Discover the US states with more places for incarceration. This analysis sheds light on the states with the most significant prison infrastructure, The United States holds the unfortunate distinction of having the highest incarceration rate among independent democracies globally. Alarmingly, every single U.S. state imprisons more people per capita than most countries around the world. Even states often viewed as more progressive, such as New York and Massachusetts, display incarceration rates that are shockingly comparable to traditionally punitive states like Louisiana and Mississippi. This widespread reliance on imprisonment is not just a regional anomaly but a national crisis.
For decades, the U.S. has embarked on an unprecedented and deeply troubling journey to expand and intensify every aspect of its criminal justice system. This has led to a situation where incarceration is the default response to crime, with about 70 percent of convictions resulting in imprisonment a rate far exceeding that of other developed nations with similar crime levels. This trend is not driven by crime rates but by the legacy of racist policies, such as the “war on drugs,” and political responses that have capitalized on public fears and perceptions of crime and violence.
Currently, the United States stands at a critical juncture. In 2020, the nationwide protests following the murder of George Floyd sparked a renewed discussion on the necessity of ending the failed experiment of mass incarceration. There was a moment of hope that the country might finally address the deep flaws in its criminal justice system. However, in recent times, there has been a resurgence of rhetoric from public officials advocating a return to the punitive policies of the past.
The decisions made in the coming years will be pivotal in determining whether the United States can align its incarceration practices with those of other leading nations. To achieve this, every state must strive not just to improve incrementally, but to become leaders in creating a fair and just criminal justice system. The goal should be to surpass mere comparisons with the worst-performing states and instead aim to set new standards of justice and fairness on a global scale.
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The US States With More Places for Incarceration
Methodology
This report offers a comprehensive look at confinement in the United States, extending beyond common statistics to include over 100,000 often overlooked individuals. Like our previous “Mass Incarceration” report, this analysis aims to provide a fuller understanding of the overlapping systems of confinement. It covers a wide range of populations, including youth in juvenile facilities, individuals detained by the U.S. Marshals Service, people held for immigration offenses, and those in “civil commitment centers” after completing sentences for sex-related crimes.
These groups are often left out of official incarceration statistics, which usually focus on state and local adult prisons and jails. This exclusion happens because these facilities are separate from the traditional prison and jail systems. However, this distinction is largely irrelevant to the broader issue of confinement in the United States. For those addressing the problem of over-incarceration, it’s essential to consider all forms of confinement, no matter where they take place.
To give an accurate and current picture of incarceration rates nationwide, we used the latest datasets available and included these often-overlooked populations in the total U.S. incarceration rate, as well as in state-specific rates when possible. In most states, including these groups only slightly increases the overall rate and minimally affects state rankings, usually by no more than one or two spots. However, in some states, these additional forms of confinement significantly alter the overall picture and warrant closer attention.
Minnesota, known for its low incarceration rate, ranks second after California in civil commitment of sex offenders. States like Wyoming, West Virginia, Alaska, Oregon, and Rhode Island confine enough youth to make up over 2.5% of their incarcerated populations. Wyoming’s high youth incarceration rate increases its overall rate by nearly 30 people per 100,000. By taking a broader view of incarceration, this report provides a comprehensive dataset that reveals the full scope of confinement across all criminal legal system-related areas in each state, offering insights into areas needing attention and reform.
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Detailed Data Notes and Sources
To calculate the incarceration rates for each of the 50 U.S. states, we adopted a comprehensive approach that includes various forms of confinement. This holistic view encompasses the following groups:
- State Prisons: People incarcerated in state prisons within each state.
- Local Jails: Individuals held in local jails within each state.
- Federal Prisons: State residents serving time in federal prisons.
- U.S. Marshals Service: Individuals from each state detained by the U.S. Marshals Service.
- Indian Country Jails: People held in jails located within Indian Country.
- Juvenile Facilities: Youth confined in juvenile justice facilities.
- Involuntary Commitment: Individuals confined due to criminal legal system involvement, including those convicted of sex-related offenses held under civil commitment laws and those in state psychiatric hospitals for criminal charges or convictions.
Data Sources and Methodology
The raw data for this analysis can be found in the appendix tables, with data sourced from multiple reliable institutions:
State Prisons: To avoid counting individuals detained in jails twice, we used data from the Correctional Populations in the United States series, which included a combined count of state prisons and municipal jails for each state. We used the Prisoners in 2022 Statistical Tables and Census of Jails, 2019 data to calculate comparable populations because, regrettably, these data were not released by state in the Bureau of Justice Statistics report for 2020, 2021, or 2022.
