older with a disability had less than a high school diploma
or equivalency compared to individuals 25 years of age and older without a disability. A greater
percentage of individuals with a disability are high school graduates (or equivalency) than individuals
without a disability. However, only 13.9 percent of individuals with a disability have a bachelor degree
or higher compared to 32 percent of individuals without a disability.
Table 3: Percentages of U.S. Population 25 Years of Age and Older with and without Disabilities by
Education Level, 2011
Education Level With a Disability
Without a
Disability
Less than high school graduate 25.8% 11.5%
High school graduate (includes equivalency) 34.5% 27.1%
Some college or associate degree 25.8% 29.7%
Bachelor degree or higher 13.9% 31.7%
Civilian population 25 years and older 32,566,634 169,843,163
Table notes: 2011 ACS summary table data.
On page 11, Table 4 details the specific types of disabilities reported by individuals in 2011. The
reported disability categories are not mutually exclusive and the same individual may report multiple
disabilities. Approximately 20 million individuals, 53.5 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized
population of individuals with disabilities, reported having an ambulatory difficulty. Approximately 38
percent of the population of individuals with disabilities reported cognitive difficulties and 36.1 percent
reported independent living difficulties. Hearing, self‐care, and vision difficulties were the fourth, fifth,
and sixth most frequently reported.
10 Texas Workforce Investment Council