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Florida has an incarceration rate of 795 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 Florida and why.

Jump to COVID-19 data.

176,000 people from Florida are behind bars

Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in Florida is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 350,000 different people are booked into local jails in Florida.

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Florida graphs:

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

Today, Florida’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 and Blacks in Florida prisons and jails.

Florida's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons and jails

Data on COVID-19 in Florida jails and prisons

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

• Florida failed to utilize one of the most obvious, and easiest, tools for reducing the prison population — stopping prison admissions for technical violations of probation and parole (which are not crimes).
• Florida is one of 15 prison systems that has not yet vaccinated more than 60% of the incarcerated population.

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

• Our Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic page tracks criminal justice policy responses to the coronavirus all 50 states
• COVID-19 reduced the life expectancy of the Florida prison population by over four years in 2020
• Florida is one of only a handful of states that never released details about its plan to vaccinate incarcerated people
• Florida prisons were still over 100% capacity in December 2020, several months into the pandemic
• How many COVID-19 cases in Florida communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)
• We're tracking Florida's medical copay policies in prisons during the pandemic

Our other articles about Florida

• Florida hinders jury diversity by excluding people with felony records and some prior misdemeanors
• Cruel and unusual punishment: When Florida prisons don't provide air conditioning
• How much do incarcerated people in Florida earn for their work in prison?
• Florida prisons charge a $5 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Florida gets an F-
• People in Florida jails often face high first-minute rates for phone calls
• Florida is 1 of only 8 states still suspending driver's licenses for drug offenses unrelated to driving
• Who's helping the 125,006 women released from Florida correctional facilities each year?
• How Florida has reformed its juvenile justice system (from our report Youth Confinement: The Whole Pie)
• New infographic shows that states with harshest disenfranchisement laws will likely pick the next president

Prison-based gerrymandering in Florida

• Federal Judge holds prison gerrymandering unconstitutional
• ACLU files lawsuit challenging "prison gerrymandering" election districts in Florida county
• Reading, Writing, and Redistricting in School Board Districts with Prisons Part II: Florida

Other resources

• Research on Florida in our Research Library