Disclaimer: General educational research only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state and by family. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state before you act.
3,811,937 U.S. children under 18 (5.2%) have a disability, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) for 2024. Among children ages 5 to 17, 2,871,594 (5.3%) have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions. Among young adults 18 to 34, 6,673,943 (8.8%) have a disability.
For parents, those numbers raise planning questions that other families don’t face: who would raise the child, how to leave money without cutting off needs-based benefits, and what happens to decision-making when the child turns 18.
If your child may need lifelong support, how you leave money matters as much as how much you leave. See how a trust and a will differ.
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Key findings
- 3,811,937 children under 18 (5.2%) have a disability (ACS 2024, table B18101; margin of error about ±40,140).
- Highest shares of children with a disability: Maine (7.3%), Oklahoma (7.1%), West Virginia (7.1%), Mississippi (7.0%), Arkansas (6.9%) and Kentucky (6.6%).
- Lowest shares: Colorado (4.0%), Nebraska (4.0%), New Jersey (4.0%), Alaska (4.1%) and Hawaii (4.3%).
- Largest numbers of children with a disability: Texas (416,230), California (381,047), Florida (242,336), New York (197,224) and Pennsylvania (165,978).
- 2,871,594 children ages 5 to 17 (5.3%) have a cognitive difficulty (table B18104). Highest: Maine (8.1%), Mississippi (7.2%), Arkansas (7.1%) and West Virginia (7.1%).
- 6,673,943 adults ages 18 to 34 (8.8%) have a disability. Highest: Maine (12.7%), Kentucky (12.2%), Oregon (12.0%) and Oklahoma (11.7%). Lowest: New Jersey (6.4%), Hawaii (6.9%) and California (7.3%).
Children with disabilities by state
| State | Children under 18 | With a disability | Margin of error (approx.) | Share (%) | Ages 5–17 with cognitive difficulty (%) | Ages 18–34 with a disability (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | 244,300 | 17,929 | ±2,424 | 7.3 | 8.1 | 12.7 |
| Oklahoma | 962,193 | 68,703 | ±4,187 | 7.1 | 6.8 | 11.7 |
| West Virginia | 346,953 | 24,765 | ±2,710 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 11.1 |
| Mississippi | 671,054 | 46,689 | ±4,807 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 11.1 |
| Arkansas | 696,911 | 48,161 | ±4,673 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 10.8 |
| Kentucky | 1,018,019 | 67,173 | ±5,033 | 6.6 | 6.6 | 12.2 |
| Alabama | 1,130,149 | 72,718 | ±5,918 | 6.4 | 6.6 | 9.5 |
| Louisiana | 1,061,642 | 68,231 | ±5,650 | 6.4 | 6.5 | 10.2 |
| Oregon | 823,850 | 51,509 | ±4,412 | 6.3 | 6.6 | 12.0 |
| Pennsylvania | 2,621,208 | 165,978 | ±8,818 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 9.1 |
| Indiana | 1,576,664 | 94,985 | ±5,737 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 10.8 |
| New Hampshire | 247,836 | 14,777 | ±2,380 | 6.0 | 7.0 | 11.6 |
| Connecticut | 727,143 | 41,471 | ±4,485 | 5.7 | 5.9 | 8.7 |
| Ohio | 2,566,479 | 145,226 | ±7,178 | 5.7 | 5.8 | 10.1 |
| South Dakota | 216,863 | 12,350 | ±2,202 | 5.7 | 5.7 | 9.5 |
| Kansas | 685,894 | 37,622 | ±3,688 | 5.5 | 5.7 | 9.3 |
| Rhode Island | 203,235 | 11,087 | ±2,347 | 5.5 | 6.3 | 9.9 |
| Florida | 4,487,163 | 242,336 | ±12,125 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 7.8 |
| New Mexico | 443,367 | 23,775 | ±3,117 | 5.4 | 5.0 | 10.0 |
| Texas | 7,649,118 | 416,230 | ±16,115 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 8.5 |
| Virginia | 1,872,271 | 100,429 | ±5,286 | 5.4 | 5.8 | 8.5 |
| Idaho | 466,673 | 24,516 | ±2,738 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 11.6 |
| Missouri | 1,364,035 | 72,974 | ±4,540 | 5.3 | 5.5 | 10.0 |
| Wyoming | 124,640 | 6,550 | ±1,636 | 5.3 | 5.1 | 7.8 |
| Georgia | 2,528,549 | 130,497 | ±8,015 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 8.2 |
| Michigan | 2,101,481 | 109,758 | ±6,253 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 9.8 |
| Nevada | 687,218 | 34,844 | ±4,098 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 9.4 |
| North Carolina | 2,347,272 | 120,659 | ±6,618 | 5.1 | 5.2 | 8.7 |
| South Carolina | 1,148,211 | 59,123 | ±5,178 | 5.1 | 5.3 | 9.0 |
| Wisconsin | 1,232,821 | 62,978 | ±4,801 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 8.8 |
| Arizona | 1,583,751 | 78,817 | ±6,263 | 5.0 | 4.7 | 8.6 |
| District of Columbia | 129,757 | 6,465 | ±2,772 | 5.0 | 5.3 | 10.0 |
| Minnesota | 1,289,515 | 64,976 | ±4,716 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 9.3 |
| New York | 3,967,969 | 197,224 | ±10,133 | 5.0 | 4.8 | 7.8 |
| North Dakota | 177,914 | 8,847 | ±1,915 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 9.1 |
| Washington | 1,650,683 | 82,351 | ±5,092 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 10.2 |
| Iowa | 726,107 | 35,845 | ±3,364 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 9.0 |
| Montana | 229,211 | 11,224 | ±1,710 | 4.9 | 4.3 | 9.2 |
| Vermont | 111,903 | 5,433 | ±1,093 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 10.8 |
| Delaware | 213,683 | 10,311 | ±2,335 | 4.8 | 4.2 | 9.3 |
| Tennessee | 1,574,289 | 76,264 | ±5,844 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 8.9 |
| Utah | 930,445 | 44,230 | ±3,822 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 8.9 |
