U.S. Department of Justice
Office of Justice Programs
Bureau of Justice Statistics

December 2022, NCJ 305125

E. Ann Carson, PhD, BJS Statistician

F

rom yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the
number of persons under the jurisdiction
of state or federal correctional authorities
in the United States declined 1%, from 1,221,200
to 1,204,300. While the total number of persons
held under the jurisdiction of state correctional
authorities declined 2% during this period, the
count of these persons in the Federal Bureau
of Prisons (BOP) increased more than 3%. The
number of persons sentenced to more than
1 year in state or federal prison decreased 2%,
from 1,185,700 in 2020 to 1,163,700 in 2021
(figure 1). This decrease followed the 14%
decline from 2019 to 2020 due to the COVID-19
pandemic, making the number of sentenced
prisoners in 2021 the smallest in 25 years.
States and the BOP admitted 297,600 persons to
prison on new commitments in 2021, up 71,500
from 2020. The number of admissions to state
prison increased almost 19% from 2020 to 2021,

FIGURE 1
Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state
or federal correctional authorities, 1996–2021
Number (in millions)
1.6
1.4
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1996
2000

’05

’10

’15

’20 ’21

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the
prisoner is held. Counts are for December 31 of each year and
are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year.
As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in
the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal
Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may have been
revised from previous reports. See appendix table 2 for counts.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
1996–2021.

Highlights
ƒ The U.S. prison population was 1,204,300 at
yearend 2021, a 1% decrease from 2020 (1,221,200)
and a 25% decrease from 2011 (1,599,000).
ƒ Prison populations declined in 32 states from
yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, after decreasing
in 49 states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons
(BOP) during the prior 12 months largely due
to the COVID-19 pandemic. (See Prisoners
in 2020 – Statistical Tables, NCJ 302776, BJS,
December 2021.)

ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the rate at
which U.S. residents were in prison on a sentence
declined 4% among black persons, 3% among
Hispanic and Asian (including Native Hawaiian
or Other Pacific Islander) persons, 2% among
American Indian or Alaska Native persons, and
1% among white persons.
ƒ States and the BOP admitted 421,000 persons
to prison in 2021, about 74,600 (22%) more than
in 2020.

ƒ The BOP population increased by 5,200 persons
(up 3%) from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021,
while California's prison population increased by
1,000 (up 1%).

ƒ More than 651,800 persons (62% of all state
prisoners) were serving sentences in state prison
for a violent offense at yearend 2020, the most
recent year for which offense data were available.

ƒ At yearend 2021, the imprisonment rate was
350 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents,
down 2% from yearend 2020 and 29% from
yearend 2011.

ƒ At yearend 2021, private facilities contracted
to states or the BOP held 96,700 persons, a
3% decrease from yearend 2020.

Bureau of Justice Statistics · Statistical Tables

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables

while admissions to federal prison grew 54%. The
number of releases from prison declined 19% from
2020 to 2021 but still exceeded admissions by 22,700.
The combined state and federal imprisonment rate
at yearend 2021 was 350 sentenced prisoners per
100,000 U.S. residents. Imprisonment rates declined
for both sexes and for all racial or ethnic groups from
yearend 2020 to yearend 2021.

Findings in this report are based on the National
Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program, administered by the
Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The program collects
annual data from state departments of corrections
and the BOP on prison capacity and prisoner counts,
characteristics, admissions, and releases. This report
is the ninety-sixth in a series that began in 1926. All
50 states and the BOP reported NPS data for 2021.

Terms and definitions
Adult imprisonment rate—The number of prisoners
sentenced to more than 1 year under state or federal
jurisdiction, per 100,000 U.S. residents age 18 or older.
Capacity, design—The number of prisoners a facility
can hold, as set by the architect or planner.
Capacity, highest—The maximum number of beds
across the three capacity measures: design, operational,
and rated capacity.
Capacity, lowest—The minimum number of beds
across the three capacity measures: design, operational,
and rated capacity.
Capacity, operational—The number of prisoners a
facility can hold based on staffing and services.
Capacity, rated—The number of prisoners or beds a
facility can hold, as set by a rating official.
Conditional releases—Includes discretionary parole,
mandatory parole, postcustody probation, and other
unspecified conditional releases.
Conditional release violators—Persons who returned
to prison after being granted unspecified conditional
release or being released to discretionary parole,
mandatory parole, or postcustody probation.
Custody count—Persons held in the physical custody of
state or federal prisons, regardless of sentence length or
which authority has jurisdiction over the prisoner.
Federal prison system—Includes adult prisoners held
under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons
in secure federal prison facilities, nonsecure community
corrections facilities, and privately operated facilities;
and persons age 17 or younger, all of whom are held in
privately operated facilities.
Imprisonment rate—The number of prisoners
sentenced to more than 1 year under state or federal
jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents.
Jail—A confinement facility that is usually administered
by a local law enforcement agency (county, city, or
municipal) and is intended for adults but sometimes
holds juveniles for confinement before or after

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

adjudication. Such facilities include jails and city or
county correctional centers; special jail facilities, such
as medical treatment or release centers; halfway
houses; work farms; and temporary holding or lockup
facilities that are part of the jail’s combined function.
Prisoners sentenced to jail facilities usually have
a sentence of 1 year or less and therefore are not
counted as sentenced prisoners for purposes of this
report, although prisoners sentenced to jail facilities
are counted in the total prison population tables.
Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island,
and Vermont each operate an integrated system that
combines prisons and jails, and all of their inmates are
counted in this report as prisoners.
Jurisdiction—The legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless
of where the prisoner is held. Prisoners under the
jurisdiction of state or federal correctional officials
can be held in publicly or privately operated secure
or nonsecure facilities, including boot camps, halfway
houses, treatment facilities, hospitals, local jails, or
another state’s facilities.
New court commitments—Admissions into prison of
persons convicted and sentenced by a court, usually to a
term of more than 1 year, including probation violators
and persons with a split sentence of incarceration
followed by court-ordered probation or parole.
Parole violators—For purposes of this report, persons
released from prison on discretionary or mandatory
parole who were subsequently imprisoned either for
violating conditions of release or for new crimes.
Prison—A long-term confinement facility that is run by
a state or the federal government and typically holds
felons, or persons with sentences of more than 1 year
imposed by state or federal courts. Sentence length may
vary by state. Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii,
Rhode Island, and Vermont each operate an integrated
system that combines prisons and jails, and all of their
inmates are counted in this report as prisoners.

Continued on next page

2

■

Terms and definitions (continued)
Prisoner—A person confined in a state or federal
prison, in a private facility under state or federal
jurisdiction, or in a local jail facility under the legal
authority of state or federal correctional authorities.
Probation violators—For purposes of this report,
persons on probation, sometimes following release from
prison, who were subsequently imprisoned either for
violating conditions of their probation or for new crimes.
Sentenced prisoners—Persons sentenced to more than
1 year under state or federal correctional authorities,
usually those convicted of a felony.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

Supervised mandatory releases—Conditional releases
with postcustody supervision (generally occurring in
jurisdictions using determinate sentencing statutes).
Total prisoners—All prisoners under jurisdiction,
regardless of sentencing status or length.
Unconditional releases—Expirations of sentences,
commutations, and other unspecified releases that are
not followed by probation, parole, or other supervision.
Yearend—December 31 of the calendar year.

3

■

List of tables
Table 1. Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction
and sex, 2011–2021
Table 2. Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex and
jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 3. Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction, sex, and race or Hispanic origin, 2011–2021
Table 4. Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex
and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 5. Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents of all ages, based on sentenced prisoners under the
jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, sex, and race or Hispanic origin,
2011–2021
Table 6. Imprisonment rates of adult U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the
jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, sex, and race or Hispanic origin,
2011–2021
Table 7. Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of
state or federal correctional authorities, by sex, age, and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 8. Admissions of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional
authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 9. Releases of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional
authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 10. Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional
authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Table 11. Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by
sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Table 12. Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal correctional authorities, by
sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Table 13. Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction
of state or federal correctional authorities, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2021
Table 14. Prisoners held in the custody of private prisons or local jails under the jurisdiction of state
or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 15. Prisoners age 17 or younger in the custody of publicly or privately operated state or federal
prisons, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Table 16. Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by
sex, race or Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, December 31, 2020
Table 17. Number of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by
sex, race or Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, December 31, 2020
Table 18. Sentenced prisoners in the custody of state correctional authorities and privately operated
facilities contracted to states, by most serious offense and jurisdiction, December 31, 2020
Continued on next page
Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

4

■

List of tables (continued)
Table 19. Percent of sentenced federal prisoners held in BOP or privately operated correctional
facilities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, September 30, 2021
Table 20. Number of sentenced federal prisoners held in BOP or privately operated correctional
facilities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, September 30, 2021
Table 21. Prison facility capacity, custody population, and percent of capacity, by jurisdiction,
December 31, 2021
Table 22. Citizenship status of prisoners in the custody of publicly or privately operated state or
federal prisons, excluding jails, by sex and jurisdiction, December 31, 2021
Table 23. Prisoners under military jurisdiction, by branch of service, 2020 and 2021
Table 24. Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of military correctional authorities with any
sentence length, by branch of service and most serious offense, December 31, 2021
Table 25. Prisoners under the jurisdiction or in the custody of correctional authorities in U.S.
territories and commonwealths, by prison facility capacity, December 31, 2021

List of figures
Figure 1. Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities,
1996–2021
Figure 2. Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities who
were female, 1978–2021
Figure 3. Percent change in the number of persons under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020–2021
FIGURE 4. Imprisonment rates of male U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under
the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by demographic characteristics,
December 31, 2021
FIGURE 5. Imprisonment rates of female U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under
the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by demographic characteristics,
December 31, 2021
FIGURE 6. Percent of prisoners held in private facilities under contract to state or federal correctional
authorities, by jurisdiction, 1999–2021

List of appendix tables
Appendix table 1. Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction and race or Hispanic origin, December 31, 2021
Appendix table 2. Counts for figure 1: Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, 1996–2021
Appendix table 3. Percentages for figure 2: Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or
federal correctional authorities who were female, 1978–2021
Appendix table 4. Percentages for figure 5: Percent of prisoners held in private facilities under
contract to state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, 1999–2021
Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

5

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Total prison population
ƒ A total of 1,204,300 persons were held in state or
federal prisons across the United States at yearend
2021, about 16,800 fewer than at yearend 2020
(1,221,200) (table 1).
ƒ The state prison population decreased by
22,000 persons (down 2%) from yearend 2020 to
yearend 2021, while the BOP population increased
by 5,200 (up 3%).
ƒ The total prison population has decreased every year
since 2013, making 2021 the eighth consecutive year
of decline.
ƒ At yearend 2021, there were 394,600 fewer prisoners
(down 25%) under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional facilities than a decade earlier.
ƒ Females represented almost 7% of the total prison
population in 2021, up from 4% in 1978 (figure 2).
ƒ The percentage of persons in state or federal prison
who were female peaked at 7.6% in 2018.
ƒ Each year from 2003 to 2019, more than
100,000 females were held in state or federal prison.1
ƒ The number of females in state or federal prison on
December 31, 2021 (83,300) was the smallest since
yearend 1997 (79,200).2
1See CSAT-Prisoners webtool at https://csat.bjs.ojp.gov, Quick

Table “Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, December 31, 1978–2019 – Females.”
2Ibid.

TablE 1
Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by jurisdiction and sex,
2011–2021
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Percent change
2011–2021
2020–2021

Total
1,598,968
1,570,397
1,576,950
1,562,319
1,526,603
1,508,129
1,489,189
1,464,385
1,430,165
1,221,164
1,204,322

Federal*
216,362
217,815
215,866
210,567
196,455
189,192
183,058
179,898
175,116
152,156
157,314

State
1,382,606
1,352,582
1,361,084
1,351,752
1,330,148
1,318,937
1,306,131
1,284,487
1,255,049
1,069,008
1,047,008

Male
1,487,561
1,461,625
1,465,592
1,449,291
1,415,112
1,396,296
1,377,815
1,353,595
1,322,256
1,137,410
1,120,973

Female
111,407
108,772
111,358
113,028
111,491
111,833
111,374
110,790
107,909
83,754
83,349

-24.7%
-1.4

-27.3%
3.4

-24.3%
-2.1

-24.6%
-1.4

-25.2%
-0.5

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner
is held. Counts are for December 31 of each year and are based on
prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons
sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may have
been revised from previous reports.
*Includes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections
facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
2011–2021.

FIGURE 2
Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state
or federal correctional authorities who were female,
1978–2021
Percent female
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
1978 ’80 ’85

’90

’95

2000

’05

’10

’15

’20’21

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner
is held. Percentages are for December 31 of each year and are based on
prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons
sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. See appendix table 3 for percentages.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
1978–2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

6

■

State-level total prison populations
ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the number of
persons under the jurisdiction of state correctional
authorities decreased in 32 states, including Arizona
(down 3,900 prisoners or 10%), New York (down
3,800 or 11%), and Pennsylvania (down 2,200 or 5%)
(table 2, figure 3).

