Disability Data

A summary of the Census Disability Data specification.

1.0 Introduction

Disability datasets are reported once per year by the United States Census. The data reflect the number of persons reporting as having a disability defined by the US Census. The data sets range from 2015 - to 2020 and have been aggregated to census tracts.

Disability data is collected through three federally conducted surveys (American Community Survey (ACS), Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), and Current Population Survey (CPS). Six disability types are identified in the surveying methods: hearing difficulty, vision difficulty, cognitive difficulty, ambulatory difficulty, self-care difficulty, and independent living difficulty. Anyone who reports one of the six disabilities is documented as having a disability.

Disability Categories

Hearing difficulty deaf or having serious difficulty hearing (DEAR).
Vision difficulty blind or having serious difficulty seeing, even when wearing glasses (DEYE).
Cognitive difficulty Because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem, having difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions (DREM).
Ambulatory difficulty Having serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs (DPHY).
Self-care difficulty Having difficulty bathing or dressing (DDRS).
Independent living difficulty Because of a physical, mental, or emotional problem, having difficulties doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping (DOUT).

Census Disability Parameters: Census.gov

2.0 Data Specification

The following table is the format in which downloaded Disability data will be provided:

Field	Type	Description
`geo_id`	String	14-digit code relating the data to the correct geolocation.
`census_tract_code`	String	The unique identifier provided by the US Census for each census tract.
`sub_category`	String	With a disability Total civilian non-institutionalized population.
`unit`	String	Total count of persons.
`value`	Float	Number of persons fitting within survey criteria.
`year`	String	Year data was collected.
`county_name`	String	Name of the county that the census tract resides in.
`state_name`	String	Name of the state that the census tract resides in.
`geometry`	String	The GIS information required for the computer to read the mapping file.

💡Tip: The “GEO.ID” field contains 14-digit codes that identify the summary level of data, the geographic component of the data, and FIPS codes that uniquely identify the data. For example, the 14-digit “GEO.ID” for Harris County, TX is “0500000US48201” where “050” represents the summary level of the data, “0000” represents the 2-digit geographic variant, and the 2-digit geographic component, “US” represents the United States, “48” represents the state of Texas and “201” represents Harris County.