| Maryland | 1,367,516 | 62,894 | ±5,375 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 8.1 |
| California | 8,403,843 | 381,047 | ±12,651 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 7.3 |
| Illinois | 2,690,510 | 121,462 | ±6,933 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 8.1 |
| Massachusetts | 1,352,201 | 61,333 | ±4,670 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 8.4 |
| Hawaii | 293,445 | 12,749 | ±2,178 | 4.3 | 5.0 | 6.9 |
| Alaska | 173,796 | 7,207 | ±1,267 | 4.1 | 3.7 | 9.5 |
| Colorado | 1,205,687 | 48,829 | ±4,475 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 9.2 |
| Nebraska | 478,745 | 19,119 | ±2,439 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 8.8 |
| New Jersey | 2,042,697 | 81,267 | ±5,871 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 6.4 |
| United States | 72,846,879 | 3,811,937 | ±40,140 | 5.2 | 5.3 | 8.8 |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, tables B18101 and B18104, civilian noninstitutionalized population. Sorted by share of children with a disability. Margins of error for summed cells are approximations.
What this means for parents
- Name a guardian in your will. If both parents die, a court picks who raises a minor child. A will is where you tell the court who you want. See who would raise the kids.
- Don’t leave money outright to a child who may need SSI or Medicaid. Supplemental Security Income has a $2,000 resource limit for an individual. A third-party special needs trust, set up by parents or grandparents, can hold an inheritance for extras without counting as the child’s resource when it is drafted correctly. See SSI’s $2,000 asset limit and special needs trusts.
- Check beneficiary forms. Life insurance and retirement accounts go to whoever is named on the form, not to the will. Many families name the special needs trust instead of the child.
- Plan for age 18. At 18 a child is a legal adult, and parents no longer make decisions automatically. Depending on the young adult’s abilities and state law, options include a power of attorney, a health care proxy, a supported decision-making agreement, or guardianship.
- ABLE accounts got broader in 2026. Since Jan. 1, 2026, a person can open an ABLE account if their disability began before age 46, up from 26 (SSA). An ABLE account can work alongside a special needs trust.
Related: households with SSI income by state · grandparents raising grandchildren
Related research: turning 18 by state lists the documents families sign when a child turns 18, including options for young adults with disabilities.
Related research: aging parents of adult children with disabilities picks up where this page ends. 1,376,708 adults with a disability still live with a parent who is 65 or older, and 57.7% of those parents have no spouse or partner at home (Census ACS 2024).
Methodology
Census ACS 2024 1-year estimates, tables B18101 (sex by age by disability status) and B18104 (sex by age by cognitive difficulty), pulled from the Census API on Oct. 18, 2026, for the 50 states, D.C. and the U.S. Children with a disability adds the male and female “with a disability” cells for under 5 and 5 to 17. Shares divide by the matching age totals. Margins of error for summed cells use the Census approximation (square root of the sum of squared margins).
What this doesn’t measure. The ACS asks six disability questions; for children under 5 it asks only about hearing and vision. It does not capture every condition, such as some developmental or chronic health conditions, and it does not tell you who receives SSI or Medicaid or who already has a trust. ACS figures are survey estimates with margins of error, so small differences between states may not be meaningful.
Frequently asked questions
How many children in the U.S. have a disability?
3,811,937, or 5.2% of children under 18 (ACS 2024).
Which state has the highest share?
Maine (7.3%), followed by Oklahoma and West Virginia (7.1%).
Can an inheritance hurt my child’s benefits?
It can, if it goes to the child directly and pushes countable resources over the SSI limit. A properly written special needs trust is the usual fix. Get state-specific legal advice.
Is this legal advice?
No. Talk to an estate planning attorney in your state.
Sources
Public-domain government sources only. Fetched 2026-10-18.
Data
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B18101: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1/groups/B18101.html
- U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year, table B18104: https://api.census.gov/data/2024/acs/acs1/groups/B18104.html
- Social Security Administration, ABLE accounts (age of onset before 46 from Jan. 1, 2026): https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/spotlights/spot-able.html
- Social Security Administration, SSI resource limits: https://www.ssa.gov/ssi/text-resources-ussi.htm
Related data
More in Income, benefits, disability and life stages.
Cite this data
Family Estate Guide, “Children With Disabilities by State,” October 2026. https://familyestateguide.com/estate-planning-data/children-with-disabilities-by-state/
You’re welcome to reuse the table with a link back to this page. The underlying government data is public.
Published October 18, 2026 by Family Estate Guide. Data vintage: Census ACS 2024 1-year, tables B18101 and B18104. Editorial standards.