FIGURE 3
Percent change in the number of persons under the
jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction, 2020–2021
Washington
New York
Arizona
New Hampshire
Nevada
Massachusetts
Maine
New Mexico
Pennsylvania
Indiana
Virginia
Michigan
Illinois
Louisiana
West Virginia
Maryland
Tennessee
Kansas
New Jersey
South Carolina
Colorado
Minnesota
Hawaii*
North Carolina
Texas
Mississippi
Alabama
Florida
Wisconsin
Oklahoma
Georgia
Ohio
Kentucky
Vermont*
Rhode Island*
California
Alaska*
Missouri
Wyoming
Delaware*
Iowa
South Dakota
BOP
Connecticut*
Oregon
Nebraska
Arkansas
Utah
Montana
North Dakota

ƒ Of all the states, Washington had the largest percent
decrease in its prison population from yearend 2020
to yearend 2021 (down 13% or 2,000 prisoners).
ƒ The 2% overall decrease in state prisoners from
yearend 2020 to yearend 2021 followed a 15% drop
during the prior 12 months due to the COVID-19
pandemic, when 49 states reduced their prison
populations. (See Prisoners in 2020–Statistical Tables,
NCJ 302776, BJS, December 2021.)
ƒ New York had 30,300 prisoners under its jurisdiction
at yearend 2021, the fifteenth straight year of decline
in this population and a 55% decrease from a high of
72,900 prisoners at yearend 1999.3
ƒ The prison populations of 17 states and the BOP
increased from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021.
ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, California had
the largest increase of any state in the number of
prisoners under its jurisdiction (up 1,000).
ƒ Twenty-three states and the BOP each had
more female prisoners at yearend 2021 than at
yearend 2020.
ƒ The number of females in the BOP prison
population increased more than 7% (up almost 800)
from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021.
3See CSAT-Prisoners webtool at https://csat.bjs.ojp.gov/map-query.

-15

-10

-5
0
5
10
15
20
Percent change in prison population

25

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner
is held. For jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the
BJS website. Estimates show the percent change in the total number
of prisoners with any sentence status on December 31, 2020 and
December 31, 2021. Prison population data for Idaho in 2022 were not
comparable to 2021 data. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced
for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). See table 2 for counts.
*Prisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and
prison populations.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
2020–2021.

TablE 2
Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
2020
Jurisdiction
Total
Male Female
U.S. total
1,221,164 1,137,410 83,754
Federala
152,156 141,964 10,192
State
1,069,008 995,446 73,562
Alabama
25,328 23,166 2,162
Alaskab
4,578
4,159
419
Arizonac
37,794 34,136 3,658
Arkansas
16,094 14,781 1,313
100,396 96,629 3,767
Californiac
Coloradoc
16,259 14,948 1,311
Connecticutb
9,559
9,020
539
4,710
4,486
224
Delawareb
Florida
81,027 76,012 5,015
Georgia
47,141 44,041 3,100
4,171
3,744
427
Hawaiib
Idahoc,d,e
8,356
7,270 1,086
Illinois
29,729 28,311 1,418
26,051 23,417 2,634
Indianac
Iowa
8,307
7,616
691
Kansas
8,779
8,019
760
Kentucky
18,552 16,528 2,024
Louisiana
26,964 25,773 1,191
Maine
1,714
1,586
128
Maryland
15,623 15,105
518
Massachusetts
6,762
6,564
198
Michigan
33,617 31,913 1,704
Minnesota
8,148
7,683
465
Mississippi
17,577 16,388 1,189
Missouric,d
23,062 21,167 1,895
Montana
3,927
3,457
470
Nebraska
5,306
4,927
379
Nevadac
11,249 10,278
971
New Hampshire
2,352
2,168
184
New Jersey
12,830 12,369
461
New Mexico
5,500
4,955
545
New York
34,128 32,837 1,291
North Carolina
29,461 27,354 2,107
North Dakota
1,401
1,239
162
Ohio
45,036 41,408 3,628
Oklahomaf
22,462 20,275 2,187
Oregon
12,753 11,834
919
Pennsylvania
39,357 37,122 2,235
Rhode Islandb
2,227
2,138
89
South Carolina
16,157 15,159
998
South Dakota
3,250
2,822
428
Tennessee
22,685 20,415 2,270
Texas
135,906 125,547 10,359
Utah
5,448
5,075
373
Vermontb
1,284
1,200
84
Virginia
31,838 29,476 2,362
Washington
15,724 14,676 1,048
West Virginia
6,044
5,393
651

Total
1,204,322
157,314
1,047,008
25,032
4,639
33,914
17,022
101,441
15,865
9,889
4,810
80,417
47,010
4,102
8,907
28,475
24,716
8,562
8,521
18,560
26,074
1,577
15,134
6,148
32,186
8,003
17,332
23,422
4,313
5,600
10,202
2,127
12,506
5,154
30,338
28,995
1,689
45,029
22,391
13,198
37,194
2,238
15,759
3,353
21,995
133,772
5,907
1,287
30,357
13,674
5,847

2021
Male
1,120,973
146,365
974,608
22,915
4,197
30,794
15,592
97,525
14,599
9,254
4,568
75,404
43,942
3,669
7,668
27,165
22,397
7,859
7,793
16,493
24,849
1,466
14,616
5,949
30,621
7,546
16,116
21,370
3,702
5,200
9,418
1,979
12,052
4,635
29,233
26,871
1,489
41,443
20,216
12,252
35,182
2,115
14,721
2,892
19,903
123,263
5,426
1,204
28,119
12,888
5,227

Female
83,349
10,949
72,400
2,117
442
3,120
1,430
3,916
1,266
635
242
5,013
3,068
433
1,239
1,310
2,319
703
728
2,067
1,225
111
518
199
1,565
457
1,216
2,052
611
400
784
148
454
519
1,105
2,124
200
3,586
2,175
946
2,012
123
1,038
461
2,092
10,509
481
83
2,238
786
620

Change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-16,842 -16,437 -405
5,158 4,401
757
-22,000 -20,838 -1,162
-296
-251
-45
61
38
23
-3,880 -3,342 -538
928
811
117
1,045
896
149
-394
-349
-45
330
234
96
100
82
18
-610
-608
-2
-131
-99
-32
-69
-75
6
:
:
:
-1,254 -1,146 -108
-1,335 -1,020 -315
255
243
12
-258
-226
-32
8
-35
43
-890
-924
34
-137
-120
-17
-489
-489
0
-614
-615
1
-1,431 -1,292 -139
-145
-137
-8
-245
-272
27
360
203
157
386
245
141
294
273
21
-1,047
-860 -187
-225
-189
-36
-324
-317
-7
-346
-320
-26
-3,790 -3,604 -186
-466
-483
17
288
250
38
-7
35
-42
-71
-59
-12
445
418
27
-2,163 -1,940 -223
11
-23
34
-398
-438
40
103
70
33
-690
-512 -178
-2,134 -2,284
150
459
351
108
3
4
-1
-1,481 -1,357 -124
-2,050 -1,788 -262
-197
-166
-31

Percent change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-1.4% -1.4% -0.5%
3.4%
3.1%
7.4%
-2.1% -2.1% -1.6%
-1.2
-1.1
-2.1
1.3
0.9
5.5
-10.3
-9.8
-14.7
5.8
5.5
8.9
1.0
0.9
4.0
-2.4
-2.3
-3.4
3.5
2.6
17.8
2.1
1.8
8.0
-0.8
-0.8
0.0
-0.3
-0.2
-1.0
-1.7
-2.0
1.4
:
:
:
-4.2
-4.0
-7.6
-5.1
-4.4
-12.0
3.1
3.2
1.7
-2.9
-2.8
-4.2
0.0
-0.2
2.1
-3.3
-3.6
2.9
-8.0
-7.6
-13.3
-3.1
-3.2
0.0
-9.1
-9.4
0.5
-4.3
-4.0
-8.2
-1.8
-1.8
-1.7
-1.4
-1.7
2.3
1.6
1.0
8.3
9.8
7.1
30.0
5.5
5.5
5.5
-9.3
-8.4
-19.3
-9.6
-8.7
-19.6
-2.5
-2.6
-1.5
-6.3
-6.5
-4.8
-11.1
-11.0
-14.4
-1.6
-1.8
0.8
20.6
20.2
23.5
0.0
0.1
-1.2
-0.3
-0.3
-0.5
3.5
3.5
2.9
-5.5
-5.2
-10.0
0.5
-1.1
38.2
-2.5
-2.9
4.0
3.2
2.5
7.7
-3.0
-2.5
-7.8
-1.6
-1.8
1.4
8.4
6.9
29.0
0.2
0.3
-1.2
-4.7
-4.6
-5.2
-13.0
-12.2
-25.0
-3.3
-3.1
-4.8

Continued on next page

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TablE 2 (continued)
Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Jurisdiction
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
20,298
2,087

2020
Male Female
19,034 1,264
1,826
261

Total
20,202
2,123

2021
Male Female
18,953 1,249
1,858
265

Change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-96
-81
-15
36
32
4

Percent change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-0.5
-0.4
-1.2
1.7
1.8
1.5

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with any
sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau
of Prisons.
:Not calculated. Counts for 2020 and 2021 are not comparable.
aIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations. Data for these states are not reported in BJS’s annual Jail
Inmates reports.
cTotal jurisdiction counts for 2020 have been updated.
dState does not include persons held in federal or other state prisons in its jurisdiction count.
eState changed its counting methodology between 2020 and 2021. Data for these years are not comparable.
fIncludes persons who were waiting in county jail to be moved to state prison.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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Population of sentenced prisoners
ƒ At yearend 2021, persons sentenced to more than
1 year under the legal authority of state correctional
officials accounted for 97% (1,019,200) of the total
state prison population (1,047,000) (table 3).
ƒ In addition, 14,800 persons in state prison at
yearend 2021 were sentenced to serve 1 year or less
(almost 1.5% of the total state prison population)
and 10,800 were unsentenced (more than 1.0%)
(not shown in tables).

ƒ The number of persons sentenced to more than
1 year in state or federal prison decreased almost 2%
(down 22,100) from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021.
ƒ Females accounted for almost 7% of all sentenced
prisoners at yearend 2021.
ƒ From yearend 2011 to yearend 2021, the number of
black persons sentenced to more than 1 year in state
or federal prison decreased 32% (down 176,400).

ƒ Persons sentenced to more than 1 year accounted
for 92% (144,400) of the total federal prison
population at yearend 2021 (157,300), while 6% were
unsentenced (10,300) and almost 2% were sentenced
to 1 year or less (2,600) (not shown in tables).

ƒ At yearend 2021, most sentenced prisoners were black
(32%), white (31%), or Hispanic (24%), followed by
American Indian or Alaska Native (2%) and Asian,
Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander (1%).

TablE 3
Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, sex, and race
or Hispanic origin, 2011–2021
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Percent change
2011–2021
2020–2021

Totala
1,538,847
1,512,430
1,520,403
1,507,781
1,476,847
1,459,948
1,439,877
1,413,370
1,379,786
1,185,733
1,163,665

Federalb
197,050
196,574
195,098
191,374
178,688
171,482
166,203
163,653
158,498
142,028
144,448

State
1,341,797
1,315,856
1,325,305
1,316,407
1,298,159
1,288,466
1,273,674
1,249,717
1,221,288
1,043,705
1,019,217

Male
1,435,141
1,411,076
1,416,102
1,401,685
1,371,879
1,354,109
1,334,828
1,309,194
1,278,484
1,105,750
1,084,717

Female
103,706
101,354
104,301
106,096
104,968
105,839
105,049
104,176
101,302
79,983
78,948

Whitec,d
480,400
470,900
469,800
463,800
450,600
440,700
436,800
430,500
422,900
360,100
356,000

Blackc,d
554,400
536,600
530,100
516,800
496,400
484,600
473,000
461,500
449,900
390,700
378,000

-24.4%
-1.9

-26.7%
1.7

-24.0%
-2.3

-24.4%
-1.9

-23.9%
-1.3

-25.9%
-1.1

-31.8%
-3.3

American Indian/
Hispanicd Alaska Nativec,d Asianc,d,e
341,300
22,600
17,100
336,100
21,500
17,000
19,800
16,900
343,100
339,500
21,300
17,300
335,800
20,500
17,800
342,100
20,400
18,000
338,800
21,200
17,800
332,900
21,100
17,900
322,700
21,500
17,500
276,100
19,000
14,900
273,800
18,700
14,700
-19.8%
-0.8

-17.3%
-1.6

-14.0%
-1.3

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Counts
are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for
a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may have been revised from
previous reports.
aIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
bIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
dRace or Hispanic origin estimates are rounded to the nearest 100.
eIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary); National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020; National
Prisoner Statistics, 2011–2021; Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

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State-specific sentenced prison populations
ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the number
of persons sentenced to more than 1 year in prison
increased in 13 states and the BOP (table 4).
ƒ The number of persons sentenced to more than
1 year in federal prison increased by 2,400 from
yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, accounting for 47% of
the 5,200-person increase in the BOP's total prison
population during this time.

ƒ Washington had the largest percent decline from
2020 to 2021 in females (down 25%) and in total
persons (down 13%) sentenced to more than 1 year
in state prison.
ƒ The number of sentenced female prisoners declined
in 30 states from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021,
while the number of sentenced male prisoners
decreased in 37 states.
ƒ The BOP had approximately 5% more sentenced
females and 1% more sentenced males at yearend
2021 than at yearend 2020.

