Here’s a number that should stop you mid-bite: over 70 million American adults report having a disability. That’s more people than the entire population of France. Nearly 1 in 3 adults you pass on the street.

And yet, the simple act of going out to eat? For millions of those people, it’s an obstacle course. Not because they don’t love good food. Because the buildings literally won’t let them in.

We spent the last year mapping over 85,000 locations across 14 states and scoring them on real wheelchair accessibility. What we found will probably surprise you. Some of these facts surprised us too, and we’re the ones building the database.

The disability community is bigger than you think

Let’s start with scale. According to the CDC’s 2024 report, 70 million U.S. adults — 28.7% of the adult population — have some type of disability. Of those, 12.2% have a mobility disability with serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs. That’s roughly 30 million people who think about stairs differently than you do.

28.7% of American adults live with a disability. That’s nearly 1 in 3. And the number is growing as the population ages.

CDC Disability and Health Data System, 2024

Globally, the World Health Organization puts it at 1.3 billion people — 16% of the entire planet. Ever broken a leg? Pushed a stroller? Helped an aging parent up stairs? Rolled a suitcase through a narrow doorway? Accessibility touches everyone’s life. You just don’t notice the obstacles until you’re the one facing them.

The ADA is 35 years old. Compliance is still a guess.

President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 26, 1990. Under Title III, restaurants are classified as “places of public accommodation” and must be accessible. Any restaurant built or substantially altered after January 26, 1993 must be readily accessible.

Here’s the problem: there’s no centralized enforcement. Unlike health inspections (which are publicly posted), there’s no accessibility inspection system. No score on the door. No public database. Compliance is essentially self-reported, and most restaurants have never been audited. Studies show only about 53% of surveyed restaurants even provide basic handicapped parking.

For a wheelchair user, every new restaurant is a gamble. Will there be steps? Is the restroom actually accessible, or just labeled that way? Are the aisles wide enough? You won’t know until you show up.

“Accessible” doesn’t mean what most people think

Most restaurants that claim to be “wheelchair accessible” mean one thing: there’s a ramp. But real accessibility goes far beyond the front door.

ROLLIN scores every location on 6 specific features, weighted by how critical each is. Critical: wheelchair entry, accessible restroom, level access. Important: accessible parking, wide aisles, elevator. A restaurant with a perfect entrance but an inaccessible restroom isn’t truly accessible.

Consider this scenario: you roll up to a restaurant with a beautiful ramp at the entrance. Great start. But inside, the tables are crammed together with 18-inch gaps between chairs. The only restroom is down a flight of stairs. The ordering counter is 4 feet high. That restaurant might call itself “accessible.” For someone in a wheelchair, it’s functionally off-limits.

This is exactly why ROLLIN scores locations from 0 to 100 rather than a simple yes/no. A score of 65 means something very different than a 100. That difference matters when you’re deciding where to eat tonight.

The $2.6 trillion question

People with disabilities and their networks control an estimated $2.6 trillion in global disposable income, according to the Return on Disability Group’s 2024 annual report. That makes the disability community the largest emerging market in the world.

$2.6T in disposable income controlled by people with disabilities globally. People with ambulatory disabilities have the highest disposable income among all disability types.

Return on Disability Annual Report, 2024

And it’s not just the person with the disability. Families, friends, caregivers all make dining decisions together. If one person in a group of four can’t access a restaurant, the entire group goes somewhere else. That’s four meals lost, not one.

A 2010 survey found that only 48% of people with disabilities dined out more than twice a month, compared to 75% of people without disabilities. Restaurants that invest in real accessibility aren’t being charitable. They’re capturing a market that most of their competitors are ignoring.

The “hidden dining tax” is real

People without mobility challenges can be spontaneous. “Let’s try that new place” is a casual decision. Maybe a 30-second search for the menu and a glance at reviews.

For wheelchair users, the same decision requires research that can take 20-30 minutes. Calling the restaurant to ask about steps. Checking Street View for the entrance. Reading reviews and hoping someone mentions accessibility. Arriving early to scope out the layout. Having a backup plan.

Disability advocates call it the “access tax”: the extra time, energy, and emotional labor required to do things that most people do without thinking. Every restaurant visit that requires 30 minutes of research is 30 minutes that could have been spent actually enjoying a meal.

These organizations are fighting for change

A growing network of organizations is pushing for real, measurable accessibility improvements:

• United Spinal Association — Empowers people with spinal cord injuries and wheelchair users through advocacy, peer support, and direct services.
• National Disability Rights Network — The largest provider of legally-based advocacy services for people with disabilities in the U.S.
• Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund — A national civil rights law and policy center, instrumental in drafting the ADA.
• American Association of People with Disabilities — The nation’s largest cross-disability rights organization.
• Access Living — Chicago-based organization fighting to eliminate physical, communication, and attitudinal barriers.

Community data is changing everything

Government oversight isn’t coming. There’s no national accessibility inspection program on the horizon. But something else is happening: communities are building the data themselves.

ROLLIN scores every location on a 0–100 scale using multiple verified data sources — and those scores get more accurate over time as the community contributes. Contributors who provide accurate feedback earn trust badges that increase the weight of their future reviews.

Currently, ROLLIN maps 85,000+ locations across 54 regions in 14 states, including New York City (12,400+), the SF Bay Area (7,700+), LA Metro (6,500+), Boston Metro (3,200+), and Miami (2,000+). Every location has a score, a breakdown, and increasingly, community verification.

What you can do right now

If you’re a diner: Use accessibility scores before you go. Tell restaurants when they get it right and when they don’t. Share your experiences with the community.

If you’re a restaurant owner: Audit your space honestly. Not just the entrance — the restrooms, aisles, parking, counter heights. The ADA sets the minimum. Your customers deserve better.

If you’re an ally: Support the organizations listed above. Choose accessible restaurants for group outings as a default. Accessibility benefits everyone: parents with strollers, travelers with luggage, people recovering from injuries, and eventually, all of us as we age.

Browse 85,000+ scored locations across 14 states — or read more from the ROLLIN blog.