RISP Infographics

People with IDD in the United States

Horizontal bar chart with 6 bars. The top 2 bars are dark blue and represent 2.88 million children in the U.S. that have a developmental delay but not an intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The 2 bars in the middle are teal and represent 3.22 million children in the U.S. that have an intellectual disability or ASD. The bottom 2 bars are yellow and represent 2.28 million adults in the U.S. with an intellectual and/or developmental disability. These 6 horizontal bars represent the 8.38 million people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in the U.S. in 2020. A red box is drawn around portions of the yellow and teal bars, representing 20% of children and 44% of adults with IDD known to state IDD agencies.

There were 8.38 million people with an intellectual or developmental disability in the United States in 2020. Of those, 20% of children and 44% of adults were known to their state developmental disabilities agency.

Note: US prevalence estimates for adults are from 1994/95 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) Disability Supplement. Prevalence (Larson, et al., 2001). Estimates for children are from the 2016 NHIS (Zablotsky et al., 2017).

Source for child prevalence rates

Zablotsky B, Ng AE, Black LI, Blumberg SJ. Diagnosed developmental disabilities in children aged 3–17 years: United States, 2019–2021. NCHS Data Brief, no 473. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2023. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:129520 .

For more information about RISP, contact: risp@umn.edu

Cite as: Residential Information Systems Project (year). [Page Name]. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, RISP, Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Integration. Retrieved from: https://risp.umn.edu.)