TablE 4
Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex and jurisdiction, 2020
and 2021
2020
Jurisdiction
Total
Male Female
U.S. total
1,185,733 1,105,750 79,983
Federala
142,028 132,407 9,621
State
1,043,705 973,343 70,362
Alabama
19,608
18,373 1,235
Alaskab
1,794
1,695
99
Arizonac
37,101
33,566 3,535
Arkansas
16,052
14,750 1,302
Californiac
100,313
96,551 3,762
Coloradoc,d
16,168
14,858 1,310
Connecticutb
6,359
6,062
297
Delawareb
3,118
3,024
94
Florida
81,027
76,012 5,015
Georgia
46,574
43,515 3,059
Hawaiib
2,740
2,490
250
Idahoc,e,f
7,343
6,328 1,015
29,729
28,311 1,418
Illinoisd
Indianac
24,520
22,130 2,390
Iowa
8,280
7,591
689
Kansas
8,677
7,939
738
Kentucky
18,552
16,528 2,024
Louisiana
26,964
25,773 1,191
Maine
1,619
1,504
115
Maryland
15,602
15,087
515
Massachusettsd
6,195
6,030
165
Michigan
33,617
31,913 1,704
Minnesota
8,236
7,758
478
Mississippi
17,311
16,179 1,132
23,059
21,164 1,895
Missouric,f
Montana
3,927
3,457
470
Nebraska
5,220
4,858
362
Nevadac
11,249
10,278
971
New Hampshire
2,352
2,168
184
New Jerseyd
12,830
12,369
461
New Mexico
5,433
4,896
537
New York
34,114
32,828 1,286

2021
Total
Male
Female
1,163,665 1,084,717 78,948
144,448 134,302 10,146
1,019,217 950,415 68,802
19,411
18,176 1,235
1,563
1,478
85
33,227
30,248 2,979
16,977
15,555 1,422
101,389
97,474 3,915
15,783
14,518 1,265
5,607
5,341
266
2,792
2,716
76
80,417
75,404 5,013
46,342
43,331 3,011
2,599
2,364
235
8,671
7,459 1,212
28,469
27,159 1,310
22,857
20,796 2,061
8,529
7,827
702
8,408
7,704
704
18,560
16,493 2,067
26,074
24,849 1,225
1,473
1,372
101
15,089
14,575
514
5,543
5,389
154
32,186
30,621 1,565
8,003
7,546
457
16,975
15,831 1,144
23,107
21,090 2,017
4,313
3,702
611
5,511
5,133
378
10,202
9,418
784
2,127
1,979
148
12,506
12,052
454
5,079
4,572
507
30,321
29,219 1,102

Change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-22,068 -21,033 -1,035
2,420 1,895
525
-24,488 -22,928 -1,560
-197
-197
0
-231
-217
-14
-3,874 -3,318
-556
925
805
120
1,076
923
153
-385
-340
-45
-752
-721
-31
-326
-308
-18
-610
-608
-2
-232
-184
-48
-141
-126
-15
:
:
:
-1,260 -1,152
-108
-1,663 -1,334
-329
249
236
13
-269
-235
-34
8
-35
43
-890
-924
34
-146
-132
-14
-513
-512
-1
-652
-641
-11
-1,431 -1,292
-139
-233
-212
-21
-336
-348
12
48
-74
122
386
245
141
291
275
16
-1,047
-860
-187
-225
-189
-36
-324
-317
-7
-354
-324
-30
-3,793 -3,609
-184

Percent change, 2020–2021
Total Male Female
-1.9% -1.9% -1.3%
1.7%
1.4%
5.5%
-2.3% -2.4% -2.2%
-1.0
-1.1
0.0
-12.9
-12.8
-14.1
-10.4
-9.9
-15.7
5.8
5.5
9.2
1.1
1.0
4.1
-2.4
-2.3
-3.4
-11.8
-11.9
-10.4
-10.5
-10.2
-19.1
-0.8
-0.8
0.0
-0.5
-0.4
-1.6
-5.1
-5.1
-6.0
:
:
:
-4.2
-4.1
-7.6
-6.8
-6.0
-13.8
3.0
3.1
1.9
-3.1
-3.0
-4.6
0.0
-0.2
2.1
-3.3
-3.6
2.9
-9.0
-8.8
-12.2
-3.3
-3.4
-0.2
-10.5
-10.6
-6.7
-4.3
-4.0
-8.2
-2.8
-2.7
-4.4
-1.9
-2.2
1.1
0.2
-0.3
6.4
9.8
7.1
30.0
5.6
5.7
4.4
-9.3
-8.4
-19.3
-9.6
-8.7
-19.6
-2.5
-2.6
-1.5
-6.5
-6.6
-5.6
-11.1
-11.0
-14.3

Continued on next page

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TablE 4 (continued)
Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex and jurisdiction, 2020
and 2021
Jurisdiction
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahomag
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandb
South Carolina
South Dakotad
Tennessee
Texas
Utahd
Vermontb
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Total
28,881
1,396
45,036
22,309
12,747
39,335
1,382
15,984
3,242
22,685
134,345
5,441
907
31,838
15,689
6,044
18,674
2,087

2020
Male Female
26,890 1,991
1,235
161
41,408 3,628
20,167 2,142
11,828
919
37,103 2,232
1,345
37
15,021
963
2,817
425
20,415 2,270
124,350 9,995
5,068
373
859
48
29,476 2,362
14,646 1,043
5,393
651
17,511 1,163
1,826
261

Total
28,361
1,665
45,029
22,235
13,192
37,180
1,297
15,575
3,341
21,995
131,734
5,902
867
30,357
13,619
5,847
18,788
2,123

2021
Male
Female
26,360 2,001
1,469
196
41,443 3,586
20,095 2,140
12,247
945
35,168 2,012
1,254
43
14,575 1,000
2,881
460
19,903 2,092
121,720 10,014
5,421
481
821
46
28,119 2,238
12,837
782
5,227
620
17,626 1,162
1,858
265

Change, 2020–2021
Total
Male Female
-520
-530
10
269
234
35
-7
35
-42
-74
-72
-2
445
419
26
-2,155 -1,935
-220
-85
-91
6
-409
-446
37
99
64
35
-690
-512
-178
-2,611 -2,630
19
461
353
108
-40
-38
-2
-1,481 -1,357
-124
-2,070 -1,809
-261
-197
-166
-31
114
115
-1
36
32
4

Percent change, 2020–2021
Total Male Female
-1.8
-2.0
0.5
19.3
18.9
21.7
0.0
0.1
-1.2
-0.3
-0.4
-0.1
3.5
3.5
2.8
-5.5
-5.2
-9.9
-6.2
-6.8
16.2
-2.6
-3.0
3.8
3.1
2.3
8.2
-3.0
-2.5
-7.8
-1.9
-2.1
0.2
8.5
7.0
29.0
-4.4
-4.4
-4.2
-4.7
-4.6
-5.2
-13.2
-12.4
-25.0
-3.3
-3.1
-4.8
0.6
0.7
-0.1
1.7
1.8
1.5

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with
a sentence of more than 1 year. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the
Federal Bureau of Prisons.
:Not calculated. Counts for 2020 and 2021 are not comparable.
aIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations. Data for these states are not reported in BJS’s annual Jail
Inmates reports.
cSentenced jurisdiction counts for 2020 have been updated.
dIncludes a small number of prisoners sentenced to 1 year or less.
eState changed its counting methodology between 2020 and 2021. Data for these years are not comparable.
fState does not include persons held in federal or other state prisons in its jurisdiction count.
gIncludes persons who were waiting in county jail to be moved to state prison.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

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year the rate was below 1,000 per 100,000, and a 37%
decrease from the rate in 2011 (1,438 per 100,000).

Imprisonment rates
ƒ The U.S. imprisonment rate at yearend 2021 was
350 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents,
a 2% decline from yearend 2020 (357 per 100,000)
(table 5).

ƒ The imprisonment rate for federal prisons increased
about 1% from 2020 to 2021 but declined 31% from
2011 to 2021.

ƒ Black U.S. residents were imprisoned at a rate of 901
per 100,000 at yearend 2021, the second consecutive
TablE 5
Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents of all ages, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or
federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, sex, and race or Hispanic origin, 2011–2021
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
Percent change
2011–2021
2020–2021

Per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages
Totala
Federalb
State
492
63
429
480
62
418
479
61
418
472
60
412
459
55
403
450
53
397
442
51
391
431
50
381
419
48
371
357
43
315
350
43
307
-28.8%
-2.1

-31.0%
1.5

-28.5%
-2.6

Per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages within each demographic group
American Indian/
Male
Female
Whitec
Blackc
Hispanic Alaska Nativec
Asianc,d
932
65
243
1,438
650
983
107
910
63
238
1,377
629
927
103
907
65
237
1,348
630
846
99
891
65
234
1,302
611
903
98
865
64
228
1,239
592
863
98
848
64
223
1,199
591
853
96
831
63
221
1,161
575
881
93
811
63
218
1,124
555
873
92
789
61
214
1,088
530
885
88
673
48
183
941
447
781
74
659
47
181
901
434
763
72
-29.3%
-2.1

-27.6%
-1.5

-25.5%
-1.1

-37.3%
-4.2

-33.2%
-3.0

-22.4%
-2.2

-32.9%
-2.9

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held.
Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents or per 100,000 U.S. residents
in a given category. Rates are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. Resident population
estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau for January 1 of the following year. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District
of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may have been revised from previous reports.
aIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
bIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary), National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020, National
Prisoner Statistics, 2011–2021, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and U.S. Census
Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for January 1 of the following calendar year.

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ƒ At yearend 2021, about 853 per 100,000 adult male
U.S. residents and 60 per 100,000 adult female
U.S. residents were serving a sentence in state or
federal prison (table 6).
ƒ From yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, the
imprisonment rate of black adults in the United States
declined 4% (from 1,238 to 1,186 per 100,000), while
the rate at which Hispanic adults were imprisoned
decreased 3% (from 641 to 619 per 100,000).

ƒ Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Other Pacific Islander
U.S. residents had the lowest imprisonment rates of all
racial or ethnic groups, with 90 per 100,000 age 18 or
older and 72 per 100,000 of all ages serving a sentence
in prison at yearend 2021.
ƒ U.S. residents age 18 or older were imprisoned by state
correctional authorities at a rate of 393 per 100,000 at
yearend 2021, down 30% from yearend 2011, when
the rate was 561 per 100,000.

TablE 6
Imprisonment rates of adult U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, sex, and race or Hispanic origin, 2011–2021
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Per 100,000 adult U.S. residents
Totala
Federalb
State
644
82
561
627
81
545
624
80
544
613
78
535
595
72
523
583
68
514
570
66
504
556
64
491
539
62
477
460
55
405
449
56
393

Male
1,235
1,202
1,194
1,171
1,135
1,110
1,085
1,056
1,024
874
853

Percent change
2011–2021
2020–2021

-30.3%
-2.4

-31.0%
-2.4

-32.4%
1.1

-30.0%
-2.9

Per 100,000 adult U.S. residents within each demographic group
American Indian/
Female
Whitec
Blackc
Hispanic Alaska Nativec
Asianc,d
84
303
1,960
976
1,363
137
82
296
1,866
939
1,277
132
83
295
1,818
935
1,160
126
84
290
1,749
903
1,232
125
82
281
1,659
871
1,172
124
82
275
1,599
866
1,152
122
81
272
1,543
837
1,183
118
80
268
1,488
804
1,165
116
77
263
1,436
763
1,175
111
61
224
1,238
641
1,030
93
60
222
1,186
619
1,004
90
-29.2%
-1.8

-26.9%
-1.1

-39.5%
-4.2

-36.5%
-3.3

-26.3%
-2.5

-34.2%
-2.9

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held.
Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners age 18 or older under state or federal jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents age 18 or older
or per 100,000 U.S. residents age 18 or older in a given category. Rates are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with a sentence
of more than 1 year. Resident population estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau for January 1 of the following year. As of December 31, 2001,
persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may
have been revised from previous reports.
aIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
bIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary), National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020, National
Prisoner Statistics, 2011–2021, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2004, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and U.S.
Census Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for January 1 of the following calendar year.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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State-specific imprisonment rates
ƒ At yearend 2021, Mississippi had the highest
imprisonment rate in the country at 575 per
100,000 state residents of all ages (table 7).
ƒ Other states with imprisonment rates greater than
450 per 100,000 state residents at yearend 2021
included Louisiana (564 per 100,000 state residents
of all ages), Arkansas (559 per 100,000), Oklahoma
(555 per 100,000), and Arizona (453 per 100,000).

ƒ States with imprisonment rates of less than 150 per
100,000 state residents of all ages at yearend 2021
included Massachusetts (96 per 100,000), Maine
(107 per 100,000), Rhode Island (118 per 100,000),
Vermont (134 per 100,000), New Jersey (135 per
100,000), and Minnesota (140 per 100,000).
ƒ At yearend 2021, more than 1% of male residents
of all ages in Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas,
and Oklahoma were serving sentences of more
than 1 year in state prison.

