About 11.6% of people have disabilities in Minnesota, most commonly cognitive, mobility, and independent living disabilities. People with disabilities may have co-occurring disabilities, such as being deaf and blind or having mobility difficulties that make it challenging to live independently.

Nationally, 13.4% of Americans report having one or more disabilities, with the most common disability pertaining to mobility. Nearly 7% of Americans have conditions that prevent or impede walking. Ensuring accessibility for people with mobility issues results in the largest infrastructural changes, such as adding ramps and elevators to buildings, adding lifts to pools and hot tubs, and creating wheelchair spaces on public transit.

Supporting these individuals has also spurred advances in technology, such as increasingly advanced wheelchairs and vehicles that can be driven by those who don't have full use of their feet. In the digital world, accessibility entails spacing text and buttons adequately to allow users to enlarge text or click precisely on what they intend to, removing time limitations, and avoiding mandatory drag-and-drop interfaces.

Disabilities that limit people's ability to live independently (reported among 6% of Americans) are also common throughout the country. Independent-living disabilities include physical or mental limitations that prevent people from completing errands or household tasks. These, along with self-care disabilities, most often necessitate a caretaker, whether a live-in family member, an in-home aide, or admittance to a nursing home.

Individualized treatment plans, skill development training, and smart home technologies could help people with independent-living disabilities maintain their independence. What's more, flexible work schedules, remote work capabilities, and family and medical leave can create more opportunities for families to better support their loved ones with disabilities.

Nearly 6% of Americans have cognitive disabilities such as autism and dementia, which can cause difficulty concentrating or making decisions. To create accessibility for people with these conditions, people and institutions can communicate information in multiple modes: audio, text, and visuals. Website interfaces can provide multiple navigation options to ensure ease of access for anyone. Consistency, predictability, and simplicity in websites, signage, and other communications make them more accessible to people with these disabilities—and more straightforward for all viewers.

Hearing impairments (which impact 3.7% of Americans) are increasingly being represented in media, from blockbuster films like "A Quiet Place" to central characters in shows like Marvel's "Hawkeye" and AMC's "The Walking Dead." Deaf and hard-of-hearing social media influencers are also spreading knowledge of American Sign Language. Subtitles are becoming more commonly used even among those who don't have hearing disabilities.

Accessibility has also improved for those with visual impairments, reported among 2.5% of Americans. People experiencing partial or full blindness have more access to increasingly specific alternative text/descriptions for images, speech recognition technology, integrated colorblind tests, and more.

Understanding the particular needs within communities is essential to eliminating bias and continuing to improve accessibility in the physical and digital worlds for all Americans.

This story features data reporting and writing by Paxtyn Merten and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 50 states and Washington D.C.