Published on Ruderman Family Foundation in July 2020. Read original report here.

This white paper looks at the disparity in pay between people without disabilities and people with disabilities.

Key Findings:

• The income gap between people with and without disabilities in Boston Metro is about $24,000, which is almost $10,000 more than the U.S. average pay gap, while holding educational attainment constant. In other words, people with disabilities earn 63 cents to the dollar as compared to people without disabilities.
• The pay gap rises as educational attainment increases. For people with disabilities with a bachelor’s or master’s degree, the pay gap in Boston Metro is higher than any other region in the United States.
• In Boston Metro, people with disabilities are much less likely to be in positions of management (i.e., chief executives, legislators, and managers) than in other comparable metro areas.
• Income inequality in Boston Metro leads to more than $5,000 per person federal income tax loss and more than $2.5 billion in total loss of federal income tax for the area.