Colin Wong, a blind Ph.D. student, he can’t forget having to pay $100 for an Uber when he was supposed to take a standardized test. There was no testing center in San Francisco, where he lived, that could accommodate his disability.

This kind of expensive hassle is not uncommon. It costs nearly $7,000 more per year to live in the U.S. with his disability, according to research I, a scholar in social work, driven with four experts at the American Foundation for the Blind – a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting equality and inclusion for people who are blind or visually impaired.

For our research, we analyzed survey data from a representative sample of Americans, focusing on how the visually impaired responded. We considered anyone who said they were living with a visual disability – or said they had a lot of trouble seeing or couldn’t see at all, even with glasses – as a person with low vision or blindness.

We calculated that people who are blind or have low vision spend, on average, 27% of their household income on expenses related to their disability – about $7,000 per year.

Low-income Americans with disabilities bear an even greater burden. People who took part in this survey who earned less than $25,000 a year said they spent about 40 percent of their income on their disability-related costs, on average, compared to 16 percent for those with higher incomes.

This leaves them with less money for other essentials such as food and housing. About 1 in 4 respondents said they spent less on food to cover their disability-related expenses.

And about 2 in 3 people surveyed said they often don’t have the goods and services they need, including health care, assistive technology and transportation to get to school or work.

Why it matters

Cost of living issues are at the forefront of all Americans’ concerns, according to a recent Gallup poll. And people with disabilities, including those with physical or mental conditions, tend to do so they have more trouble fulfilling their capacities than the average person.

That includes approx 7 million Americans with blindness or vision loss which are among more than 1 in 4 people in this country with disabilities.

One reason for the higher cost of living is that people with disabilities tend to incur many other additional expenses, such as higher expenses for transportation, prepared meals, and food delivery services. Others struggle to afford the prescription and over-the-counter medications and supplements they need.

Politicians and policy makers seem to be paying more attention to this issue, which my research team calls “gathering handicap.” Vice President Kamala Harris, for example, announced in October 2024 a proposal to expand Medicare to cover long-term care needs for older adults and people with disabilities.

What is still unknown

Our survey included 288 people with blindness or low vision. Studies with larger numbers of participants could greatly expand what is known about this problem and what can be done about it.

Expanding accessible public transportation, making assistive technologies more accessible, and increasing disability benefits may be enough to give some people with disabilities the opportunity to thrive, but not for others.

Future research may shed more light on the cracks in the US health and welfare systems. For example, researchers could look at why people with health insurance from Medicaid or Medicare told us they have more unmet need, rather than less, than those with private insurer coverage. Further studies could examine how disability accrual affects the long-term health and employment of people with disabilities.

The Research Summary is a short approach about interesting academic work.