People with Disabilities in Southwestern Pennsylvania
Data taken from 2000 census, and excerpted from a report by the University Center for Social and
Urban Research at the University of Pittsburgh, which was funded by the FISA Foundation.
Full report is available at: www.ucsur.pitt.edu, click on publications
Introduction
The University of Pittsburgh’s Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR) recently concluded a
study to analyze data about people with disabilities that was reported in the 2000 census. Unless
otherwise indicated, the geographic area includes the ten county region of southwestern Pennsylvania
(Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and
Westmoreland).
The study sampled the population of southwest Pennsylvania, but excluded those under age five, in the
military or residing in an institution. Census data is self-reported, introducing a bias error. Six
categories were included in the 2000 Census, combining disability and functional limitations:

Physical: a condition that substantially limits physical activity such as walking, climbing stairs,
reaching, lifting or carrying.

Employment: difficulty working at a job or business.

Mobility: difficulty going outside the home alone to shop or visit a doctor’s office.

Mental: difficulty learning, remembering or concentrating.

Sensory: blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment.

Self-care: difficulty dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home.
Rates of Disability:

Of the total population age 5 and over, 459,296 or 18.6% reported having at least one disability.
More than half of these (10%) reported having only one disability while the remainder (8.6%)
reported having two or more disabilities.

Disability rates increase with age. 5.4% of children age 5-15, 10% of adolescents (age 16-20),
16.7% of adults (age 21-64), and 39.4% of seniors (age 65 and over) report having at least one
disability.

Males age 5-64 have a slightly higher rate of disability than females (14.8% for males and 13%
for females). Over age 65 the trend changes and women report a higher rate of disabilities (37.5%
for males and 40.1% for females). Note: There were also more women then men in the overall
senior population.

The rate for “physical” disabilities (8.3%) in the general population age 5 and above is
double that of either “sensory” (3.6%) or “mental” (4.5%) disabilities.
1
Disability Statistics from 2000 Census
see www.ucsur.pitt.edu for full report

The prevalence of each of the six categories of disability or functional limitation varies.
“Physical” was the disability type reported the most (26.5%), followed by “employment” (19.6%),
“go-outside-home” (19.6%), “mental” (14.3%), “sensory” (11.6%), and “self-care” (8.4%).

The incidence of the six categories of disability and functional limitation varies by age group.
Among children age 5 to 15, the most common type is “mental.” For adults of working age (16 to
64), the most common is “employment.” And among seniors (65+), the most common disability
type is “physical.”
Geographic Distribution:

Almost half of the region’s population with disabilities resides in Allegheny County (47%),
followed by Westmoreland County (14%). The city of Pittsburgh alone reports 14% of
southwestern Pennsylvania’s population with disabilities.

Fayette (24.9%) and Greene (22.4%) counties stand out as the counties with the highest
disability rates, while Butler County (15.3%) and Allegheny County (18%) have the lowest.
Pittsburgh has a higher rate (21.2%) than the region’s average. One possible reason for this is that
individuals with a disability may tend to migrate to the city, which may have more and better
health services.
Race:

Disability rates vary significantly by race. The racial/ethnic groups with highest rates of
disability are Native Americans (27.2%) and African Americans (24.8%). Those with the lowest
rates are: Non-Hispanic whites (18.2%), Hispanics (16.7%), and Asian Americans (8.9%). NOTE:
The statistics for the non-white racial groups are based upon relatively small samples and thus the
statistics about disability in these populations may contain bias and caution should be used in
interpreting the findings.
Marital Status:

When compared to the whole population age 18-64 in southwestern Pennsylvania, people with
disabilities have lower rates of being currently married and higher rates of being divorced.
When compared to the whole population over age 65, individuals with disabilities of that age have
lower rates of being currently married and higher rates of being widowed.
Education:

People with disabilities age 18-34 have lower rates of school enrollment (20.5%) than people
without disabilities (28.2%).
o Among those age 18-34 and no longer enrolled in school, the percent that did not finish
high school is higher among people with disabilities (18.8%) than among those without
disabilities (8.1%).
o The percent of the population age 18-34 who hold a college degree or higher and are
no longer enrolled in school is much lower among people with disabilities (12.7%) than
among those without a disability (28.2%).
2
Disability Statistics from 2000 Census
see www.ucsur.pitt.edu for full report
Employment:

Of people with disabilities between age 18-64, 48.6% of women and 41.3% of men define
themselves as not being in the labor force.

Of those who are in the labor force, 7.7% of women with disabilities and 9.4% of men with
disabilities are unemployed. Note: The census did not collect data about why an individual is not in
the labor force, nor did it differentiate between employed and under-employed. Anecdotally, many
people with disabilities may want to work, but have encountered such significant barriers and
difficulties that they have given up looking for employment.

The employment rate for people with disabilities is 15-25% lower than for people without
disabilities (77.2% for people without disabilities; 55.7% for men with disabilities; and 48.4% for
women with disabilities).

Almost half of “employment” disability cases occur alone, which suggests that other non-disability
related factors (such as lack of training or skills, difficulties with housing, childcare or
transportation, sexual harassment in the workplace or lack of available jobs) may have influenced
these findings and confused the definition of “employment disability.”
Poverty:

In southwestern Pennsylvania, 17.2% of people with disabilities age 5 and above live at or below
the poverty level, compared with 9.3% of people without disabilities.

In all age groups, people with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty than people without
disabilities. This disparity is particularly striking in children, as children with disabilities (age 515) are twice as likely as children without disabilities to live in poverty (29% vs. 14%
respectively).

Gender differences: Overall, women in the region are more likely to live in poverty then men.
(Overall 12% of women and 9.2% of men live in poverty.) Women with disabilities are more likely
then men with disabilities to live in poverty (19.6% vs. 14.6%). This gender disparity exists in
every age group, although it is least significant for children age 5-15 (30.8% of girls with
disabilities vs. 28.2% of boys with disabilities live in poverty).

The City of Pittsburgh has much higher rates of people with disabilities living in poverty than any
other area in southwestern Pennsylvania. Compared to the national average, the poverty rate among
children with disabilities in Pittsburgh is almost double, surpassing the national average by 20
percentage points (25% nationally vs. 45.2% in Pittsburgh).
3
Disability Statistics from 2000 Census
see www.ucsur.pitt.edu for full report