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- The overall percentage of individuals with a disability in New Jersey was 10.3%. In other words, 911,300 of the 8,860,000 individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported at least one disability.
- 7.7% of working-age individual in New Jersey (ages 21 to 64 years) reported at least one disability. In other words, 405,800 of the 5,241,300 working-age individuals in New Jersey reported at least one disability.
- 21.3% of individuals in New Jersey aged 65 to 74 years reported at least one disability. In other words, 159,400 of the 747,400 individuals aged 65 to 74 in New Jersey reported at least one disability.
Disability By Type In New Jersey
Individuals in New Jersey suffered from a broad range of disabilities with “ambulatory disability” being the most prevalent type in 2015.
- 1.8% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported a visual disability (serious difficulty seeing).
- 2.6% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported a hearing disability (serious difficulty hearing).
- 5.8% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported an ambulatory disability (serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs).
- 3.9% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported a cognitive disability (serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions).
- 2.4% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported a self-care disability (difficulty dressing or bathing).
- Finally, 4.8% of disabled individuals in New Jersey (across all ages) reported and independent living disability (difficulty doing errands alone).
Disability By Gender In New Jersey
Disability was more common in among women than men in 2015.
- The overall percentage of males (all ages) in New Jersey with a disability was 9.9%. In other words, 426,600 of the 4,312,700 males in New Jersey reported at least one disability.
- The overall percentage of females (all ages) with a disability in New Jersey was 10.7%. In other words, 484,700 of the 4,547,300 females in New Jersey reported at least one disability.
Employment with A Disability In New Jersey In 2015:
Unemployment was far more common among individuals in New Jersey with a disability than those without one in 2015.
- The overall employment rate of working-age individuals (ages 21 to 64) in New Jersey with disabilities was 38.2%. The employment rate of working-age individuals in New Jersey without a disability was 78.9%. This represents a 40.7 percentage point gap between the employment rates of working-age individuals with and without disabilities.
- 23.1% of working-age individuals (ages 21 to 64) in New Jersey with a disability were working full-time/full-year. 58.9% of working-age individuals in New Jersey without a disability were working full-time/full-year. This represents a 35.8 percentage point gap between the full-time/full-year employment rates of working-age individuals with and without disabilities.
- 10.7% of working-age individuals in New Jersey with a disability were not working, but were actively looking for work.
Earnings With A Disability In New Jersey
In New Jersey, individuals working full-time with a disability earned substantially less than those working full-time without a disability in 2015.
- The median annual earnings of working-age of working-age individuals (21 to 64) in New Jersey working full-time/full-year with a disability was $50,100. The median annual earnings of working-age individuals working full-time/full-year without a disability was $55,100. This represents a $5,000 earnings gap.
- Among the disability types identified, the highest annual earnings were among individuals in New Jersey with a hearing disability ($60,100).
- The lowest annual earnings were for individuals in New Jersey with a self-care disability ($39,000).
Poverty Rate With Disability In New Jersey
Unsurprisingly, the poverty rate was substantially higher for those with a disability than those without one.
- The poverty rate of working-age of working-age individuals (ages 21 to 64) with a disability was 21.4%. The poverty rate of working-age individuals in New Jersey without a disability was 8.4%. This represents a 13 percentage point gap in the poverty rate between working age individuals with and without disabilities.
- Among the disability types identified, individuals with a self-care disability had the highest poverty rate at 27.2 percent. Individuals with a hearing disability had the lowest poverty rate at 14.7%.
Health Insurance Coverage for Disabled Individuals In New Jersey
In New Jersey, more working-age individuals with a disability had health insurance than those without a disability in 2015.
- 91.8% of working-age individuals (ages 21 to 64) in New Jersey with a disability had health insurance coverage. 87.3% of working-age individuals in New Jersey without a disability had health insurance coverage. In other words, the difference in the health insurance coverage rate between working-age individuals with and without disabilities was 4.5 percentage points.
- In New Jersey, the highest health insurance coverage rate was for individuals with an independent living disability (94.7%). The lowest health insurance coverage rate was for individuals with a visual disability (88.4%).
References:
The information in the 2015 Annual Disability Status Report is based on data from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey, annually samples over 3.5 million American households. The 2015 Annual Disability Status Report contains information on disability prevalence across various American demographics, in addition to statistics related to employment, earnings, and household income. Comparisons are made between people with and without disabilities and across different disability types. The annual report is a frequently cited by policy makers, disability advocates, journalists, and the general public.