TablE 7
Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by sex, age, and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Jurisdiction
U.S. total
Federala
State
Alabama
Alaskab
Arizonac
Arkansas
Californiac
Coloradoc,d
Connecticutb
Delawareb
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiib
Idahoc,e,f
Illinoisd
Indianac
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusettsd,g
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouric,f
Montana
Nebraska
Nevadac
New Hampshire
New Jerseyd
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina

Per 100,000 U.S. residents within each group in 2020
All ages
Total
Male
Female
Age 18 or older
357
673
48
460
43
81
6
55
315
592
42
405
390
751
48
502
245
441
28
325
513
930
98
661
532
990
85
693
255
490
19
329
279
506
46
356
176
343
16
222
313
624
18
395
374
713
46
466
433
828
56
566
189
342
35
240
392
670
109
521
234
450
22
300
361
656
70
471
260
475
43
338
296
540
50
389
412
740
89
532
581
1,134
50
760
118
223
17
145
253
502
16
325
101
200
6
125
334
640
34
426
144
271
17
188
586
1,125
75
767
374
696
61
483
359
623
87
456
266
493
37
353
359
652
63
463
170
314
27
209
138
271
10
177
257
465
50
331
171
336
13
215
275
524
37
352

Per 100,000 U.S. residents within each group in 2021
All ages
Total
Male
Female
Age 18 or older
350
659
47
449
43
82
6
56
307
577
41
393
384
741
48
494
213
384
24
282
453
826
81
581
559
1,038
92
727
259
498
20
333
271
491
44
343
155
301
14
194
276
554
15
348
367
700
45
456
427
819
54
556
181
327
33
229
449
766
127
595
225
435
21
289
335
614
60
436
267
488
44
346
286
524
48
376
411
737
91
530
564
1,098
52
736
107
202
14
131
245
485
16
314
96
190
6
119
320
615
31
407
140
264
16
182
575
1,103
76
751
374
691
64
481
387
656
111
490
280
519
39
371
323
591
50
414
152
284
21
186
135
264
10
172
240
434
48
308
154
303
11
194
267
509
37
341

Continued on next page
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TablE 7 (continued)
Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by sex, age, and jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Jurisdiction
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahomah
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islandb
South Carolina
South Dakotad
Tennessee
Texas
Utahd
Vermontb
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Per 100,000 U.S. residents within each group in 2020
All ages
Total
Male
Female
Age 18 or older
180
309
43
236
382
712
61
491
561
1,019
107
741
300
559
43
378
303
579
34
382
126
250
7
156
310
598
36
395
364
622
97
483
327
599
64
420
457
848
68
614
164
302
23
230
141
268
15
172
369
689
54
472
203
376
27
260
338
605
73
424
317
593
40
405
361
617
93
469

Per 100,000 U.S. residents within each group in 2021
All ages
Total
Male
Female
Age 18 or older
215
370
52
283
382
713
60
490
555
1,009
106
731
310
578
44
388
287
549
31
361
118
233
8
146
298
574
37
379
371
630
104
491
314
579
59
402
443
821
67
592
175
318
29
244
134
255
14
163
351
657
51
448
176
329
20
224
328
588
69
410
318
596
39
405
366
626
94
473

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners under state or federal
jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents or per 100,000 U.S. residents in a given category. Rates are for December 31 of each year and are based on
prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. Resident population estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau for January 1 of the following year. As of
December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
aIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
cSentenced jurisdiction counts for 2020 have been updated.
dIncludes a small number of prisoners sentenced to 1 year or less.
eState changed its counting methodology between 2020 and 2021. Data for these years are not comparable.
fState does not include persons held in federal or other state prisons in its jurisdiction count.
gImprisonment rates include persons serving a sentence of more than 1 year but less than 2.5 years, the legal delineation between prisons and jails in
Massachusetts. These persons were not included in the custody and jurisdiction counts in this table, because they were housed in local jails; however,
because the BJS definition of imprisonment rate includes persons sentenced to more than 1 year in a correctional facility, these persons (866 in 2020
and 1,133 in 2021) were included in the imprisonment rate calculations.
hIncludes persons who were waiting in county jail to be moved to state prison.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021; and U.S. Census Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for
January 1 of the following calendar year.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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Prison admissions
ƒ Admissions to state and federal prison increased
22% from 2020 (346,500 admissions) to 2021
(421,000), after declining 40% during the year prior
(577,000) due to the COVID-19 pandemic (table 8).
(See Prisoners in 2020 – Statistical Tables, NCJ
302776, BJS, December 2021.)
ƒ The BOP had 42,200 admissions in 2021, a 54%
increase from 2020 (27,300).
ƒ California had more than double the admissions (up
14,300 or 123%) in 2021 as in 2020, the first year of
the COVID-19 pandemic.
ƒ Florida (up 10,000 admissions) and Texas (up 9,100)
also had increases of more than 9,000 admissions to
state prison from 2020 to 2021.
ƒ Twelve states had decreases in the number of
persons admitted to state prison from 2020 to 2021,
including Washington (down 2,600 admissions) and
Virginia (down 2,000).
ƒ Admissions on new court commitments made up
71% of all admissions to state or federal prison in
2021, up from 65% in 2020.

ƒ Federal prison admissions due to conditional
supervision violations grew 60% from 2020 to
2021, while admissions on new court commitments
increased 53%.
ƒ In state prison systems, the number of new court
commitments increased 29% from 2020 to 2021,
while admissions due to conditional supervision
violations rose 3%.
ƒ The BOP had 36,000 admissions on new court
commitments in 2021, up from 23,500 in 2020.
ƒ California (up 12,100), Florida (up 9,900), and Texas
(up 8,000) had the largest increases in new court
commitments from 2020 to 2021.
ƒ The number of admissions due to conditional
supervision violations declined in 21 states and
accounted for 27% of all admissions to state or
federal prison in 2021.
ƒ The state of Washington had the largest decrease
(down 2,500) in the number of admissions to prison
due to conditional supervision violations, from
10,500 in 2020 to 8,000 in 2021.

TablE 8
Admissions of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021

Jurisdiction
U.S. totalb
Federalc
Stateb
Alabamad
Alaskae
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Coloradod
Connecticute
Delawaree
Floridaf
Georgia
Hawaiie
Idaho
Illinoisd
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky

2020 total
346,461
27,315
319,146
7,963
1,664
9,999
8,328
11,565
5,883
1,907
1,104
13,147
9,861
1,260
2,717
11,631
5,767
3,657
3,244
12,402

2021 total
421,006
42,174
378,832
8,597
1,457
9,706
8,736
25,834
5,623
2,142
1,302
23,169
13,038
1,128
3,609
15,368
6,644
3,463
3,072
13,357

Change,
2020–2021
74,545
14,859
59,686
634
-207
-293
408
14,269
-260
235
198
10,022
3,177
-132
892
3,737
877
-194
-172
955

Percent
change,
2020–2021
21.5%
54.4%
18.7%
8.0
-12.4
-2.9
4.9
123.4
-4.4
12.3
17.9
76.2
32.2
-10.5
32.8
32.1
15.2
-5.3
-5.3
7.7

2020
2021
new court
new court
commitments commitments
226,106
297,582
23,452
35,985
202,654
261,597
5,187
6,218
1,582
1,388
7,798
7,266
2,970
3,407
10,044
22,112
4,218
4,159
1,513
1,822
822
985
12,789
22,675
8,154
11,166
636
629
1,320
2,487
7,021
11,298
4,748
5,890
2,323
2,388
2,505
2,311
7,559
8,555

2020
conditional
supervision
violationsa
108,933
3,863
105,070
852
82
2,164
5,358
1,521
1,665
384
276
29
1,704
624
1,397
4,585
988
1,334
557
4,644

2021
conditional
supervision
violationsa
114,649
6,189
108,460
651
69
2,375
5,329
3,722
1,463
310
307
64
1,872
499
1,122
4,042
719
1,075
603
4,628

Continued on next page
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TablE 8 (continued)
Admissions of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021

Jurisdiction
Louisiana
Maineg,h
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexicoh
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohioh
Oklahoma
Oregoni
Pennsylvania
Rhode Islande
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermonte,j
Virginiak
Washingtonh
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2020 total
9,593
433
3,047
924
6,038
3,949
5,051
11,722
1,791
2,080
4,311
884
3,845
2,380
6,977
11,965
863
14,749
4,682
3,554
9,824
393
3,347
3,300
8,598
46,592
2,930
952
11,866
14,113
2,673
2,895
726

2021 total
12,025
562
4,110
1,153
7,069
4,235
5,936
12,719
1,894
2,220
3,941
863
4,381
2,364
8,612
12,833
1,381
16,837
5,799
4,161
12,164
478
3,799
3,803
9,347
55,651
3,613
751
9,892
11,556
2,864
4,763
811

Change,
2020–2021
2,432
129
1,063
229
1,031
286
885
997
103
140
-370
-21
536
-16
1,635
868
518
2,088
1,117
607
2,340
85
452
503
749
9,059
683
-201
-1,974
-2,557
191
1,868
85

Percent
change,
2020–2021
25.4
29.8
34.9
24.8
17.1
7.2
17.5
8.5
5.8
6.7
-8.6
-2.4
13.9
-0.7
23.4
7.3
60.0
14.2
23.9
17.1
23.8
21.6
13.5
15.2
8.7
19.4
23.3
-21.1
-16.6
-18.1
7.1
64.5
11.7

2020
2021
new court
new court
commitments commitments
6,469
8,651
215
345
2,074
3,080
716
945
3,354
3,666
2,435
2,676
3,316
4,051
5,300
6,335
1,191
1,384
1,673
1,767
3,325
2,871
239
387
2,564
2,838
1,421
1,347
5,978
3,900
8,130
9,236
719
1,164
9,670
11,902
3,495
4,290
/
2,620
4,399
5,693
332
396
2,620
3,014
1,363
1,426
5,035
5,575
27,687
35,715
1,000
1,175
/
/
11,844
9,878
3,562
3,523
1,111
1,262
1,723
3,002
583
649

2020
conditional
supervision
violationsa
3,124
218
969
202
1,617
1,514
1,733
6,420
600
403
977
645
1,281
834
3,047
3,835
144
4,713
1,136
/
5,053
61
720
617
3,563
18,224
1,930
/
22
10,536
1,471
1,154
143

2021
conditional
supervision
violationsa
3,372
217
1,029
196
1,818
1,559
1,883
6,384
510
448
1,070
469
1,543
907
2,585
3,597
217
4,566
1,445
1,325
6,144
81
777
634
3,772
19,183
2,438
/
14
8,026
1,492
1,747
162

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts exclude transfers, escapes, and absences without leave (AWOLs).
Counts include other conditional release violators, returns from appeal or bond, and other admissions. See Methodology. Counts cover January 1
through December 31 for each year and are based on prisoners admitted to state or federal correctional authorities with a sentence of more than
1 year. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
/Not reported.
aIncludes all conditional release violators returned to prison from postcustody community supervision, including parole and probation, either for
violations of conditions of release or for new crimes.
bU.S. and state total estimates for 2020 and 2021 include imputed counts for Vermont, which did not submit data on admissions for 2020 or 2021.
cIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately
operated facilities.
dIncludes the admission of an undetermined number of prisoners with sentences of 1 year or less. Admission counts for parole violations include
prisoners who were AWOL and who committed a subsequent technical violation or new offense while on parole.
ePrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
fFlorida does not report prison admissions for technical violations. All admissions represent new sentences. The admissions due to supervision
violations represent persons who committed new crimes while on postcustody community supervision.
gNew court commitment admissions may include probation release violators who received new sentences.
hIncludes all admissions and releases from state prison, regardless of sentence length. See Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website.
iState did not provide admission breakdown by type in 2020.
jState did not supply data on prison admissions for 2020 or 2021. See Methodology for imputation strategy.
kAdmission data for 2021 are based on fiscal year 2020 counts and are preliminary. Admissions include persons sentenced to 1 year or more.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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Prison releases
ƒ States and the BOP reported a total of 443,700 releases
of persons from prison in 2021, a 19% decline (down
105,900) from the 549,600 releases in 2020 (table 9).
ƒ The number of prison releases decreased from 2020
to 2021 in 48 states and the BOP.
ƒ California had the largest decline in the number
(down 14,100) of prison releases from 2020 to 2021,
while New Jersey had the largest percentage decline
(down 50%).
ƒ Hawaii (up 70 releases) and Alaska (up 60) were the
only states with more releases in 2021 than in 2020.

ƒ Unconditional releases from state or federal prison
(those without community supervision or other
requirements after release) decreased 19% from 2020
to 2021, while conditional releases declined 20%.
ƒ In both 2020 and 2021, about 71% of all prison
releases were conditional on community supervision
or other requirements.
ƒ The BOP classified 95% of its releases in 2021 as
unconditional because it has no legal authority over
persons released from prison. The Administrative
Office of the U.S. Courts oversees these released
persons, most of whom are subject to postcustody
supervision in the community.
ƒ There were 900 fewer deaths in prison in 2021
(5,200) than in 2020 (6,100).

