HELP US GET YOU THE DATA YOU NEED
The Prison Policy Initiative specializes in producing the information that you need to support campaigns for justice in your state. Can you help us expand this work?
Thank you,
—Peter Wagner, Executive Director
Donate
Thank you,
—Peter Wagner, Executive Director
Donate
Data toolbox
- Sections
- National data
- State-level comparison data
- Population data
- Admissions & releases
- Wages, fees, & other expenses
- Policies
- State specific data
- National & state population data (U.S. Census)
- Other curated resources
All of our reports and many of our briefings compile previously unavailable or incompatible data. For the benefit of other advocates and researchers who want to do new things with our data, we’ve compiled our unique datasets on this page.
Need help working with this data? Not what you’re looking for? Check out our Advocacy Toolkit for tips on managing large data sets and other sources of data about the criminal legal system.
National data
- State prisons:
- State prisons, local jails and federal prisons, incarceration rates and counts, 1925-2020 [xlsx] Note that state-level prison population data are available from one of the underlying sources we used to compile this table: Historical Statistics on Prisoners in State and Federal Institutions, Yearend 1925-86.
- Demographic breakdown of a sample of people in state prisons in 2016 Includes basic demographics, childhood and family experiences, employment and housing before arrest, substance use disorder, and criminal history
- Health demographics of a sample of people in state prisons in 2016 Includes rates of various health conditions by race, gender, and age; mental health by race and gender; and pregnancy
- Jails:
- U.S. jail incarceration trends, 1983-2013 Includes jail population by conviction status and population held in jails for other state and federal agencies.
- Demographic breakdown of people admitted to local jails, 2017
- A list of all regional jails and the counties they serve, by state, 2019
- Geographic data:
- Correctional facilities in the Census An entire page of resources and documentation.
- Home states of people in Bureau of Prisons facilities Tally of how many people incarcerated in Bureau of Prisons facilities come from each state (and territory).
- Women:
- Money: Following the money of mass incarceration Our report and infographic compiling data on the fiscal cost of mass incarceration, with extensive data sourcing and notes.
- Telephones:
- Detailed timeline of the prison and jail phone industry [xlsx] (graphical version)
- Federal Litigation:
- 6 tables about court filings, court outcomes, and pro se litigation in civil rights suits brought by people in jails and prisons, as well as the incidence of court orders, described in our report about the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
State-level criminal justice data (all states)
Population data
- Incarcerated populations by race/ethnicity and gender for each state with comparative total population counts, percentages and incarceration rate per 100,000 calculations [xlsx] (2021)
- U.S. Census group quarters (2010): People housed in correctional facilities for adults, by race and by gender, including state and federal prisons, local jails, immigration detention facilities, and other places of short- and long-term confinement, for all 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Note: The U.S. Census collects this "institutional group quarters" data as a one-time, all-inclusive count of people based on where they are confined, not the jurisdiction to which they belong. The data here are substantially different from what is published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, which is what we used in the above 2021 table.
- Total confined population: Confined populations by state and type of confinement (2021)
- Total confined population: Confined populations by state, type of confinement, and gender (2018)
- Parole:
- Discretionary parole grants rates by state, 2019-2022
- Populations, growth, returns to incarceration, technical violations, and release decisions, by state
- Total population under correctional control (including probation and parole): Incarceration and supervision populations and rates by state (2023) (2018 data available here)
- Jails: Jail incarceration trends by state Includes jail incarceration rates, jail growth from 1983-2013, percent held pre-trial, and use of jails to hold people for other state and federal agencies, using 2013 data.
- Jails - Pre-trial detention: Jail population by state and conviction status, 1978-2013
- Jails and Prisons - Over time (annual data from 1978-2015):
- Percent of prison populations 55 and older, by state, 1999-2019 with comparative total prison population counts for each state
- Prisons - Gender: Changes in state prison populations 2009-2015, by gender
Admissions and releases
- Releases: Annual releases from state prisons and local jails, by gender and by state using 2013-2016 data [xlsx]
- Unique admissions to local jails by state, 2016-2017
- Jail admissions and releases by state, 2013
Wages, fees, and other expenses
- Prisons - Wages:
- Prisons — Medical copays:
- Phones and communication:
- State prison phone rates, 2008-2021
- Decline in the cost of in-state calls from state prisons, 2008-2019
- Cost of phone calls from more than 3,000 local jails in 2021
- Average jail calling rate by state, 2021
- Most expensive jail phone rate in each state, 2021
- Average and highest call rates charged by each company
- E-messaging rates in state prisons and Federal Bureau of Prisons facilities
Policies:
- Prison discipline policies A collection of prison discipline policies, as well as a list of how each system classifies the severity of punishment for each rule violation.
- Departments of corrections policy manuals To help researchers and advocates, we’ve pulled together links to the policy manuals for the policy manuals for state departments of corrections, as well as the Federal Bureau of Prisons
- Prisons - Policies regulating journalism in prisons
- Jails - Regulation: Agencies responsible for setting jail standards Also specified whether their authority is binding
- Jails - Mail restrictions: State policies on restricting mail to jails Includes the prison policy if a policy for jails could not be located.
