Data Source: Please refer to “State Data” portion of original report. (Graph: Joshua Aiken, 2017)

This graph originally appeared in Era of Mass Expansion: Why State Officials Should Fight Jail Growth.

In most states over the last three decades, the number of people in jails has outpaced population growth by 2, 3 or even 4 times. In 32 states, the jail incarceration rate has doubled since 1983, and in 12 states, the jail population has grown more than 3 times faster than the general population. (This chart does not include any people physically present in jails who are held for federal or state agencies. In all but one state (Louisiana), even this adjusted jail population is growing faster than the general population.)