Side-by-side charts showing the number and share of the youngest and oldest people in prison. In 2023, state and federal prisons held fewer than 80,000 people aged 24 or younger and 193,000 people 55 or older, and the share of people aged 24 and younger has fallen from 17 to 6 percent since 2002, while the share of people 55 and older grew from 4 to 16 percent.

Data Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Mortality in Correctional Institutions, 2001-2019 Appendix Table 1 & Prisoners series for for 2020-2023. (Graph: Wendy Sawyer, 2026)

This graph originally appeared in Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie 2026.

This graphic is an updated version of one we made for our 2022 report Beyond the Count. Unlike the original, the charts here include people in federal prisons.

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