Data Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001. (Graph: Peter Wagner, 2003)

For information on incarceration rates by race/ethnicity, see our analysis of 2010 Census data in our report Breaking Down Mass Incarceration in the 2010 Census: State-by-State Incarceration Rates by Race/Ethnicity and the expanded analysis including gender available on our Data toolbox page.

More visualizations of racial disparities in mass incarceration are available here. You can also check out our Research Library: Race and Ethnicity page for fast facts and virtually all the research about race and the U.S. criminal justice system that is available online.

Read about the big picture on mass incarceration and see our data about your state here.