Estimated Deaf Population for the State of Florida

For a fun lil' exercise for the armchair statistican in myself, I decided to see how many Deaf people lived in my state, using publically available resources. Sure, my methodology and numbers may be off, but it did struck me on how low our numbers truly are. Ready? Brace yourself...

The total estimated Deaf population for the State of Florida is roughly at 7,180 people. Yes, that's not a misprint or a typo, and yet, based on my purely subjective anecdotal observations, that number somehow feels right, maybe a little bit low for my liking. Also, thanks to missing data on Deaf adults, this figure should be considered as a bare minimum estimate of Deaf people living in Florida, and the actual numbers could be higher.

There were two sources I used in coming up with this 7,180 figure; GRI 2005 Florida Demographics and that of Census Estimates by Age or Sex for States.

According to the 2005 GRI Demographics, there were 1,575 Deaf people under age of 18 for Florida. (1,752 total - 177 (Ages 18 and over) = 1,575.) According to the 2005 Estimated Census for Florida in all ages under 18 category, there were 3,968,247 people. Dividing up the 1,575 Deaf people by the 3,968,247 population figures comes to a miniscule incidence figure of Deafness in the Florida school-age population to be .0397%!

Now, this is where estimates start to vary widely from the actual numbers; It's calculating the numbers of Deaf adults living in a particular state; Unfortunately, the GRI does not keep demographic statistics for that segment of the population, and the Census does not track hearing status. Thus, reasonable estimates need to be applied, with the understanding that there may be a wide variation between them and the actual numbers.

Again, the 2005 Estimated Census for the State of Florida comes to 17,768,191 people, and for 2006, the figure is bumped up to 18,089,888 people, an increase of 321,697 people or 1.8105%. I simply took the 2005 Estimated Census figure of 17,768,191 people and multiplied it by the incidence figure of .0397% to arrive at 7,052 Deaf people for that year. Next, I took that 7,052 figure and multiplied it by the 1.8105% population increase, and arrived at 7,180 Deaf people for 2006.

There you go. :) Yes, I am well aware of many other factors that will skew the 7,180 estimate; There's no accounting for the Rubella bulge of Deaf people that live in our state and elsewhere. There's the usual population migration patterns and Deaf people are of no exception. There's no accounting for late-Deafened adults who consider themselves Deaf and use some sign language, auxiliary aids, and/or services.

One other factor is that I used school-age population statistics. Why did I rely on such a 'flawed' statistic? Well, I'd like to take the easy way out and point to the availability of GRI's demographic resources. :) But, it goes a little bit deeper than that.

People that are Deaf or HH when they are before 18 years old are much more likely to acquire/use ASL. Thus, we avoid the problem of counting people who have lost their hearing during their adulthood, which will really skew the population figures. These people tend to be senior citizens and by large, they do not really consider themselves to be a part of the Deaf community. Even late-Deafened adults, by large, do not quickly accept their hearing loss and do not usually acquire/use ASL.

Finally, we turn to the local school district; Miami Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS). Dr. Deborah Finley, ESE Supervisor for the school district, reported only 461 Deaf and HH students! [Source: Miami Herald (Copy at Deaf Progressivism Blog)] And if this Wikipedia article is to be believed, the total 2007 student population for MDCPS stands at 414,128 students. Dividing that 461 Deaf/HH figure by the 2007 student population number of 414,128 students comes to a Deaf incidence figure of 0.1113% in the school-age population for Miami-Dade County!

According to Census Quickfacts for Miami-Dade, the estimated total population stands at 2,402,208 people. Multiplying that figure against the 0.1113% incidence figure comes to an estimate of around 2,674 Deaf people living in the Miami-Dade County. Again, this is just a bare minimum estimate, and actual numbers reflecting the Deaf adult population could be higher.

Now, I have a better understanding on how truly small a community we are, and the more important it is to band together on common issues that touch us all. We are simply too small a community to remain fragmented over polarizing issues affecting us, and we need to make inroads in our mainstream communities.