Location, Location, Location…

We’ve all heard that location plays a big role in certain things such as real estate. But, did you know if can play a role in your Social Security Disability process, too?  A recent article depicted the scene of a small rural town in Virginia that had a rate of more than one out of four working aged adults (ages 15 to 64) receiving Social Security Disability payments.

While the small town in Virginia carried a disability rate of over 25%, the average drops considerably just a short distance over in Washington D.C., where only 3.2% of the working age population is noted to be receiving Social Security Disability. A map, depicted below, shows the staggering difference throughout the United States.

Although the figures from one city to the next may be surprising, the explanation may not. The rural cities that happen to have the largest concentration of disability payments happen to be the cities where occupations require manual labor, such as mining and timbering. Urban areas, such as Washington D.C., where occupations tend to be less physically demanding and result in less disabling injuries.