1 in 4 Chicago adults live with a disability, majority on South and West sides, report finds

One in four Chicago adults are living with a disability, and the majority reside on the South and West sides, according to a new report released Tuesday by the city.

The report uncovers for the first time key information about the city’s population of people with disabilities and inequities in their neighborhoods, laying the groundwork for the city to improve those conditions.

The goal of the report is to provide Chicago leaders with information and data that can inform their plans to improve neighborhood conditions for people with disabilities. It calls for a cooperative effort among all city agencies, policymakers and community leaders “to foster inclusive social and built environments.”

“There are many things this report makes visible,” said Simbo Ige, commissioner of the city's Department of Public Health, which co-authored the report with the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities. “We cannot do a good job as public agencies if we are not listening, if we’re not learning, if we’re not documenting the realities of the people we are supposed to be serving.”

Black residents make up the majority of Chicago’s disability population at about 32%, followed by Latinos at 27%. Asian and white residents each make up about 20%, the report found.

The data used in the report was collected from the Chicago Department of Public Health’s 2024 Healthy Chicago Survey, which polled more than 4,000 adults from all 77 community areas in the city on environmental, neighborhood and social factors associated with health.

Eight neighborhoods, all on the South and West sides, had at least 40% of residents report having a disability: West Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Fuller Park, West Englewood, Burnside, Roseland, South Deering and Riverdale, according to the report. The Austin neighborhood reported having the most adults with disabilities, with around 26,000.

Cognitive and mobility issues were the most common types of disabilities reported in Chicago adults, at roughly 12% and 10%, respectively, followed by independent living, vision, hearing and self-care disabilities, according to the report. About 42% of those with a disability reported having more than one disability.

More than two-thirds of adults with a cognitive disability are under 45 years old, and about 40% are 18 to 29 years old, the report found. People 65 and older make up most of the city's population of adults with any type of disability, around 37%.

People with disabilities reported having different perceptions of their neighborhoods and the overall city than those without disabilities.

Though about 75% of both demographics reported identifying three or more infrastructure service needs in their neighborhood, people with disabilities were far less likely to agree that their sidewalks are well maintained and their neighborhoods are generally clean. Adults with disabilities also reported less access to transit, fresh food and less use of neighborhood parks, the report found.

The fear of crime prevents about 35% of people with disabilities from doing things they would otherwise like to do, compared with about 22% of people without disabilities. People with disabilities also reported feeling less safe in their neighborhoods, the report found.

Trust in local government, including law enforcement, was also lower among individuals with disabilities, according to the report.

“What we shared today is only part of a much broader landscape toward achieving that goal of communities that are designed in a way that facilitates easy access to resources for all Chicagoans, including those with disabilities,” said Tessa Day, an author of the report and epidemiologist with the city's health department.