17 Apr 2018
Infographic

The Spending Power of Working-age Adults with Disabilities

The AIR report A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities found that working-age adults with disabilities are a large market for businesses in the U.S. This infographic illuminates the disposable and discretionary income of people with disabilities compared with other similarly sized market segments, such as African Americans and Hispanics.

The Spending Power of Working-age Adults with Disabilities An infographic in three sections depicts the spending power of working-age adults with disabilities, who represent a large market for businesses in the United States. The top section has two panels that answers the question: Who are people with disabilities in the United States? The first panel, on the left, depicts five icon images of three women and two men. One of the icons is highlighted. This represents the fact that one in five adults in the United States, or 64 million people, have a disability. The second panel, on the right, depicts an icon image of a person carrying a briefcase. This represents the fact that of the 64 million people with a disability, 22 million, or 35 percent, of them are of prime working age, meaning that they are from ages 16 through 64. The middle section of the infographic defines the two types of income: disposable and discretionary. A panel on the left defines disposable income as money available after taxes to spend on essential living expenses. Such expenses include housing, food, clothing, and medical costs, represented by images of a house, spoon and fork, clothes hanging on a line outdoors, and a doctor’s briefcase. A panel on the right defines discretionary income as money available after taxes and basic living expenses have been met to spend on luxury or nonessential items. It depicts an image of a wallet filled with dollar bills. The bottom section compares the spending power of people with disabilities to those without disabilities in other significant market groups. It shows that while working-age people with disabilities have significantly lower disposable and discretionary incomes than people without disabilities, they still have significant spending power compared to other similarly sized market segments, such as African Americans and Hispanics. The section has two panels. The panel on the left shows a vertical bar chart that compares total disposable income for African Americans, Hispanics, and people with disabilities. It shows that African Americans have 501 billion dollars in disposable income, Hispanics have 582 billion dollars, and people with disabilities have 490 billion dollars. The panel on the right shows a vertical bar chart that compares total discretionary income for African Americans, Hispanics, and people with disabilities. It shows that African Americans have 3 billion dollars in discretionary income and Hispanics have 16 billion dollars, while people with disabilities have 21 billion in discretionary income. The Source of the infographic: A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of People with Disabilities, 2018. The American Institutes for Research, www. a i r. org

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Related Work

17 Apr 2018
Report

A Hidden Market: The Purchasing Power of Working-Age Adults With Disabilities

People with disabilities provide opportunities for business and industry. This report examines the significant and growing economic power of the disability market through the lens of disposable and discretionary income, and provides information to help motivate businesses to enter this market.
Topic: 
Workforce, Disability and Rehabilitation, Human Capital
17 Apr 2018
News Release

Meeting the Needs of Adults with Disabilities in the Marketplace

The needs of adults with disabilities are frequently overlooked in the marketplace and when businesses are designing and promoting products and services. But a new report from the AIR finds that inclusive hiring practices and involving people with disabilities in product development and advertisement can help businesses access a market worth billions of dollars.

Further Reading