ADA anniversary today

This day, July 26, marks the 21st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which guarantees equal opportunity for people with disabilities in public accommodations, commercial facilities, employment, transportation, state and local government services and telecommunications.

-36 million: Number of people who have a disability. They represent 12 percent of the civilian noninstitutionalized population.

By age —
— 5 percent of children 5 to 17 have disabilities.
— 10 percent of people 18 to 64 have disabilities.
— 37 percent of adults 65 and older have disabilities.
12.3 percent: Percentage of females with a disability, compared with 11.6 percent of males.
18.8 percent: Percentage of people with a disability in West Virginia, highest of all states. Utah has the lowest with 8.9 percent of its residents reporting a disability.

10.2 million: Number of people who have a hearing difficulty. Of these, 5.8 million are 65 and older.

6.5 million: Number of people with a vision difficulty.

13.5 million: Number of people 5 and older who have difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions. Of these, 2.1 million are children 5 to 17 years of age.

19.4 million: Number of people 5 and older who have difficulty walking or climbing stairs.

6 percent: Percentage of disabled workers 16 and older who use public transportation to commute to work. In addition, 70 percent of people with a disability drive alone, 13 percent carpool, 4 percent walk and 3 percent use a taxicab, motorcycle, bicycle or other means.
22 percent: Percentage of disabled workers 16 and older who work in the educational services and health care and social assistance industries, the highest of any industry.

21 percent: Percent of the population age 16 and older with a disability that are below the poverty level. Eleven percent of the population age 16 and older without a disability are below the poverty level.

72 percent: Percentage of disabled people 16 and older who are not in the labor force. Twenty-seven percent of people without a disability are not in the labor force.
$18,865: Median earnings of the population age 16 and older with a disability, this compares with $28,983 for the population without a disability.

$35.3 billion: Amount of compensation veterans received for service-connected disabilities in fiscal year 2008.

28 percent: Percentage of people 25 and older with a disability who have less than a high school graduate education. This compares with 12 percent for those with no disability.
13 percent: Percentage of people 25 and older with a disability who have a bachelor’s degree or higher. This compares with 31 percent for those with no disability.