Hawaii residents receiving gov’t assistance have second-lowest disability rate
About one-fourth of Hawaii residents receiving income-based government assistance had one or more types of disability in 2011, according to a Census Bureau brief released today.
The brief was aimed at better understanding the population of Americans who receive income-based assistance, which includes everything from food stamps, to cash payments to Medicaid.
Nationally, 30 percent of recipients of government assistance had a disability, according to the report.
Arizona had the lowest disability rate among its population of residents who received income-based assistance, at 25.1 percent (Hawaii came in a hair above Arizona, with 25.2 percent). The highest percentage — 41.7 percent — was found in West Virginia.
Twenty-two states had disability rates above the national average.
Among Hawaii residents who received income-based government assistance and had one or more disabilities, 13 percent had a cognitive difficulty, 15 percent had trouble walking or climbing stairs and 14 percent could not live independently.