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Washington State has an incarceration rate of 480 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 Washington and why.

Jump to COVID-19 data.

37,000 people from Washington are behind bars

Additionally, the number of people impacted by county and city jails in Washington is much larger than the graph above would suggest, because people cycle through local jails relatively quickly. Each year, at least 98,000 different people are booked into local jails in Washington.

Rates of imprisonment have grown dramatically in the last 40 years

Also see these Washington graphs:

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

Today, Washington’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, Blacks, and American Indians/Native Americans in Washington prisons and jails.

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

Data on COVID-19 in Washington jails and prisons

If you're looking for case or death counts, our friends at the COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project have a detailed spreadsheet whose numbers may be as current as (or more current than) the state prison system's own data. To learn how Washington ranks on other important pandemic-related issues, see our resources below:

• Our Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic page tracks criminal justice policy responses to the coronavirus all 50 states
• Why is Washington not prioritizing incarcerated people to receive the coronavirus vaccine?
• We gave Washington a failing grade for its response to the coronavirus in jails and prisons, and compared it to other states
• Washington prisons were still over 95% capacity in December 2020, several months into the pandemic
• How many COVID-19 cases in Washington communities can be linked to outbreaks in correctional facilities? (data from our report Mass Incarceration, COVID-19, and Community Spread)
• We're tracking Washington's medical copay policies in prisons during the pandemic

Our other articles about Washington

• Washington State hinders jury diversity by excluding people with felony records until they complete probation and parole sentences
• How much do incarcerated people in Washington earn for their work in prison?
• Washington prisons charge a $4 copay to incarcerated people, putting health at risk
• Food for thought: Prison food in Washington is a public health problem
• The Company Store: A deeper look at prison commissaries in Washington
• New data: Low incomes - but high fees - for people on probation in Washington
• We graded the parole release systems of all 50 states - Washington gets an F-
• Some jails in Washington charge $12.00 or more for a 15-minute phone call
• Who's helping the 63,451 women released from Washington correctional facilities each year?
• Fixing Prison-Based Gerrymandering After the 2010 Census: Washington

Other resources

• Research on Washington in our Research Library