Local Jails: The 2019 Census of Jails, published by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, lists the restricted population of local jails by state. To prevent double-counting of individuals detained in jails under the control of a state prison system, we modified the jail data since (a) numerous jails “rent” space to state prison systems and (b) these systems report data differently. From the restricted populations provided in the Census of prisons, we removed the number of prisoners detained in local prisons for state prison systems, as reported in Table 14 of Prisoners in 2022. After making this modification, the jail populations listed in Appendix Table 1 correspond to the confined jail population within each state’s authority.
Prisons Operated by the Federal Government: Federal prosecutions follow federal policies but are often linked to specific states due to their impact on state residents and coordination with state authorities. Unlike the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ state rates, which omit inmates held by the U.S. Marshals Service, our method uses data from a FOIA request to estimate state-specific inmate numbers. By applying a ratio from the Bureau of Prisons’ population as of March 27, 2021, to the total federal prison population of 158,703 reported on May 31, 2024, we estimate the number of inmates from each state.
U.S. Marshals Service: In a February 2023 response to our FOIA request, the U.S. Marshals Service reported the estimated average daily population for fiscal year 2023, which is the most current estimated population count. We reallocated these 60,439 individuals to states using the same ratio as we used for those under BOP control, despite the fact that we did not have state of residence information for this custodial population. We reasoned that, regardless of status—convicted, pending trial, or in transit all individuals under federal jurisdiction would probably originate in comparable numbers from the states.
Indian Jails: The confined population of adults and juveniles housed in Indian country jails as of June 2022 is reported by state in The Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country, 2022. Six operational facilities (Tohono O’odham Adult Detention Center in Arizona, Colorado River Indian Tribes Adult and Juvenile Detention Centers in Arizona, Lac Vieux Desert Police Department Adult and Juvenile Holding Facility in Michigan, Fort Peck Indian Youth Service Center in Montana, and Medicine Root Detention Center in South Dakota) did not report a population in 2022, so we used data from the Annual Survey of Jails in Indian Country, 2021 in their place.
Youth Confinement: We included youth in our national and state incarceration rates because the U.S. incarcerates a significant number of juveniles. The 24,894 confined youth add 7 individuals per 100,000 population to the national rate, but this doesn’t significantly affect other countries’ rates. Other nations’ rates don’t include youth in non-prison facilities, and we didn’t adjust them due to a lack of comparable data. The National Center for Juvenile Justice’s Census of Juveniles in Residential Placement (CJRP) reported the number of individuals under 21 in residential facilities by state as of October 27, 2021. State totals may vary slightly due to rounding for anonymity.
Involuntary Commitment Connected to the Criminal Justice System: According to the Treatment Advocacy Center’s 2024 report, Prevention over Punishment, 18,948 people were confined in state psychiatric facilities for criminal or legal reasons in 2023. This includes individuals declared “not guilty by reason of insanity” (NGRI), “guilty but mentally ill” (GBMI), or those held as “incompetent to stand trial” (IST). While Minnesota didn’t provide data for the report, a 2022 legislative report showed 276 people receiving forensic services as of June 30, 2021. In total, 24,894 people are confined in state mental hospitals in the U.S. due to criminal charges.
Civil Detention and Commitment: After serving sentences for sex-related crimes, individuals in at least 20 states and under federal jurisdiction can be confined in special civil facilities that function like prisons. They remain under supervision from their initial incarceration until transfer to civil confinement. Data from the Sex Offender Civil Commitment Programs Network’s 2023 survey provides most state counts, with older data used for non-participating states.
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Additional Confinement Categories
While the state-level incarceration rates include the aforementioned categories, there are three additional categories included only in the national incarceration rate due to the lack of state-level data:
- Territorial Prisons: Population data for U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, were sourced from the Prisoners in 2022 Statistical Tables.
- Immigration Detention: The population of 39,111 individuals in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, as of March 14, 2024, was obtained from ICE’s FY 2024 ICE Statistics spreadsheet. The count of 8,724 youth in Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) custody comes from the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) Program Fact Sheet.
- Military Prisons: The incarcerated populations under U.S. military jurisdiction, totaling 1,105 individuals, were reported in the Prisoners in 2022 Statistical Tables.
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In conclusion, The US states with more places for incarceration across U.S. states highlights significant regional disparities in the criminal justice system. States with more incarceration places often reflect higher incarceration rates, influenced by local policies, economic factors, and crime rates. Understanding these disparities is crucial for addressing the broader issues of justice and reform.
By examining the state-specific data, policymakers and advocates can better target efforts to address over-incarceration and implement more equitable justice practices. Ultimately, a balanced approach to criminal justice reform can lead to a more just system that prioritizes rehabilitation and reduces the reliance on incarceration.