What portion of the American population is blind?

This number is hard to pinpoint. The estimates of the number of people experiencing vision loss differ based on the definitions of vision loss that are used, the dates the data was collected, populations surveyed, etc.

So first, some rough definitions:

Vision loss

“Trouble seeing,” even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. This definition can include those who are blind or unable to see at all.

Legal Blindness

A central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the best possible correction, and/or a visual field of 20 degrees or less. Often, people who are diagnosed with legal blindness still have some useable vision.

Total blindness

The inability to see anything with either eye.

Low vision

Often used interchangeably with visual impairment. Refers to a loss of vision that may be severe enough to hinder an individual’s ability to complete daily activities such as reading, cooking, or walking outside safely, while still retaining some degree of useable vision.

Visual impairment

Often defined clinically as a visual acuity between 20/70 to 20/200 (source) in the better eye with best correction, or a total field loss of 140 degrees. Additional factors influencing visual impairment might be contrast sensitivity, light sensitivity, glare sensitivity, and light/dark adaptation.

Functional limitation

The interaction of visual functioning and ability to perform activities of daily living/instrumental activities of daily living. Common daily activities affected by vision loss are reading, safe pedestrian travel, self-care, cooking, and recreational activities.

Visual acuity

The clinical measure of the eye’s ability to distinguish details of the smallest identifiable letter or symbol. This measurement is usually given in a fraction and is based upon visible print size. Typical vision is 20/20. If an individual sees 20/200, the smallest letter that this individual can see at 20 feet could be seen by someone with typical vision at 200 feet.

Now, the statistics:

There are 21.5 million adults who experience vision loss. [source, at a glance]

• Age 18 and older.
• “Vision loss” is defined as trouble seeing, despite glasses or contacts, and includes individuals who reported that they are blind or unable to see at all.
• This number represents the non-institutionalized civillian population.
• Approximately 10% percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. (source)
• 12.7 million are women; 8.8 million are men with significant vision loss.
• 16.1 million are between the ages of 18 and 64.
• 5.4 million are 65 years and older.
• For those who indicated one race, 17.1 million are white, 3.3 million are black or African American, 2.6 million are Hispanic or Latino, 552,000 are Asian, and 242,000 are American Indian or Alaska Native.
• 10.3 million are married, 2.4 million are widowed, 3.6 million are divorced or separated, 3.7 million have never married, and 1.5 million live with a partner.
• 3.3 million live in the Northeast, 4.9 million live in the Midwest, 8.9 million live in the South, and 4.3 million live in the West.
• 9.7 million live in a metropolitan area of 1,000,000+, 7.3 million live in a metropolitan area of less than 1,000,000, and 4.5 million do not live in a metropolitan area.
• Of those that are 25 years or older, 4.3 million have less than a high school diploma, 5.9 million have a high school diploma or a GED, 65.8 million have some college education, and 3.7 million have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

There are 59,341 legally blind children in the U.S. [source]

• (Ages 0-21 with a central visual acuity of 20/200 or less)
• Of that number, 9% (5,411) use braille, 27% (16,075) are visual readers, 8% (4,561) are auditory readers, 34% (20,268) are non-readers, and 22% (13,026) are pre-readers.
• Of that number, 9% (5,257) attend residential schools for the blind, 83% (49,398) are registered by state departments of education, 5% (3,065) are registered in rehabilitation programs, and 3% (1,621) are registered by multiple disability programs.

There are 490,420 children with vision difficulty in the U.S. [source]

• (Ages 0-18); doesn’t define “vision difficulty”
• 241,820 are girls and 248,600 are boys.