TablE 9
Releases of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction,
2020 and 2021
2020
Jurisdiction
total
U.S. totald
549,622
Federale
46,899
Stated
502,723
Alabamaf
11,178
Alaskag
1,626
Arizona
13,938
Arkansas
9,760
California
39,673
9,568
Coloradof
Connecticutg
4,387
Delawareg,h
1,738
Florida
28,720
Georgia
16,460
Hawaiig
1,126
Idaho
4,001
Illinoisi
20,589
Indiana
9,893
Iowa
4,767
Kansas
4,693
Kentucky
16,531
Louisiana
14,019
Mainej
974
Maryland
5,933
Massachusetts
2,212
Michigank
10,478
Minnesota
5,876
Mississippi
6,655
Missouri
14,643
Montana
2,517

Percent
2021 Change, change,
2020
2021
2020
2021
2020
2021
total 2020–2021 2020–2021 unconditionala unconditionala conditionalb conditionalb deathsc deathsc
443,740 -105,882
-19.3%
140,450
113,887
391,019
312,870
6,076 5,207
39,394
-7,505
-16.0%
43,516
37,290
253
144
526
410
404,346 -98,377
-19.6%
96,934
76,597
390,766
312,726
5,550 4,797
9,372
-1,806
-16.2
3,356
2,531
5,126
3,888
211
188
1,687
61
3.8
472
636
1,149
1,046
5
5
13,581
-357
-2.6
2,081
2,071
11,692
11,365
163
145
7,547
-2,213
-22.7
717
629
8,917
6,845
126
73
25,599 -14,074
-35.5
135
148
38,961
24,986
505
423
6,072
-3,496
-36.5
1,037
639
8,355
5,294
74
57
2,988
-1,399
-31.9
2,031
1,432
2,251
1,549
6
3
1,463
-275
-15.8
127
101
1,523
1,272
20
15
24,552
-4,168
-14.5
17,640
14,684
10,478
9,417
592
445
12,042
-4,418
-26.8
7,872
6,337
8,315
5,470
273
235
1,194
68
6.0
314
360
797
818
14
16
3,045
-956
-23.9
569
473
3,007
2,546
36
26
16,594
-3,995
-19.4
2,942
2,195
17,471
14,188
171
128
8,816
-1,077
-10.9
1,165
974
8,588
7,768
140
74
3,217
-1,550
-32.5
1,015
746
3,709
2,427
35
35
3,354
-1,339
-28.5
422
121
4,232
3,193
39
39
13,032
-3,499
-21.2
4,475
3,052
11,768
9,704
98
81
12,533
-1,486
-10.6
1,053
1,131
12,794
11,266
158
136
874
-100
-10.3
490
398
477
467
7
9
4,614
-1,319
-22.2
1,216
966
4,652
3,582
62
65
1,783
-429
-19.4
1,258
969
917
775
37
39
8,099
-2,379
-22.7
410
383
8,630
6,198
/
155
4,481
-1,395
-23.7
426
296
5,350
4,071
100
114
6,268
-387
-5.8
406
365
6,123
5,770
106
99
12,389
-2,254
-15.4
839
846
13,647
11,425
129
102
1,740
-777
-30.9
206
182
2,277
1,536
33
22

Continued on next page

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

19

■

TablE 9 (continued)
Releases of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction,
2020 and 2021
2020
Jurisdiction
total
Nebraska
2,453
Nevada
5,753
New Hampshire 1,246
New Jersey
9,711
New Mexicoj
3,090
New York
16,249
North Carolina 15,960
North Dakota
1,220
Ohioj
20,052
Oklahoma
8,100
Oregon
5,139
Pennsylvania
15,591
Rhode Islandg
660
South Carolina
5,659
South Dakota
3,873
Tennessee
13,484
Texas
66,726
Utah
4,156
1,182
Vermontg,l
Virginiam
12,904
Washingtonj
17,014
West Virginia
3,429
Wisconsin
6,023
Wyoming
1,094

Percent
2021 Change, change,
2020
2021
2020
2021
2020
2021
total 2020–2021 2020–2021 unconditionala unconditionala conditionalb conditionalb deathsc deathsc
1,922
-531
-21.6
528
533
1,885
1,356
29
24
5,116
-637
-11.1
1,610
1,350
4,061
3,687
82
79
1,088
-158
-12.7
159
152
1,087
919
0
6
4,815
-4,896
-50.4
6,439
2,830
3,141
1,907
90
39
2,618
-472
-15.3
767
687
2,271
1,899
50
25
12,411
-3,838
-23.6
1,216
806
14,665
11,303
120
135
-2,680
-16.8
1,848
1,394
13,980
11,766
132
120
13,280
1,114
-106
-8.7
94
100
1,119
1,005
7
5
16,844
-3,208
-16.0
6,394
5,052
13,408
11,670
250
122
5,798
-2,302
-28.4
1,814
1,297
6,175
4,393
111
108
4,045
-1,094
-21.3
15
769
5,074
3,053
50
54
13,744
-1,847
-11.8
2,827
2,542
12,522
10,927
220
236
547
-113
-17.1
412
317
236
225
3
1
4,208
-1,451
-25.6
1,662
1,123
3,877
2,995
119
89
3,724
-149
-3.8
190
134
2,264
1,990
7
10
11,001
-2,483
-18.4
4,834
3,948
8,532
6,894
118
159
58,262
-8,464
-12.7
8,552
7,058
56,028
48,060
674
564
3,154
-1,002
-24.1
627
349
3,492
2,776
37
29
791
-391
-33.1
/
/
/
/
/
/
10,633
-2,271
-17.6
1,007
783
11,752
9,712
140
127
13,444
-3,570
-21.0
2,097
1,806
14,853
11,587
51
42
3,061
-368
-10.7
629
502
2,648
2,422
46
43
5,010
-1,013
-16.8
239
188
5,703
4,756
67
41
780
-314
-28.7
300
212
787
558
7
10

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts exclude transfers, escapes, and absences without leave (AWOLs).
Counts include deaths, releases to appeal or bond, and other releases. See Methodology. Counts cover January 1 through December 31 for each year
and are based on prisoners admitted to or released from state or federal correctional authorities with a sentence of more than 1 year. As of December
31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
/Not reported.
aIncludes expirations of sentence, commutations, and other unconditional releases.
bIncludes releases to probation, supervised mandatory releases, and other unspecified conditional releases.
cIncludes all deaths of prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction with a sentence of more than 1 year. Counts of deaths in state and federal prisons
may differ from previously published statistics due to differences in definitions. All causes of death are included in the counts, including executions.
dU.S. and state total estimates for 2020 and 2021 include imputed counts for Vermont, which did not submit data on releases for 2020 or 2021.
eIncludes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately operated
facilities. The 144 conditional releases in 2021 were of persons sentenced before the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act, which eliminated federal parole.
fIncludes the release of an undetermined number of prisoners with sentences of 1 year or less.
gPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
hIncludes offenders who received a combined sentence of prison and probation or parole of more than 1 year.
iIncludes the release of an undetermined number of prisoners with sentences of 1 year.
jIncludes all releases from state prison, regardless of sentence length. See Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website.
kCount of deaths in 2020 was updated.
lState did not supply data on prison releases for 2020 or 2021. See Methodology for imputation strategy.
mRelease data are based on calendar year 2021 counts and include persons sentenced to 1 year or more.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

20

■

Age, sex, and race or Hispanic origin of
sentenced prisoners
ƒ More than half of all males (59%) and almost
two-thirds of all females (66%) sentenced to more
than 1 year in state or federal prison were ages 25 to
44 at yearend 2021 (table 10).
ƒ At yearend 2021, about 36% of all males and 40% of
all females sentenced to more than 1 year in state or
federal prison were age 34 or younger.
ƒ Between 7% and 9% of black, Hispanic, and
American Indian or Alaska Native sentenced males
in prison were age 24 or younger at yearend 2021,
compared to 5% of sentenced male prisoners in all
other racial groups.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

ƒ Sixteen percent of all male prisoners and 10%
of all female prisoners were age 55 or older at
yearend 2021.
ƒ There were 178,200 persons age 55 or older in state
or federal prison at yearend 2021, a 7% increase from
166,600 at yearend 2020 (not shown in tables).
ƒ About 21% of sentenced male prisoners who were
white and 18% of those in the “other” race category
were age 55 or older at yearend 2021, compared
to 11% to 14% of those in the remaining racial or
ethnic groups.
ƒ At yearend 2021, more than double the percentage
of all persons sentenced to state prison (8%) as
to federal prison (3%) were age 24 or younger
(tables 11 and 12).

21

■

TablE 10
Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Male

All male
100%
0.4
6.6
13.2
16.0
15.4
13.8
10.3
8.5
6.9
4.5
4.2

Whitea
100%
0.3
4.5
10.1
14.3
15.5
14.0
10.9
9.9
8.6
5.8
6.2

Blacka
100%
0.6
8.3
15.0
16.7
14.7
13.3
9.8
8.1
6.5
4.1
3.0

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
100%
100%
0.3
0.6
7.2
6.6
14.8
13.2
17.2
17.4
16.6
16.8
14.6
13.8
10.6
10.2
7.5
8.4
5.3
6.6
3.1
3.6
2.8
4.2

Number of
sentenced
prisonersd,e 1,163,665 1,084,717

318,800

364,500

258,600

Age
Totald
18–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50–54
55–59
60–64
65 or older

Total
100%
0.4
6.6
13.3
16.2
15.6
13.8
10.3
8.5
6.8
4.4
4.1

16,700

Asiana,b
100%
0.0
5.0
12.8
15.6
17.0
14.2
12.1
9.2
5.7
3.5
3.5

Othera,c
100%
0.2
4.6
10.4
13.4
13.7
11.9
12.1
8.6
7.4
5.2
5.4

All female
100%
0.3
6.0
14.7
19.0
18.4
14.3
9.8
7.5
5.2
2.9
2.0

Whitea
100%
0.0
4.6
12.9
18.5
19.4
15.1
10.5
8.1
5.4
3.0
2.4

Blacka
100%
0.7
8.1
17.0
17.8
14.8
13.3
9.6
7.4
5.9
3.0
2.2

14,100

111,900

78,948

37,200

13,500

Female
American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
100%
100%
0.7
0.0
7.9
5.0
17.1
15.0
20.0
20.4
18.4
20.0
14.5
15.0
8.6
10.0
5.9
5.0
3.9
5.0
2.0
5.0
1.3
0.0
15,200

2,000

Asiana,b
100%
0.0
0.0
16.7
16.7
16.7
16.7
16.7
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0

Othera,c
100%
0.0
9.5
12.4
13.3
13.3
9.5
8.6
8.6
7.6
4.8
2.9

600

10,500

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Percentages and counts are based on prisoners with a sentence
of more than 1 year. Federal data include adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately operated facilities. Details may not sum
to totals due to rounding. See Methodology.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
cIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
dIncludes persons of all ages, including those age 17 or younger.
eEstimates of race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary); National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020; National Prisoner Statistics, 2021; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

22

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TablE 11
Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Male

Age
Totald
18–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50–54
55–59
60–64
65 or older

Total
100%
0.5
7.1
13.8
16.2
15.3
13.3
9.9
8.4
6.9
4.5
4.2

Number of
sentenced
prisonersd,e 1,019,217

All male
100%
0.5
7.1
13.7
15.9
15.1
13.3
9.9
8.5
7.1
4.6
4.3

Whitea
100%
0.3
4.8
10.5
14.6
15.4
13.7
10.6
9.8
8.5
5.7
6.1

Blacka
100%
0.7
8.9
15.5
16.4
14.2
12.6
9.3
8.1
6.8
4.4
3.2

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
100%
100%
0.4
0.4
7.7
6.7
15.3
13.3
17.2
17.1
16.4
15.9
14.0
13.5
10.1
10.0
7.3
8.4
5.3
6.5
3.2
3.8
3.0
4.2

950,415

288,300

319,900

212,800

13,800

Asiana,b
100%
0.2
5.6
13.8
16.0
17.4
13.7
11.8
8.5
5.7
3.7
3.6

Othera,c
100%
0.2
4.9
11.2
14.4
14.8
12.8
13.0
9.3
8.0
5.6
5.8

All female
100%
0.3
6.3
15.2
19.3
18.4
14.0
9.5
7.2
5.1
2.8
2.0

Whitea
100%
0.1
4.8
13.3
18.9
19.5
14.8
10.2
7.8
5.3
2.9
2.3

Blacka
100%
0.6
8.7
17.8
18.3
14.9
12.7
8.9
7.4
5.6
3.3
1.7

12,000

103,600

68,802

33,500

12,000

Female
American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
100%
100%
0.5
0.3
8.4
6.1
18.0
16.3
18.9
20.8
19.2
20.8
13.8
12.4
8.0
9.1
5.4
5.6
3.4
5.7
1.6
2.9
1.0
1.9
11,600

1,800

Asiana,b
100%
^
4.6
18.3
19.5
15.7
11.8
10.0
6.9
6.4
2.6
4.1

Othera,c
100%
0.0
10.7
13.8
15.2
15.2
10.3
9.7
9.3
7.9
4.8
3.1

500

9,500

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Percentages and counts are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than
1 year. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See Methodology.
^Estimate is based on 10 or fewer prisoners.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
cIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
dIncludes persons of all ages, including those age 17 or younger.
eEstimates of race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020; National Prisoner Statistics, 2021; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

23

■

TablE 12
Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal correctional authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age, December 31, 2021
Male
Age
Totalf
18–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50–54
55–59
60–64
65 or older

Totala
100%
0.1
3.3
10.2
16.1
17.8
17.4
12.8
9.0
6.1
3.8
3.4

Number of
sentenced
prisonersf,g 144,448

All maleb
100%
0.1
3.3
10.1
16.1
17.7
17.4
12.9
9.0
6.1
3.8
3.4

Whitec
100%
^
1.4
5.8
12.1
16.4
17.1
12.7
11.3
9.4
6.7
7.1

Blackc
100%
0.1
3.7
11.9
18.3
18.4
18.0
13.0
7.9
4.5
2.5
1.7

134,302

30,500

44,600

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativec
100%
100%
0.1
^
4.5
5.1
12.2
12.3
17.2
17.4
17.9
20.2
17.1
14.9
13.0
9.9
8.3
6.9
5.0
5.6
2.7
3.8
1.9
3.7
45,800

