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Alaska has an incarceration rate of 718 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than any democracy on earth. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in Alaska and why.

Jump to COVID-19 data.

5,100 people from Alaska are behind bars

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Alaska graphs:

• total numbers rather than rates.
• Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
• Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population

Today, Alaska’s incarceration rates stand out internationally

In the U.S., incarceration extends beyond prisons and local jails to include other systems of confinement. The U.S. and state incarceration rates in this graph include people held by these other parts of the justice system, so they may be slightly higher than the commonly reported incarceration rates that only include prisons and jails. Details on the data are available in States of Incarceration: The Global Context. We also have a version of this graph focusing on the incarceration of women.

People of color are overrepresented in prisons and jails

See also our detailed graphs about Whites, Blacks, and American Indians/Alaskan Natives in Alaska prisons.

Alaska's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons

Data on COVID-19 in Alaska jails and prisons

We gave Alaska a failing grade in September 2021 for its response to the coronavirus in prisons, noting that:

• Alaska is one of only 8 states that have failed to reduce their prison population by more than 10% during the pandemic.
• Alaska is one of only 8 state prison systems that did not offer free phone calls at any point during the pandemic.

For more detail, see our report States of Emergency. Or check out these other resources:

• During the pandemic, Alaska suspended medical copays for incarcerated people seeking treatment for COVID-like symptoms. It should end these copays completely.
• Our Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic page tracks criminal justice policy responses to the coronavirus all 50 states
• Alaska is the only state in the nation that increased its incarcerated population in the first year of the pandemic.
• Alaska is one of only a handful of states that never released details about its plan to vaccinate incarcerated people
• How crowded are Alaska prisons, as of December 2020?
• State prison and jail population data for February 2022. (Previous data is available for October 2021, June 2021, February 2021, December 2020, September 2020, August 2020, and May 2020.) Data availability varies by state.

Our other articles about Alaska

• Alaska prisons release about 1,714 people every year
• Alaska hinders jury diversity by excluding people with felony records until they complete probation or parole sentences
• How much do incarcerated people in Alaska earn for their work in prison?
• Alaska prisons charge a $5 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Alaska gets an F
• Alaska state prisons still charge more than most other states for telephone calls
• Who's helping the 2,691 women released from Alaska correctional facilities each year?
• Fixing Prison-Based Gerrymandering After the 2010 Census: Alaska

Other resources

• Research on Alaska in our Research Library