HELP US END MASS INCARCERATION
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Thank you,
Peter Wagner, Executive Director Donate
This table has been updated with a new version in 2024.
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.
Recommended Reading:
Advocacy Toolkit
Resources, tips, and best practices to help advocates working to end mass incarceration.
50 state incarceration profiles
All of our recent reports about prison/jail growth, racial disparities, and more, re-organized by state.
Mass Incarceration: The Whole Pie
The U.S. incarcerates nearly 2 million people. Where are they locked up and why? Read our report.
