Yes. Disability numbers are shockingly high. It's an issue that is really not talked about enough.

Collecting disability doesn’t necessarily mean you’re incapacitated or can’t work at all. Depression is a common disability, for example. It’s very common for veterans who served more than 4 years to get some amount of disability if they are persistent, and often not for crippling injuries (sleep apnea is a popular one)

Yes, it is truly scary. A large portion of them are in more rural areas that have been decimated. Also, IIRC states pay money to trainers/consultants that help people get on the national disability programs.

That number doesn't match what the SSA publishes in their annual reports.[1]. They put the figure on disability at 8.9 million disabled workers, with 11.2 million total beneficiaries once you include the disabled workers' children.)

That said, the real figures are still startling. They represents 4.4% of the US worker population but some states rely incredibly heavily on the program.

  Alabama - 8.0% of the population
  Arkansas - 7.9% of the population
  Kentucky - 7.6% of the population
  Maine - 7.4% of the population
  Mississippi - 7.5% of the population
  West Virginia - 8.6% of the population

1: https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/2019/di_asr...