HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R) recently released a report exploring the level of accessibility in the U.S. housing stock using 2019 American Housing Survey (AHS) data. According to the report, the 2019 AHS data show that almost 2 in 10 U.S. households include a person with accessibility needs.
The 2019 AHS measures accessibility needs in several ways. The survey’s “Housing Accessibility” module asked if someone in the household uses a mobility device, such as a cane, crutches, or electric or manual wheelchair; 13 percent of households, or almost 16 million households, included someone who uses at least one of these devices. The most used device was a cane or walker, reported by 64 percent of households in which someone uses an assistive device.
Many households that include a person with accessibility needs, however, live in homes that are not fully accessible—the 2019 AHS data find that almost 4 in 10 reported that their homes currently do not have accessibility features such as entry-level bedrooms or full bathrooms. Only a small share of owner households reported plans to install such features or to make accessibility-related improvements to their homes.