South Africa has good legislation advocating for the rights of youth with disabilities although consistent implementation remains problematic. In order to inform policy implementation barriers and opportunities must be identified within each unique context and how these influence the ability of youth with disabilities to sustain their livelihood. This study aimed to investigate the human and financial assets of youth with disabilities living in the disadvantaged communities of Diepsloot and Cosmo City compared to their non-disabled counterparts. The study used a cross-sectional survey design using snowball sampling to identify 189 participants. This study found that the majority of the youth, whether they had a disability or not, had difficulties sustaining their livelihoods particularly the participants with disabilities who had a lower level of education and fewer employment opportunities. Youth with disabilities were financially more stable than their non-disabled counterparts due to their ability to access disability grants.