Where Do Older Adults with Disabilities Live? Distribution of Disability by Household Composition and Housing Type in the U.S.

Carrie Henning-Smith, University of Minnesota

There is a paucity of research on the living arrangements of older adults with disabilities, especially research that combines household composition and housing characteristics. This paper addresses that gap by describing the frequency of disability in various living arrangements and by assessing the odds of disability by household composition and housing type. Data come from the 2012 American Community Survey (N=476,931 respondents age 65 and older). Living alone, with children, or with others is associated with higher odds of disability, compared with living with a spouse only. Living in a temporary structure or large apartment building was also associated with higher odds of disability, while living in a small or midsize apartment building was associated with lower odds of disability than living in a single family home. This information will be critical to allocating limited state and federal resources toward providing care for a growing population of older adults.