Iowa profile
18,000 people from Iowa are behind bars today
Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years
Also see these Iowa graphs:
- total numbers rather than rates.
- Women’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
- Men’s prisons: Incarceration Rates | Total Population
Today, Iowa’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, Hispanics, and Blacks in Iowa prisons and jails.
Iowa's criminal justice system is more than just its prisons and jails
Our other articles about Iowa
- Iowa Governor pledges to address cost of prison and jail phone calls by Peter Wagner, December 28, 2015
- Keynote at Iowa Justice Summit by Peter Wagner, August 31, 2015
- Prisons and City Elections, Joyce Russell, Iowa Public Radio November 3, 2009
- New York Times profiles Anamosa Iowa, where a district is almost entirely people in prison, by Peter Wagner, October 24, 2008
Other resources
- Research on Iowa in our Research Library