2,900

Female
Asianc,d
100%
^
1.8
6.6
12.9
16.9
18.1
14.6
13.4
6.8
4.2
4.6

All femalee
100%
^
3.8
11.3
17.2
18.2
16.9
11.8
8.9
5.8
3.5
2.6

2,100

10,146

Whitec
100%
0.0
2.0
8.4
16.3
19.4
17.3
12.5
10.3
6.5
4.2
3.2

Blackc
100%
0.0
3.3
11.8
16.7
17.3
16.1
12.6
8.8
6.8
3.5
3.1

3,800

1,500

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativec
100%
100%
^
0.0
6.9
5.4
15.2
14.1
19.0
21.4
16.8
18.3
16.5
19.2
10.2
11.0
6.9
5.1
4.7
2.0
2.3
3.1
1.4
0.3
3,600

300

Asianc,d
100%
0.0
1.0
6.7
8.3
17.6
17.6
15.5
15.5
6.2
5.7
5.7
100

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Percentages and counts are based on prisoners with a sentence of more
than 1 year. Includes adult prisoners held in nonsecure community corrections facilities and adults and persons age 17 or younger held in privately operated facilities. The Federal Bureau of Prisons does not
separate persons of two or more races or other races from the individual race categories when reporting to the National Prisoner Statistics. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See Methodology.
^Estimate is based on 10 or fewer prisoners.
aIncludes 9,300 federal prisoners with missing race or Hispanic origin data.
bIncludes 8,400 male federal prisoners with missing race or Hispanic origin data.
cExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
eIncludes 1,000 female federal prisoners with missing race or Hispanic origin data.
fIncludes persons of all ages, including those age 17 or younger.
gEstimates of race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary); National Prisoner Statistics, 2021; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

24

■

Imprisonment rates of male U.S. residents, by age
and race or Hispanic origin
ƒ At yearend 2021, male U.S. residents ages 25 to 49
were serving prison sentences at rates ranging from
1,138 to 1,484 per 100,000, representing 1.1% to
1.5% of males in these age groups (table 13).
ƒ Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander
males had the lowest overall imprisonment rate
(144 per 100,000), and black males had the highest
(1,807 per 100,000).
ƒ Males ages 35 to 39 had an imprisonment rate of
1,484 per 100,000 at yearend 2021, the highest rate
for males in any age group.
ƒ More than 3% (3,000 per 100,000) of black male
U.S. residents ages 25 to 49 were serving sentences
of more than 1 year in state or federal prison on
December 31, 2021 (figure 4).

ƒ American Indian or Alaska Native male U.S. residents
ages 25 to 49 had an imprisonment rate of 2,330 per
100,000 at yearend 2021.
ƒ In each age group, Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other
Pacific Islander males were less than half as likely as
white males to be in prison at yearend 2021.
ƒ On December 31, 2021, Hispanic males were more
than twice as likely as white males in each age group
to be in prison on a sentence.
ƒ The age category with the largest differences in
imprisonment rates for males by race or Hispanic
origin in 2021 was ages 18 to 19. Among males ages
18 to 19, the 2021 imprisonment rate for black U.S.
residents (381 per 100,000) was 11.6 times the rate
for white U.S. residents (33 per 100,000) and the rate
for Native American U.S. residents (169 per 100,000)
was 5.1 times the rate for white U.S. residents.

FIGURE 4
Imprisonment rates of male U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2021
Rate per 100,000 (in thousands)
4 -------------------------------------

3

Asiana,b
■ American Indian/
Alaskan Native
■ Hispanic
a
■ Black
a
■ White
■

2

1

0

18–19

20–24

25–29

30–34

35–39

40–44
45–49
Age at yearend

50–54

55–59

60–64

65 or older

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held.
Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents or per 100,000 U.S. residents in a
given category. Rates are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. Resident population estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau for
January 1, 2022. See table 13 for rates.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary), National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020, National
Prisoner Statistics, 2021, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and U.S. Census Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for January 1, 2022.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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TablE 13
Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by demographic
characteristics, December 31, 2021
Per 100,000 U.S. residents within each demographic group

Male

All male
659
103
657
1,272
1,478
1,484
1,397
1,138
887
716
476
178

Whitea
327
33
247
531
714
780
731
607
483
392
253
101

Blacka
1,807
381
1,985
3,379
3,692
3,831
3,693
3,035
2,413
1,946
1,328
488

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
Asiana,b
810
1,381
144
84
169
13
725
1,181
113
1,541
2,330
243
1,793
2,978
259
1,774
3,370
292
1,643
3,058
271
1,347
2,440
245
1,051
1,928
202
869
1,460
146
657
907
108
317
453
43

Number of
sentenced
prisonersd,e 1,163,665 1,084,717

318,800

364,500

258,600

Age
Totald
18–19
20–24
25–29
30–34
35–39
40–44
45–49
50–54
55–59
60–64
65 or older

Total
350
55
357
699
811
815
755
607
471
372
242
83

16,700

14,100

Othera,c
2,866
123
1,396
3,698
6,044
7,949
8,037
10,086
7,767
7,466
5,538
2,687

All female
47
5
45
106
131
131
107
78
56
38
21
5

Whitea
38
2
31
82
111
117
94
70
47
29
15
4

Blacka
62
13
74
144
145
138
123
96
75
56
33
8

111,900

78,948

37,200

13,500

Female
American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativea
Asiana,b
49
161
5
6
14
0
50
136
4
111
349
13
135
411
11
129
495
10
103
348
8
66
266
8
49
151
6
37
134
6
21
75
3
6
19
2
15,200

2,000

600

Othera,c
264
0
285
419
547
678
532
611
643
606
396
110
10,500

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners under state
or federal jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents or per 100,000 U.S. residents in a given category. Rates are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. Resident population estimates are from the
U.S. Census Bureau for January 1, 2022.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
cIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
dIncludes persons of all ages, including those age 17 or younger.
eEstimates of race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary), National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020, National Prisoner Statistics, 2021, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016;
and U.S. Census Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for January 1, 2022.

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Imprisonment rates of female U.S. residents, by
age and race or Hispanic origin
ƒ The imprisonment rate for all female U.S. residents
at yearend 2021 was 47 per 100,000, less than
one-tenth of the rate of 659 per 100,000 for all males.
ƒ At yearend 2021, more sentenced female prisoners
were white (47% or 37,200) than Hispanic (19%
or 15,200) or black (17% or 13,500) (not shown
in tables).
ƒ Among females of all ages at yearend 2021, those
who were black (62 per 100,000) or Hispanic
(49 per 100,000) were imprisoned at a higher
rate than those who were white (38 per 100,000),
despite the larger number of white females in the
U.S. prison population.

ƒ Among females ages 35 to 39 at yearend 2021, those
who were American Indian or Alaska Native were
imprisoned at about 4 times the rate of those who
were white, black, or Hispanic (figure 5).
ƒ Female incarceration rates showed larger
proportional differences by race at age 18 to 19 than
for any age group. Among females ages 18 to 19,
the 2021 imprisonment rates for those who were
American Indian or Alaska Native (14 per 100,000)
or black (13 per 100,000) were more than 6 times the
rate for those who were white (2 per 100,000).
ƒ Like males, females in the 18 to 19 age group had the
largest disparities in imprisonment rates by race or
Hispanic origin in 2021.

FIGURE 5
Imprisonment rates of female U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal
correctional authorities, by demographic characteristics, December 31, 2021
Rate per 100,000 (in hundreds)

■ Asiana,b

5

■ American Indian/

Alaskan Native

■ Hispanic

4

a

■ Black

a

■ White

3
2
1
0

18–19

20–24

25–29

30–34

35–39

40–44

Age at yearend

45–49

50–54

55–59

60–64

65 or older

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held.
Imprisonment rate is the number of sentenced prisoners under state or federal jurisdiction per 100,000 U.S. residents or per 100,000 U.S. residents in a
given category. Rates are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. Resident population estimates are from the U.S. Census Bureau for
January 1, 2022. See table 13 for rates.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary), National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020, National
Prisoner Statistics, 2021, and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016; and U.S. Census Bureau, postcensal resident population estimates for January 1, 2022.

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27

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Prisoners held in privately operated
prison facilities
ƒ At yearend 2021, about 96,700 U.S. prisoners (8% of
all persons in prison) were held in private prisons
contracted to a state or the federal government
(table 14).
ƒ The BOP held 6,200 fewer persons in private prisons
under a federal contract at yearend 2021 than at
yearend 2020, a decrease of 23%.
ƒ The number of state prisoners housed in private
prisons increased 4% from yearend 2020 (72,300) to
yearend 2021 (75,200).
ƒ The BOP (21,600), Florida (11,700), Texas (9,700),
and Tennessee (7,600) were the jurisdictions holding
the most persons in private prison facilities at
yearend 2021.
ƒ Montana had the largest percentage of its
prison population housed in private facilities at
yearend 2021 (48%), followed by New Mexico (44%)
and Tennessee (35%).

FIGURE 6
Percent of prisoners held in private facilities under
contract to state or federal correctional authorities, by
jurisdiction, 1999–2021
Percent in private facilities
20
15
Federal
10

Total
State

5
0

’99’00

’05

’10

’15

’20’21

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner
is held. Percentages are for December 31 of each year and based on
prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons
sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. See appendix table 4 for percentages.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
1999–2021.

ƒ Almost 14% of the total BOP jurisdiction population
was housed in private prisons in 2021, down from a
high of 19% in 2013 and 18% in 2020 (figure 6).
TablE 14
Prisoners held in the custody of private prisons or local jails under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional
authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021

Jurisdiction
U.S. total
Federalb
State
Alabama
Alaskac
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutc
Delawarec
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiic
Idaho
Illinois

2020
100,151
27,810
72,341
254
206
7,185
0
0
2,784
397
~
10,810
6,525
999
727
95

Prisoners held in private prisonsa
Percent
Percent of total
Change,
change, jurisdiction
2021 2020–2021 2020–2021 population, 2021
96,732
-3,419
-3.4%
8.0%
21,565
-6,245
-22.5%
13.7%
75,167
2,826
3.9%
7.2%
267
13
5.1
1.1
250
44
21.4
5.4
7,367
182
2.5
21.7
0
0
0.0
0.0
0
0
0.0
0.0
2,557
-227
-8.2
16.1
362
-35
-8.8
3.7
~
:
:
:
11,712
902
8.3
14.6
7,344
819
12.6
15.6
1,114
115
11.5
27.2
876
149
20.5
9.8
223
128
134.7
0.8

2020
73,321
843
72,478
3,846
21
0
2,256
375
1,091
0
~
805
3,999
0
682
0

Prisoners held in local jails
Percent
Percent of total
Change, change,
jurisdiction
2021 2020–2021 2020–2021 population, 2021
65,399
-7,922
-10.8%
5.4%
751
-92
-10.9%
0.5%
64,648
-7,830
-10.8%
6.2%
2,101
-1,745
-45.4
8.4
40
19
90.5
0.9
0
0
0.0
0.0
2,505
249
11.0
14.7
0
-375
-100.0
0.0
125
-966
-88.5
0.8
0
0
0.0
0.0
~
:
:
:
889
84
10.4
1.1
4,725
726
18.2
10.1
0
0
0.0
0.0
509
-173
-25.4
5.7
0
0
0.0
0.0

Continued on next page

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

28

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TablE 14 (continued)
Prisoners held in the custody of private prisons or local jails under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional
authorities, by jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Prisoners held in private prisonsa
Percent
Percent of total
Change,
change, jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
2020
2021 2020–2021 2020–2021 population, 2021
Indianad
3,719 3,848
129
3.5
15.6
Iowa
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Kansas
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Kentucky
725
741
16
2.2
4.0
Louisiana
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Maine
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Maryland
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Massachusetts
~
~
:
:
:
Michigan
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Minnesota
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
-999
-30.8
12.9
Mississippi
3,240 2,241
Missouri
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Montana
1,962 2,071
109
5.6
48.0
Nebraska
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Nevada
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
New Hampshire
~
~
:
:
:
New Jersey
553
665
112
20.3
5.3
New Mexico
2,457 2,269
-188
-7.7
44.0
New York
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
North Carolina
33
29
-4
-12.1
0.1
North Dakota
255
305
50
19.6
18.1
302
4.9
14.4
Ohio
6,204 6,506
Oklahoma
4,616 4,728
112
2.4
21.1
Oregon
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Pennsylvania
315
405
90
28.6
1.1
Rhode Islandc
~
~
:
:
:
South Carolina
84
82
-2
-2.4
0.5
South Dakota
27
36
9
33.3
1.1
Tennessee
6,984 7,593
609
8.7
34.5
Texas
9,249 9,748
499
5.4
7.3
Utah
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Vermontc
194
137
-57
-29.4
10.6
Virginia
1,483 1,441
-42
-2.8
4.7
Washington
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
West Virginia
0
0
0
0.0
0.0
Wisconsin
~
~
:
:
:
Wyoming
259
250
-9
-3.5
11.8

