Massachusetts: Census data for your State Plan

835,832 of 6,926,890 civilian noninstitutionalized residents of Massachusetts report a disability, 12.1%. 2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates.

The state in numbers

What Massachusetts's centers reported.

Counties

Population and people with a disability for each of Massachusetts's 14 counties, with the disability count by age band. Each estimate has a margin of error that is wide for small counties; the Census Bureau publishes the margins with the table.

Civilian noninstitutionalized population with a disability by county, MassachusettsU.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019-2023 5-year estimates, tables B18101 and B18101A-I (civilian noninstitutionalized population)
CountyPopulationWith a disabilityDisability rateUnder 1818 to 6465 and over
Barnstable County227,53632,48714.3%1,98711,26019,240
Berkshire County126,26619,79315.7%1,09710,2438,453
Bristol County573,04983,39214.6%6,60045,06831,724
Dukes County20,6442,24610.9%07161,530
Essex County800,97297,14012.1%8,49344,84043,807
Franklin County70,30111,98617.0%9455,6475,394
Hampden County458,13175,29616.4%7,80739,98327,506
Hampshire County155,42118,74412.1%1,3189,1638,263
Middlesex County1,608,885157,2569.8%12,97673,73770,543
Nantucket County14,2551,3229.3%157704461
Norfolk County717,61269,3089.7%5,37730,59133,340
Plymouth County525,29861,25511.7%4,79129,17627,288
Suffolk County777,22095,74212.3%7,54450,55537,643
Worcester County851,300109,86512.9%8,39057,98043,495

Draft indicator language

Illustrations, not recommendations

These sentences show what an indicator looks like when the Census denominator is written into it, with Massachusetts's numbers filled in. The council, the designated state entity and the centers decide the targets. The plan's own definition of served, unserved and underserved governs; nothing here replaces it.

  1. Statewide reach. "By the end of the plan period, the Independent Living network will serve at least 3,753 consumers statewide, 44.9 per 10,000 of the 835,832 civilian noninstitutionalized residents with a disability (2019–2023 ACS 5-year estimates), the national median rate in report year 2023."
  2. Reach in the largest county. "Centers will serve at least 706 consumers who live in Middlesex County, 44.9 per 10,000 of its 157,256 residents with a disability, and will report the county figure each quarter."
  3. Presence in the smallest county. "At least one center will record consumers served in Nantucket County (1,322 residents with a disability) in every quarter of the plan period, and the network will report reach per 10,000 for that county annually, noting the estimate's margin of error."
  4. Working-age reach. "Of consumers served, at least the share corresponding to the state's age mix will be aged 18 to 64. In Massachusetts, 409,663 of 835,832 people with a disability (49%) are of working age."
  5. Youth transition. "The network will serve at least N young people aged 14 to 24 each year, against a base of 67,482 children under 18 with a disability in the state (the Census band does not match 14 to 24 exactly; the plan should say so)."
  6. Improvement on baseline. "The network will increase consumers served by 10% over the 2023 baseline, and will publish reach per 10,000 by county each year so the increase can be seen where it happens."

Each of these needs the same twelve-month window and the same definition of a consumer at every center. Without that, the numerator cannot be trusted, and no denominator fixes it. The common definitions are the place to start.

Read before using

How penetration rates and thresholds work, and the county table as a CSV.