The State of ADA Web Compliance 2026
On April 24, 2026, state and local government websites must comply with WCAG 2.1 Level AA or face federal enforcement. ADA web lawsuits have more than doubled since 2018. And the average website scores 31.3 out of 100 on basic accessibility checks.
We scanned over 10,000 US websites across 39 industries to find out which sectors are ready, which are exposed, and where the enforcement risk is highest.
This report combines original scan data from 12,989 websites with public lawsuit filing data, state-level enforcement records, and machine learning analysis to produce the most comprehensive cross-industry ADA web compliance study published in 2026.
The Big Picture
12,989
Websites scored
74.1%
Fail rate
31.3
Average score
39
Industries
4.6%
Score 100
51
States + DC
More than half of all websites scanned fail basic ADA compliance. The median score is 60 out of 100, and only 4.6% scored a perfect 100. The gap between industries is stark: e-commerce averages 23.3 while education averages 58.1.
57.4% of all sites have at least one critical violation, meaning screen reader users, keyboard-only navigators, or people with visual impairments cannot use the site at all. These aren't edge cases. They affect real people trying to access real services.
The Lawsuit Landscape
ADA web lawsuits have grown consistently since 2018. An estimated 5,062 web-related lawsuits were filed in 2025, based on Seyfarth Shaw data showing 8,667 total ADA Title III federal filings. E-commerce accounts for roughly 70% of all web accessibility lawsuits, followed by food service at 21%.
ADA Web Lawsuit Filings by Year
Source: UsableNet Year-End Reports + Seyfarth Shaw ADA Title III
2025 figure is Seyfarth Shaw federal filings (8,667 total ADA Title III, ~58% web-related estimate)
ADA Web Lawsuits by Industry
Source: EcomBack 2024 Annual ADA Website Accessibility Lawsuit Report
Cross-Industry Comparison
E-commerce is the worst-performing industry by a wide margin, with an average score of 23.3 and an 80% fail rate. Healthcare (60.2) and education (58.1) lead the pack. Government sites, which face a hard compliance deadline on April 24, 2026, average 54.3.
Average Score by Industry
8,751 sites across 39 industries (20+ sites each), sorted worst to best
| Industry | Sites | Avg Score | Median | Fail Rate | Critical Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce | 904 | 23.3 | 0 | 80% | 73.5% |
| Us-media-local-scan | 274 | 32.7 | 25 | 83.9% | 59.5% |
| News-media-batch | 334 | 36.9 | 20 | 67.4% | 57.8% |
| Us-associations-scan | 230 | 41.3 | 45 | 66.1% | 52.2% |
| Us-museums-arts-scan | 164 | 41.5 | 50 | 70.7% | 48.8% |
| Religious | 70 | 44.1 | 47.5 | 65.7% | 50% |
| Hospitality | 59 | 44.8 | 50 | 62.7% | 49.2% |
| Nonprofit | 79 | 45.4 | 50 | 59.5% | 49.4% |
| Fashion | 62 | 45.5 | 52.5 | 58.1% | 46.8% |
| Personal-services-batch | 193 | 47.7 | 60 | 61.7% | 41.5% |
| Food-beverage-batch | 253 | 48.2 | 60 | 58.9% | 43.9% |
| Construction-trades-batch | 169 | 48.7 | 60 | 58.6% | 44.4% |
| Financial-services2-batch | 169 | 50.2 | 60 | 58% | 42% |
| Travel-airlines-batch | 188 | 51.1 | 70 | 49.5% | 41% |
| Us-small-cities-scan | 151 | 52.3 | 60 | 64.2% | 38.4% |
| Medical | 102 | 52.4 | 60 | 60.8% | 35.3% |
| Entertainment-batch | 313 | 52.9 | 70 | 47.9% | 36.4% |
| Professional-services-batch | 252 | 52.9 | 60 | 54% | 37.7% |
| Us-utilities-scan | 136 | 53.2 | 60 | 52.2% | 35.3% |
| Saas-tech-batch | 491 | 53.7 | 70 | 48.9% | 37.3% |
| Automotive | 31 | 54 | 70 | 48.4% | 35.5% |
| Government | 297 | 54.3 | 65 | 53.2% | 35.4% |
| Government-expanded-batch | 872 | 54.5 | 60 | 53.1% | 35.1% |
| Healthcare-medical2-batch | 167 | 54.9 | 65 | 52.7% | 34.1% |
| Dental | 65 | 55.8 | 60 | 58.5% | 27.7% |
| Us-community-colleges-scan | 266 | 56.4 | 65 | 51.1% | 35% |
| Financial | 83 | 56.6 | 80 | 43.4% | 36.1% |
| Insurance | 64 | 56.7 | 70 | 50% | 34.4% |
| Real_estate | 46 | 57.1 | 75 | 41.3% | 34.8% |
| Retail | 54 | 57.1 | 75 | 46.3% | 35.2% |
| Legal | 71 | 57.3 | 65 | 50.7% | 32.4% |
| Retail-brands-batch | 206 | 57.5 | 70 | 44.7% | 31.6% |
| Education | 787 | 58.1 | 70 | 46.8% | 32.9% |
| Education-k12-batch | 225 | 58.1 | 70 | 43.1% | 29.8% |
| Government_county | 62 | 58.8 | 70 | 48.4% | 33.9% |
| Fitness | 53 | 60 | 70 | 49.1% | 30.2% |
| Healthcare | 234 | 60.2 | 70 | 45.3% | 30.3% |
| Us-auto-services-scan | 145 | 60.5 | 75 | 38.6% | 26.9% |
| Restaurant | 430 | 62.9 | 75 | 44% | 25.8% |
Title II Compliance Deadline
The DOJ's Title II web accessibility rule requires state and local government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026. We scanned 297 city government websites. 158 are currently failing, serving a combined population of 29.2 million people.
ADA Title II Web Accessibility Deadline
State and local government websites must comply with WCAG 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026
--
Days
--
Hours
--
Minutes
--
Seconds
158
cities failing
53.2%
fail rate
29.2M
population at risk
54.3
avg gov score
Top failing cities (score = 0):
Source: OnePageAudit scan data + ADA.gov Title II Web Accessibility Rule (28 CFR Part 35)
Methodology
Scanning method:Sites were scanned using OnePageAudit's regex-based HTML analysis engine (not axe-core or any browser-based auditing tool). The scanner fetches raw HTML and checks for 9 WCAG-aligned accessibility criteria:
- Missing
langattribute on<html> - Images without
alttext - Missing
<title>element - Missing viewport meta tag
- Empty links (no accessible text)
- Unlabeled form inputs
- Missing skip navigation link
- Missing or broken heading structure (no H1)
- Autoplaying media elements
Scoring: Each criterion is weighted. Scores range from 0 (all violations present) to 100 (no violations detected). The pass threshold is 70. Scores reflect detectable HTML-level violations only. Manual testing, color contrast, and dynamic content analysis were not performed.
Statistical methods: Standard deviation, quartile analysis, Pearson correlation, Jaccard similarity for co-occurrence, k-means clustering (k=5, silhouette score 0.328), and multivariate linear regression (R2 = 0.385).
Limitations: Regex-based analysis catches fewer issues than browser-based tools. The 9 rules cover a subset of WCAG 2.1 AA criteria. Results represent a point-in-time snapshot. Small sample sizes for some states and industries should be treated as directional.
Sources
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