New Jersey profile    Tweet this

New Jersey has an incarceration rate of 407 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 many wealthy democracies do. Read on to learn more about who is incarcerated in New Jersey and why.

Are you looking for information on what jails and prisons in New Jersey are doing to stop COVID-19? See our regularly-updated coronavirus response page.

39,000 people from New Jersey are behind bars

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these New Jersey graphs:

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

Today, New Jersey’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 New Jersey prisons and jails.

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

Our other articles about New Jersey

• We graded every state’s response to the coronavirus in prisons and jails. New Jersey got an F+
• How much do incarcerated people in New Jersey earn for their work in prison?
• New Jersey prisons charge a $5 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - New Jersey gets a C
• New Jersey is 1 of only 8 states still suspending driver's licenses for drug offenses unrelated to driving
• Who's helping the 18,600 women released from New Jersey correctional facilities each year?
• New Jersey legislation aims to protect in-person visits from video visitation
• Ending prison gerrymandering in New Jersey campaign and resource page

Other resources

• Research on New Jersey in our Research Library