2020
1,361
67
65
8,750
13,061
^
143
193
0
645
5,838
0
279
57
9
53
751
0
0
~
6
0
11
0
0
~
300
0
5,298
11,210
1,320
0
7,474
132
2,051
322
6

Prisoners held in local jails
Percent
Percent of total
Change, change,
jurisdiction
2021 2020–2021 2020–2021 population, 2021
1,580
219
16.1
6.4
69
2
3.0
0.8
6
-59
-90.8
0.1
8,750
0
0.0
47.1
12,843
-218
-1.7
49.3
^^
:
:
0.0
115
-28
-19.6
0.8
171
-22
-11.4
2.8
0
0
0.0
0.0
527
-118
-18.3
6.6
5,818
-20
-0.3
33.6
0
0
0.0
0.0
330
51
18.3
7.7
78
21
36.8
1.4
7
-2
-22.2
0.1
57
4
7.5
2.7
460
-291
-38.7
3.7
0
0
0.0
0.0
0
0
0.0
0.0
~
:
:
:
32
26
433.3
1.9
0
0
0.0
0.0
0
-11
-100.0
0.0
7
7
0.0
0.1
0
0
0.0
0.0
~
:
:
:
280
-20
-6.7
1.8
0
0
0.0
0.0
4,097
-1,201
-22.7
18.6
10,054
-1,156
-10.3
7.5
1,445
125
9.5
24.5
0
0
0.0
0.0
5,645
-1,829
-24.5
18.6
133
1
0.8
1.0
1,216
-835
-40.7
20.8
25
-297
-92.2
0.1
9
3
50.0
0.4

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Custody
refers to the physical location where the prisoner is held. For jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts are for
December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the
District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
:Not calculated.
~Not applicable.
aIncludes prisoners held in private facilities in the jurisdiction of another state.
bIncludes federal prisoners held in nonsecure privately operated facilities (7,298) and prisoners on home confinement (7,743). Excludes persons held
in immigration detention facilities pending adjudication.
cPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
dIncludes prisoners in facilities owned by the state but staffed by employees of a private correctional company.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

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Prisoners held in local jails
ƒ The number of state and federal prisoners held in
local jails declined 11%, from 73,300 at yearend 2020
to 65,400 at yearend 2021.
ƒ About 5% of the U.S. prison population was housed
in local jail facilities at yearend 2021.
ƒ Louisiana housed more prisoners in local jails than
any other state at yearend 2021 (12,800), followed
by Texas (10,100), Kentucky (8,800), Mississippi
(5,800), and Virginia (5,600).

Louisiana (49%), Kentucky (47%), Mississippi (34%),
Utah (25%), and West Virginia (21%).
Prisoners age 17 or younger
ƒ State and federal correctional authorities held
292 persons age 17 or younger at yearend 2021,
60 fewer than the 352 held at yearend 2020
(table 15).
ƒ Twenty-six states reported holding no persons
age 17 or younger in their prison facilities on
December 31, 2021.

ƒ Five states incarcerated more than 20% of their
jurisdiction populations in local jails at yearend 2021:
TablE 15
Prisoners age 17 or younger in the custody of publicly or privately operated state or federal prisons, by
jurisdiction, 2020 and 2021
Jurisdiction
U.S. total
Federala
State
Alabama
Alaskab
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutb
Delawareb
Florida
Georgia
Hawaiib
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi

2020
352
14
338
1
8
36
6
~
5
31
1
44
8
0
0
0
13
6
0
0
10
0
4
0
18
3
10

2021
292
21
271
0
0
17
5
~
0
41
0
48
0
0
0
0
11
9
0
0
7
0
3
0
5
3
20

Jurisdiction
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermontb
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

2020
4
0
14
11
0
0
0
0
29
0
24
3
0
11
0
6
0
10
16
0
0
2
4
0
0
0

2021
2
0
8
0
~
0
0
0
16
0
27
8
0
14
0
1
0
4
15
0
1
1
4
0
0
0

Note: In 2017, BJS began requesting that National Prisoner Statistics respondents include data on all persons age 17 or younger held in the physical
custody of state and federal correctional authorities and in private prisons, excluding prisoners held in local jails and in the custody of other
jurisdictions. For jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts are for December 31 of each year and are based on
prisoners with any sentence status. See Methodology. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the
responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
~Not applicable.
aThe BOP holds prisoners age 17 or younger in privately operated facilities.
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2020 and 2021.

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ƒ Of all the jurisdictions, Florida held the most
persons age 17 or younger in publicly or privately
operated prisons at yearend 2021 (48), followed
by Connecticut (41), Ohio (27), the BOP (21), and
Mississippi (20).
ƒ On December 31, 2021, Connecticut had 41 persons
age 17 or younger in publicly or privately operated
prisons, but these persons could have been in prison
on a recent arrest because the state has a combined
prison and jail system.

Offense characteristics of state prisoners
ƒ Of the 1,043,700 persons in state prison at yearend
2020 (the most recent year for which state prison
offense data were available), 651,800 (62%) were
serving sentences for a violent offense, 141,100
(14%) for a property crime, 131,600 (13%) for a drug
offense, and 109,100 (10%) for a public order offense
(tables 16 and 17).

TablE 16
Percent of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic
origin, and most serious offense, December 31, 2020
Most serious offense
Total
Violent
Murderd
Negligent manslaughter
Rape/sexual assault
Robbery
Aggravated/simple assault
Other
Property
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Fraud
Other
Drug
Possession
Othere
Public order
Weapons
DUI/DWI
Otherf
Other/unspecifiedg

All prisonersa
100%
62.4%
15.0
1.8
15.5
12.5
13.9
3.8
13.5%
7.6
2.5
0.7
1.2
1.4
12.6%
3.2
9.4
10.5%
3.7
1.4
5.3
0.7%

Male
100%
63.9%
15.2
1.6
16.4
12.9
14.1
3.7
13.1%
7.8
2.3
0.7
1.0
1.4
11.8%
2.9
8.8
10.5%
3.9
1.4
5.3
0.6%

Female
100%
45.0%
14.3
3.8
3.1
7.7
11.5
4.7
19.3%
6.0
6.0
0.9
4.5
2.0
24.7%
7.6
17.1
9.9%
1.3
2.2
6.3
1.1%

Whiteb
100%
54.6%
11.5
1.6
19.6
6.7
11.5
3.7
18.5%
9.3
4.2
0.8
2.1
2.1
15.1%
4.5
10.6
11.0%
2.2
2.1
6.7
0.8%

Blackb
100%
67.9%
18.2
1.0
9.7
19.3
15.4
4.1
10.9%
7.0
2.0
0.4
0.8
0.8
10.8%
2.3
8.5
10.0%
4.9
0.6
4.5
0.4%

American Indian/
Hispanic Alaska Nativeb
100%
100%
79.2%
60.4%
17.2
14.6
1.3
1.3
15.9
14.2
11.7
7.4
28.8
17.7
4.3
5.2
8.0%
13.1%
5.4
7.1
1.0
2.0
0.4
0.9
0.4
1.6
0.8
1.6
6.4%
10.4%
1.3
2.3
5.1
8.2
6.1%
15.5%
2.9
3.4
0.8
4.2
2.5
7.9
0.3%
0.6%

Asianb,c
100%
70.5%
18.9
1.4
17.9
9.1
17.6
5.6
10.8%
4.9
2.2
1.0
1.3
1.3
8.7%
1.2
7.4
9.6%
3.3
1.1
5.2
0.5%

Number of
sentenced prisonersh

1,043,705

973,343

70,362

327,300

345,500

226,800

12,500

15,900

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Percentages and
counts are based on persons with a sentence of more than 1 year in prison. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing offense data.
See Methodology.
aIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
cIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
dIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.
eIncludes trafficking, other drug offenses, and unspecified drug offenses.
fIncludes court offenses; commercialized vice, morals, and decency offenses; liquor law violations; probation and parole violations; and other public
order offenses.
gIncludes juvenile offenses and other unspecified offense categories.
hEstimates for race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020; National Prisoner Statistics, 2020; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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ƒ Persons serving time for a violent offense accounted
for a larger percentage of the state prison population
at yearend 2020 than at yearend 2019 (58%) because
some states expedited the release of persons based
on, among other criteria, convictions for a nonviolent
offense. (See Prisoners in 2020 – Statistical Tables,
NCJ 302776, BJS, December 2021.)
ƒ There were 31,700 females serving sentences in
state prison for a violent offense on December 31,
2020, including 10,000 convicted of murder or
nonnegligent manslaughter.

ƒ Persons sentenced for drug possession accounted
for 3% (33,700) of sentenced state prisoners at
yearend 2020.
ƒ More than 79% of Hispanic persons in state prison
were serving time for a violent offense at yearend
2020, compared to 70% of Asian, Native Hawaiian,
or Other Pacific Islander persons; 68% of black
persons; 60% of American Indian or Alaska Native
persons; and 55% of white persons.
ƒ At yearend 2020, a larger share of white state
prisoners had been sentenced for a property (18%)
or drug (15%) offense than state prisoners of other
racial or ethnic groups.

TablE 17
Number of sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state correctional authorities, by sex, race or Hispanic
origin, and most serious offense, December 31, 2020
Most serious
offense
All prisonersa
Total
1,043,705
Violent
651,800
Murderd
157,000
Negligent
manslaughter
18,600
Rape/sexual
assault
161,500
Robbery
130,800
Aggravated/
simple assault
144,600
Other
39,300
Property
141,100
Burglary
79,800
Larceny/theft
26,400
Motor vehicle
theft
7,000
Fraud
12,900
Other
15,000
Drug
131,600
Possession
33,700
Othere
97,800
Public order
109,100
Weapons
38,600
DUI/DWI
15,000
Otherf
55,500
Other/unspecifiedg
6,800

American Indian/
Alaska Nativeb
15,900
9,600
2,300

Male
973,343
622,200
147,500

Female
70,362
31,700
10,000

Whiteb
327,300
178,600
37,600

Blackb
345,500
234,500
63,000

Hispanic
226,800
179,500
39,100

Asianb,c
12,500
8,800
2,400

16,000

2,600

5,400

3,600

2,900

200

200

159,800
125,800

2,200
5,400

64,100
21,900

33,500
66,800

36,000
26,500

2,300
1,200

2,200
1,100

137,000
36,100
127,900
75,900
22,300

8,100
3,300
13,600
4,200
4,200

37,500
12,200
60,500
30,500
13,800

53,300
14,200
37,800
24,200
6,800

65,300
9,700
18,100
12,300
2,200

2,800
800
2,100
1,100
300

2,200
700
1,400
600
300

6,400
9,800
13,600
114,600
28,500
86,100
102,500
37,800
13,400
51,200
6,100

600
3,200
1,400
17,400
5,300
12,000
6,900
900
1,600
4,400
800

2,500
6,900
6,700
49,500
14,800
34,700
35,900
7,200
6,800
21,900
2,700

1,500
2,600
2,700
37,300
7,900
29,400
34,500
16,900
2,000
15,700
1,500

1,000
900
1,700
14,600
3,000
11,600
13,800
6,500
1,800
5,600
700

100
300
200
1,700
400
1,300
2,500
500
700
1,300
100

100
200
200
1,100
200
900
1,200
400
100
700
100

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Counts are based
on persons with a sentence of more than 1 year in prison and are rounded to the nearest 100. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and
missing offense data. See Methodology.
aIncludes persons of two or more races and other races that are not broken out.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
cIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
dIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.
eIncludes trafficking, other drug offenses, and unspecified drug offenses.
fIncludes court offenses; commercialized vice, morals, and decency offenses; liquor law violations; probation and parole violations; and other public
order offenses.
gIncludes juvenile offenses and other unspecified offense categories.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020; National Prisoner Statistics, 2020; and Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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State-specific offense distributions
ƒ More than half of the prisoners in 42 states were
serving time for a violent offense at yearend 2020
(table 18).

ƒ Idaho (32%), South Dakota (27%), and Indiana
(25%) were the states with the largest percentages of
prisoners serving time for a drug offense.

