According to Census and HUD Data, States with the Highest Numbers of Adults with Disabilities in Poverty and Deep Poverty Have the Highest Numbers of Chronically Homeless Persons in 2015

Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its 1-Year American Community Survey data on income, employment, poverty, and other population characteristics in 2015 for jurisdictions with populations of 65,000 or more.  According to this survey, 39.9 million people or 12.6% of the nation had a disability, an increase of 300,000 from 2014.  Moreover, persons with disabilities were disproportionately poor and extremely poor: 8.4 million or 21% of people with disabilities were poor while 46.2 million or 14.7% of people overall were poor and 3.1 million or 7.8% of people with disabilities were extremely poor while 20.4 million or 6.5% of people overall were extremely poor.  Also, 8.4 million or 18.2% of the 46.2 million people with income below the federal poverty level had a disability and 3.1 million or 15.3% of the 20.4 million with income below half of the poverty level had a disability in 2015.

The five states that had the largest percent of persons with disabilities with income below the federal poverty level were, in descending order, Kentucky, Mississippi, West Virginia, Kansas, and the District of Columbia with between 4.0% and 4.6% in poverty.  Four of these states also had the largest percent of people with disabilities with income below half of the federal poverty level.  The five states with the largest percent were in, descending order, Mississippi, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and New Mexico with between 1.5% and 1.7% in deep poverty.

The five states that had the largest percent of their population comprised of adults with disabilities who had income below the federal poverty level were, in descending order, Kentucky, West Virginia, Mississippi, Arkansas, and the District of Columbia with between 3.7% and 4.1% of adults with disabilities in poverty.  Four of these states also had the largest percent of adults with disabilities who had income below half of the federal poverty level.  The five states with the largest percent were, in descending order, Mississippi, the District of Columbia, West Virginia, New Mexico, and Kentucky with between 1.3% and 1.4% of adults who had a disability and were in deep poverty.

Adults with Disabilities in Poverty in 2015

A different picture emerges when looking at the total number of persons and adults with disabilities with income below the federal poverty level and below half of the federal poverty level.  The five states with the largest number of persons and adults with disabilities living in poverty were, in descending order, California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania with 368,000 to 836,000 persons with disabilities in poverty and 321,000 to 763,000 adults with disabilities in poverty.  Four of these states also had the largest number of adults with disabilities living in deep poverty.  The five states with the largest number of persons with disabilities in deep poverty were, in descending order, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois with 1.7 million to 5.9 million persons with disabilities in deep poverty and the five states with the largest number of adults with disabilities in deep poverty were, in descending order, California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Ohio with 114,000 to 275,000 adults with disabilities in deep poverty.

Adults with Disabilities in Deep Poverty in 2015

The states with the largest numbers of adults living in poverty and in deep poverty also had the largest numbers of chronically homeless persons on a given night in 2015 according to HUD’s Point-in-Time Count.  Specifically, four of the five states with the largest numbers of adults with disabilities experiencing poverty and deep poverty had the four largest numbers of chronically homeless persons: California with 32,000 chronically homeless persons, New York with 7,100 chronically homeless persons, Florida with 6,500 chronically homeless persons, and Texas with 4,300 chronically homeless persons.  The other two states with the largest number of adults with disabilities in poverty and deep poverty also had high levels of chronically homeless persons: Pennsylvania had the 14th highest number of chronically homeless persons and Ohio had the 20th highest number of chronically homeless persons.  In addition, the four states with the largest number of adults with disabilities in poverty and deep poverty also had the largest number of chronically homeless persons who were without shelter on the streets: California with 27,000 unsheltered chronically homeless persons, Florida with 5,000 unsheltered chronically homeless persons, and Texas and New York with 2,400 unsheltered chronically homeless persons each.

Chronically Homeless Persons in 2015

The Census and HUD data indicate that poverty and deep poverty of adults with disabilities is associated with chronic homelessness on a statewide basis.  Therefore, policies, practices, and funding that reduce poverty and deep poverty, including providing more assistance to poor and extremely poor adults with disabilities, should reduce the numbers of chronically homeless persons.