Data specific to only one state:
California
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State Assembly district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- American Indian and Alaska Native area
- Los Angeles County Health district
- Los Angeles Countywide statistical area
- Santa Clara County supervisory district
- Los Angeles city neighborhood
- Los Angeles city Council district
- San Diego community planning area
- San Jose city Council district
- San Francisco neighborhood
- San Francisco police district
- Fresno community planning area
- Fresno city Council district
- Fresno police district
Colorado
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State House of Representatives district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- Health Statistics Region
- Denver neighborhood
- Aurora neighborhood
- El Paso County Commissioner Districts
Connecticut
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- Select city and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State House of Representatives district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- Bridgeport neighborhood
- Hartford neighborhood
- Stamford neighborhood
- Waterbury neighborhood
- New Haven neighborhood
Delaware
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State House of Representatives district
- State Senate district
Iowa
Louisiana
The number of incarcerated people as of 2022 from each:
- Parish
- City and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State Senate district
- State House of Representative district
- Congressional district
- American Indian and Alaska Native area
- East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council district
- Jefferson Parish Council district
- Lafayette Parish Council district
- Lafayette City Council district
- Shreveport City Council district
- East Baton Rouge Parish school district
- Jefferson Parish school district
- New Orleans neighborhood
- East Baton Rouge Parish neighborhood
- Shreveport neighborhood
- Jefferson Parish neighborhood
Maryland
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State house district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- Baltimore Community Statistical Area
- Montgomery County neighborhood
The number of incarcerated people as of 2010 from each:
The number of incarcerated people as of 2010 in Baltimore in each:
Massachusetts:
- Income, probation rates and probation caseloads for the population served by each Massachusetts District Court Uses January 2016 probation data and 2014 American Community Survey estimates for population and per capita income data.
Michigan
- Jail telephone commission totals for select counties in Michigan, 2014-2018
- Phone rates and average daily population in Michigan jails
Montana
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State House of Representatives district (2015-2023 legislature)
- State Senate district (2015-2023 legislature)
- Congressional district
- American Indian and Alaska Native area
- Elementary, secondary, and unified school district
- Yellowstone County Commissioner district
- Gallatin County Commissioner district
- Butte-Silver Bow County Commissioner district
- Billings neighborhood
- Missoula neighborhood and City Council ward
- Great Falls neighborhood
Nevada
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State Assembly district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- American Indian and Alaska Native area
- Las Vegas city council wards
- North Las Vegas city council wards
- Sparks city council wards
- Henderson city council wards
- Carson City Board of Supervisor wards
- Reno city council wards
New Jersey
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City and borough
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State legislative district
- Congressional district
- Newark neighborhood
- Jersey City neighborhood
New York:
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County/borough
- City and village
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- school district
- State Assembly district
- State Senate district
- Congressional district
- New York City Council district
- New York City neighborhood Tabulation Area (NTA)
- Buffalo neighborhood
- Syracuse neighborhood
- Yonkers neighborhood
The number of incarcerated people as of 2010 from each:
The number of incarcerated people in New York City as of 2010 from each:
- City Council district
- Community district
- Community health district
- Elementary School Zone
- Middle School Zone
- Police precinct
- United Hospital Fund neighborhood
- neighborhood Tabulation Area
- Public Use Microdata Area
The number of incarcerated people as of 2010 from each:
Pennsylvania
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State Senate district
- State House of Representatives district
- Congressional district
- Philadelphia neighborhood
- Pittsburgh neighborhood
- Allentown neighborhood
Rhode Island
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- State Senate district
- State House of Representatives district
- Congressional district
- Providence City Council ward
- Providence neighborhood
- Cranston City Council ward
- Cranston neighborhood
Virginia
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County or county-equivalent city
- City and town
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- Congressional district
- House of Delegates district
- State Senate district
- Arlington neighborhood
- Norfolk neighborhood
- Richmond neighborhood
Washington
The number of incarcerated people as of 2020 from each:
- County
- City
- ZIP code
- Census tract
- Legislative district
- Congressional district
- American Indian and Alaska Native area
- Seattle city council ward
- Vancouver neighborhood
- Tacoma neighborhood
- Spokane neighborhood
Population data (for calculating incarceration rates, etc.)
- National population estimates by sex, for January 1 and July 1 of each year, 1924-2021 [xlsx]
- State population estimates, for January 1 and July 1 of each year, 1972-2017 [xlsx]
Other curated resources:
- Research Library 4,000+ links to criminal justice research by category
- Correctional Contracts Library Our database of contracts and other procurement documents between the companies that profit by providing services like phone calls, money transfers, and release cards to prisons and jails.
- Legal Resources for Incarcerated People All listed organizations have been confirmed in the last 12 months.
- Our illustrations released under an Creative Commons ShareAlike license
- Prison telephone industry research:
- Financial reports from the major companies in the prison and jail telephone market, from 2013–2020
- Contracts for each prison and jail in Massachusetts
- Contracts and commission reports from select Iowa counties
- Our Best Data Visualizations
- Exposés:
- Best investigative reporting of 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014
Recommended Reading:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates 1.9 million people, more than any other country. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
Exploitation in the criminal justice system
Companies and correctional facilities exploit captive markets. We expose them.