Disability rates among working-age adults are shaped by race, place, and education

Fewer people between the ages of 25 and 54 (prime working age) in the U.S. are employed than in decades past. People with disabilities have much lower employment rates than people without disabilities, and disabilities are one of the most commonly cited reasons for not working. Moreover, a recent Brookings report identified particular subgroups among the out-of-work as having disproportionately high rates of disability. With these factors in mind, researchers from the Brookings Institution set out to better understand the role of geography and demography in patterns of disability among prime-age adults.