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Era of Mass Expansion:

Why State Officials Should Fight Jail Growth

a Prison Policy Initiative Report
by Joshua Aiken
May 31, 2017

 

Table 2.
Jail trends by state

State Jail incarceration rate (2013) Jail growth (1983-2013) Percent pre-trial (2013) Percent held for all state and federal authorities (2013) Percent held for state prisons (2013) Percent held for immigration authorities (2013) Percent held for U.S. Marshals Service (2013) Percent held for other agencies (2013)
Alabama 216.04 2.21 68% 19% 13% 3% 3% 0%
Alaska n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Arizona 202.60 2.20 81% 7% 0% 5% 1% 1%
Arkansas 128.91 1.86 55% 39% 34% 0% 5% 0%
California 202.68 1.32 60% 5% 0% 3% 2% 0%
Colorado 220.77 3.04 51% 8% 2% 4% 1% 1%
Connecticut n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
District of Columbia 23.37 1.20 52% 31% 0% 0% 25% 6%
Delaware n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Florida 247.92 1.81 70% 8% 2% 3% 2% 0%
Georgia 317.28 1.70 54% 17% 12% 2% 2% 1%
Hawaii n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
Idaho 164.13 2.68 56% 26% 20% 2% 4% 1%
Illinois 160.36 2.00 68% 7% 0% 2% 5% 0%
Indiana 218.78 3.14 70% 14% 9% 1% 2% 3%
Iowa 114.90 3.73 80% 13% 0% 2% 11% 0%
Kansas 208.80 3.91 60% 16% 0% 1% 14% 0%
Kentucky 195.16 2.05 41% 51% 43% 1% 5% 1%
Louisiana 130.89 0.98 49% 68% 66% 0% 1% 1%
Maine 71.72 1.77 65% 9% 4% 0% 5% 0%
Massachusetts 195.65 2.34 68% 10% 3% 5% 1% 1%
Maryland 140.53 1.84 49% 4% 1% 3% 0% 0%
Michigan 166.30 1.99 52% 7% 0% 2% 3% 2%
Minnesota 94.31 1.78 60% 24% 15% 3% 3% 2%
Mississippi 165.20 2.92 48% 50% 48% 0% 2% 0%
Missouri 180.65 2.30 81% 8% 0% 1% 6% 0%
Montana 211.26 4.26 46% 23% 17% 0% 5% 0%
North Carolina 161.08 2.85 73% 6% 0% 1% 5% 1%
North Dakota 235.60 3.23 84% 23% 1% 0% 15% 7%
New Hampshire 137.53 2.73 59% 10% 2% 1% 7% 0%
New Jersey 162.28 2.28 82% 13% 1% 10% 1% 1%
New Mexico 340.84 3.94 74% 26% 0% 0% 19% 7%
New York 127.94 1.39 70% 7% 0% 4% 3% 0%
Nebraska 180.11 2.70 87% 16% 1% 3% 11% 1%
Nevada 118.98 2.30 75% 5% 0% 4% 1% 0%
Ohio 152.95 2.18 61% 4% 0% 1% 3% 0%
Oklahoma 177.45 2.39 62% 21% 19% 1% 1% 0%
Oregon 135.84 1.56 57% 6% 0% 2% 4% 0%
Pennsylvania 279.16 3.26 61% 5% 2% 1% 1% 1%
Rhode Island n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
South Carolina 223.24 3.11 78% 10% 3% 2% 4% 2%
South Dakota 179.82 3.82 67% 19% 3% 0% 13% 3%
Tennessee 252.64 2.28 45% 36% 29% 0% 4% 2%
Texas 170.38 1.84 75% 29% 19% 3% 8% 0%
Utah 150.15 2.77 43% 30% 23% 4% 3% 0%
Virginia 236.84 2.24 43% 29% 24% 0% 4% 0%
Vermont n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a
West Virginia 171.72 3.07 54% 32% 28% 0% 3% 1%
Washington 148.41 1.81 59% 5% 1% 1% 2% 0%
Wisconsin 206.45 3.21 51% 8% 0% 5% 2% 1%
Wyoming 260.32 3.51 64% 4% 1% 0% 2% 1%

Sources and methodology

Jail incarceration rate (2013)
The number of people being held in local jails (excluding people held in jails for state or federal authorities) per 100,000 in that state. See our methodology.
Jail growth (1983-2013)
The change in a state’s rate of jail incarceration from 1983 to 2013. A figure of 2, for example, means that the jail incarceration rate is twice as high in 2013 as it was thirty years prior. (For rates going back to 1978, see table 4.)
Percent pre-trial (2013)
The percent of people, in that state, being physically held in local jails who are pre-trial/unconvicted as reported by jails to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Percent held for all state and federal authorities (2013)
The percent of people, in that state, being physically held in local jails for all federal and state authorities as reported by jails to the Bureau of Justice Statistics and dividing by the jail population reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Percent held for state prisons (2013)
The percent of people being physically held in jails who are being held for a state prison system. We calculated this figure by taking the numbers reported in the Prisoners Series as being held in jails for the state prison system and dividing it by the jail population reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Percent held for immigration authorities (2013)
The percent of people being physically held in jails who are being held for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (formerly known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service). We calculated this figure by taking the immigration detention numbers reported by jails to the Bureau of Justice Statistics and dividing it by the jail population reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Percent held for U.S. Marshals Service (2013)
The percent of people being physically held in jails who are being held for the U.S. Marshals Service. We calculated this figure by taking the Marshals Service detention numbers reported by jails to the Bureau of Justice Statistics and dividing it by the jail population reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Percent held for other agencies (2013)
The percent of people being physically held in jails for other federal and state agencies including the federal Bureau of Prisons, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and any other agencies specified by jails in their responses to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. We calculated this figure by taking the number of people being held for other state and federal agencies and dividing it by the jail population reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics.


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