ƒ At yearend 2020, at least two-thirds of persons
sentenced to prison in eight states (Alaska,
California, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Montana, Oregon, and Rhode Island) were serving
a sentence for a violent offense.
TablE 18
Sentenced prisoners in the custody of state correctional authorities and privately operated facilities contracted to
states, by most serious offense and jurisdiction, December 31, 2020
Total number of
sentenced prisoners
Jurisdiction
in custody
Alabama
21,837
Alaskab
2,100
Arizonac
40,753
Arkansas
14,078
California
96,110
Colorado
16,175
5,720
Connecticutb
Delawareb
2,798
Florida
79,416
Georgia
46,932
Hawaiib
2,097
Idaho
8,334
Illinois
29,341
Indiana
26,987
Iowa
8,751
Kansas
8,615
Kentucky
18,647
Louisiana
26,890
Maine
1,676
Maryland
15,073
Massachusetts
7,199
Michiganc
39,670
Minnesota
7,752
Mississippi
17,243
Missouri
23,139
Montana
2,426
Nebraska
4,976
Nevada
11,128
New Hampshire
2,215
New Jerseyc
22,057
New Mexicod
7,086
New York
34,054
North Carolina
29,614
North Dakota
1,504
Ohio
44,607
Oklahoma
21,631
Oregon
12,803
Pennsylvania
39,837

Totala
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Violent
59.6%
81.7
43.8
55.6
84.3
63.6
55.4
51.1
60.9
69.1
52.7
28.7
65.2
45.4
35.4
62.9
43.7
57.9
54.0
74.7
71.9
61.1
56.6
57.0
60.7
66.6
54.1
47.0
55.1
50.8
53.4
60.2
53.5
53.8
59.3
60.6
70.0
62.9

Property
17.0%
11.8
20.8
13.2
7.3
16.6
10.3
6.9
18.3
12.5
25.0
22.1
10.2
14.6
19.1
7.7
19.7
13.1
15.0
8.9
5.9
15.8
8.1
18.9
16.1
12.6
13.2
16.0
15.9
8.2
20.1
13.9
11.7
13.4
13.3
16.5
15.4
11.8

Drug
14.1%
2.1
23.1
19.9
2.1
7.1
7.3
10.3
11.2
9.7
9.6
31.7
10.5
25.1
15.9
23.1
24.3
13.6
22.6
8.5
14.6
9.5
17.1
16.6
15.3
10.3
15.8
7.1
15.6
14.9
16.2
12.1
13.4
24.2
14.7
13.0
6.9
11.1

Public order
8.1%
4.4
12.0
8.3
6.0
12.6
18.3
31.2
9.1
8.1
12.6
17.2
14.1
12.5
12.5
6.2
11.9
14.7
5.5
7.2
6.8
13.2
18.1
6.5
7.7
10.4
16.0
28.0
10.0
8.4
10.1
13.2
21.3
8.1
11.5
9.5
6.8
12.5

Other/unspecified
1.3%
#
0.2
2.9
0.3
0.2
8.7
0.5
0.4
0.7
0.1
0.3
0.1
2.4
17.1
0.1
0.4
0.7
2.9
0.7
0.8
0.3
0.2
1.1
0.2
0.1
1.0
1.9
3.4
17.7
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.5
1.2
0.4
0.9
1.7

Continued on next page
Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

33

■

TablE 18 (continued)
Sentenced prisoners in the custody of state correctional authorities and privately operated facilities contracted to
states, by most serious offense and jurisdiction, December 31, 2020
Total number of
sentenced prisoners
Jurisdiction
in custody
Rhode Islandb
1,410
South Carolina
16,259
South Dakota
3,160
Tennessee
27,507
Texas
119,056
Utah
5,379
Vermontb
963
Virginia
31,001
Washington
15,121
West Virginia
6,009
Wisconsin
20,123
Wyoming
2,096

Totala
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%

Violent
70.4
60.3
49.4
51.1
65.7
63.6
63.8
61.2
62.1
49.8
60.8
55.6

Property
9.6
19.0
14.5
19.0
10.8
15.1
16.8
16.6
15.5
22.1
12.2
14.6

Drug
9.9
16.5
27.3
20.6
13.2
12.1
5.6
15.3
6.8
10.1
12.9
21.7

Public order
9.1
3.6
6.7
6.8
10.3
9.1
13.0
4.2
15.0
14.4
13.9
7.4

Other/unspecified
1.1
0.7
2.2
2.5
#
0.1
0.8
2.7
0.6
3.7
0.2
0.8

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding and missing offense data. Unless otherwise noted, data represent prisoners in the physical
custody of state correctional authorities, or those held for the state in privately operated prison facilities, on December 31, 2020. Percentages are
based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. For prisoners convicted of more than one offense, BJS defines the most serious offense as
the offense with the longest sentence. States can report up to three offenses in the National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) and are asked to
single out the offense with the longest sentence. If they do not identify the offense with the longest sentence, BJS assumes an order of sentencing
that prioritizes violent offenses, followed by property, drug, and public order offenses. See table 13 for a breakdown of crimes included in each major
type of offense.
#Rounds to zero.
aIncludes prisoners with unknown offenses.
bPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
cNCRP data are from December 31, 2018.
dNCRP data are from December 31, 2017.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Corrections Reporting Program, 2020.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

34

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ƒ About 4% (6,000) of the federal prison population
on September 30, 2021 were sentenced for an
immigration offense.

Offense characteristics of federal prisoners
ƒ Forty-seven percent (66,500) of all persons in
federal prison were serving time for a drug offense
on September 30, 2021 (the most recent date for
which federal prison offense data were available)
(tables 19 and 20).

ƒ Persons sentenced for a violent offense accounted for
8% (10,100) of male federal prisoners and 4% (400)
of female federal prisoners at fiscal year-end 2021.

ƒ At fiscal year-end 2021, about 20% (28,500) of
persons sentenced to federal prison were serving a
sentence for a weapons offense.

ƒ Sixty-four percent (6,300) of females in federal
prison on September 30, 2021 were serving time for
a drug offense.

TablE 19
Percent of sentenced federal prisoners held in BOP or privately operated correctional facilities, by sex, race or
Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, September 30, 2021
Most serious
offense
All prisonersa
Male
Total
100%
100%
Violent
7.4%
7.7%
Homicidee
1.7
1.7
Robbery
3.1
3.3
Sexual abuse
0.9
0.9
Other
1.7
1.7
Property
4.2%
3.7%
Burglary
0.2
0.2
Fraudf
3.2
2.8
Otherg
0.8
0.8
Drugh
46.7%
45.4%
Public order
41.4%
42.9%
Immigrationi
4.2
4.3
Weapons
20.1
21.1
Otherj
17.1
17.4
Other/
unspecifiedk
0.3%
0.3%
Number of
sentenced
132,478
prisonersl 142,298

Female
100%
4.2%
1.3
1.2
0.2
1.6
10.6%
0.1
9.2
1.4
64.1%
20.8%
2.4
5.4
13.0

Whiteb,c
100%
5.7%
0.7
3.2
0.7
1.1
5.7%
0.1
4.3
1.3
40.4%
47.7%
0.4
14.7
32.6

Blackb,c
100%
9.5%
2.6
4.9
0.4
1.7
4.3%
0.3
3.4
0.7
41.6%
44.3%
0.3
33.3
10.8

Hispanicc
100%
2.9%
0.5
1.1
0.3
1.1
2.2%
0.0
1.8
0.4
61.6%
33.1%
13.3
10.3
9.5

0.4%

0.5%

0.3%

0.2%

9,820

42,900

51,800

42,300

American Indian/
Alaska Nativeb,c Asianb,c,d
100%
100%
56.8%
5.1%
17.6
1.5
2.1
1.7
19.4
0.5
17.8
1.5
3.0%
11.6%
0.9
0.1
0.9
10.0
1.3
1.5
17.2%
46.3%
22.5%
36.5%
0.5
0.2
13.0
11.6
9.0
24.7
0.4%
3,300

0.5%
2,000

Note: Percentages and counts are based on prisoners who were convicted, sentenced to 1 year or more, and in the custody of Federal Bureau of
Prisons (BOP) facilities or private prisons under contract with the BOP on September 30, 2021. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding. See
Methodology. As of December 31, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the BOP.
aIncludes persons of two or more races or other races that are not broken out.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
cData on race or Hispanic origin are based on administrative data and self-reports from BJS surveys.
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
eIncludes murder and both negligent and nonnegligent manslaughter.
fIncludes embezzlement, fraud, forgery, and counterfeiting.
gIncludes larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson and explosives, transportation of stolen property, and other property offenses.
hIncludes trafficking, possession, and other drug offenses.
iIncludes illegal entry, smuggling and importing non-U.S. citizens, and holds for immigration officials.
jIncludes regulatory offenses; tax law violations; bribery; perjury, contempt, and intimidation in U.S. courts; national defense offenses; escape;
racketeering and extortion; gambling; sexual offenses, excluding sexual abuse; offenses involving liquor, traffic, wildlife, and environmental matters;
and all other public order offenses.
kIncludes offenses not classified.
lEstimates of race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary).

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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ƒ About 6 in 10 Hispanic persons in federal prison
on September 30, 2021 were sentenced for a drug
offense, compared to 5 in 10 Asian, Native Hawaiian,
or Other Pacific Islander persons; 4 in 10 black
or white persons; and 2 in 10 American Indian or
Alaska Native persons.
ƒ Among American Indian or Alaska Native
persons serving time in federal prison on

September 30, 2021, about 57% (1,900) were
sentenced for a violent offense, with sexual abuse
and murder or nonnegligent manslaughter each
accounting for about a third of these individuals.
ƒ On September 30, 2021, white persons accounted for
40% of all federal prisoners sentenced for fraud.

TablE 20
Number of sentenced federal prisoners held in BOP or privately operated correctional facilities, by sex, race or
Hispanic origin, and most serious offense, September 30, 2021
Most serious offense
Totale
Violent
Homicidef
Robbery
Sexual abuse
Other
Property
Burglary
Fraudg
Otherh
Drugi
Public order
Immigrationj
Weapons
Otherk
Other/unspecifiedl

All prisonersa
142,298
10,547
2,426
4,448
1,261
2,412
5,950
224
4,552
1,174
66,474
58,894
5,975
28,537
24,382
433

Male
132,478
10,100
2,300
4,300
1,200
2,300
4,900
200
3,700
1,000
60,200
56,900
5,700
28,000
23,100
400

Female
9,820
400
100
100
#
200
1,000
#
900
100
6,300
2,000
200
500
1,300
#

Whiteb,c
42,900
2,400
300
1,400
300
500
2,400
#
1,800
600
17,400
20,500
200
6,300
14,000
200

Blackb,c
51,800
4,900
1,300
2,500
200
900
2,200
100
1,700
400
21,500
22,900
100
17,200
5,600
100

American Indian/
Hispanicc Alaska Nativeb,c Asianb,c,d
42,300
3,300
2,000
1,200
1,900
100
200
600
#
500
100
#
100
600
#
500
600
#
900
100
200
#
#
#
800
#
200
200
#
#
26,100
600
900
14,000
700
700
5,600
#
#
4,300
400
200
4,000
300
500
100
#
#

Note: Counts are based on prisoners who were convicted, sentenced to 1 year or more, and in the custody of Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities
or private prisons under contract with the BOP on September 30, 2021. Estimates are rounded to the nearest 100. Details may not sum to totals due to
rounding. See Methodology. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the BOP.
#Rounds to zero.
aIncludes persons of two or more races or other races that are not broken out.
bExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
cData on race or Hispanic origin are based on administrative data and self-reports from BJS surveys.
dIncludes Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders.
eTotals for race or Hispanic origin are rounded to the nearest 100.
fIncludes murder and both negligent and nonnegligent manslaughter.
gIncludes embezzlement, fraud, forgery, and counterfeiting.
hIncludes larceny, motor vehicle theft, arson and explosives, transportation of stolen property, and other property offenses.
iIncludes trafficking, possession, and other drug offenses.
jIncludes illegal entry, smuggling and importing non-U.S. citizens, and holds for immigration officials.
kIncludes regulatory offenses; tax law violations; bribery; perjury, contempt, and intimidation in U.S. courts; national defense offenses; escape;
racketeering and extortion; gambling; sexual offenses, excluding sexual abuse; offenses involving liquor, traffic, wildlife, and environmental matters;
and all other public order offenses.
lIncludes offenses not classified.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary).

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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Prison capacity
ƒ Twelve states and the BOP each had a custody
population count that met or exceeded the lowest of
the three capacity measures (rated, operational, and
design capacity) at yearend 2021, up from 10 states
in 2020 (table 21).

ƒ Four jurisdictions had custody populations in 2021
that met or exceeded their highest capacity measure
reported: Nebraska (custody population was 121%
of highest capacity measure), Idaho (108%), Iowa
(100%), and the BOP (100%).
ƒ Seven states were operating at less than 70% of their
lowest capacity in 2021, and 15 were operating at less
than 80% of their lowest capacity.

TablE 21
Prison facility capacity, custody population, and percent of capacity, by jurisdiction, December 31, 2021
Jurisdiction
Federala
State
Alabamab
Alaskac
Arizonad
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticutb
Delaware
Florida
Georgiad
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinoisb
Indianab,e
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Marylandf
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missourib
Montana
Nebraskab
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island

Rated
135,161
...
4,898
38,972
15,875
...
...
/
5,514
/
57,221
3,487
/
44,824
/
6,990
8,346
13,189
17,956
2,651
/
...
35,763
/
...
/
2,309
/
13,214
2,760
11,350
5,014
44,276
35,702
1,463
/
17,594
14,712
49,955
3,989

Type of capacity
Operational
/
22,052
...
45,266
15,914
120,739
13,366
/
5,566
78,928
49,767
3,527
7,576
48,157
26,209
7,700
10,644
13,189
16,344
2,651
19,395
9,519
35,056
9,504
11,198
27,981
1,935
4,554
12,316
2,760
17,167
5,814
44,458
31,161
1,463
/
19,717
15,612
43,957
3,743

Design
/

Custody population
135,234

12,115
4,815
38,972
15,307
85,330
13,844
/
4,062
/
/
2,491
/
/
/
6,990
9,164
13,169
16,764
2,651
/
7,492
...
/
...
/
1,382
3,643
9,523
1,810
20,446
/
43,868
35,702
1,463
/
17,594
14,712
...
3,995

19,325
4,409
33,854
14,495
99,729
13,101
9,422
4,520
67,135
46,935
2,923
8,203
27,126
22,918
7,732
8,337
9,069
13,231
1,560
15,137
5,975
32,186
7,491
8,556
23,137
1,784
5,511
10,024
1,935
11,374
2,873
30,512
29,271
1,367
38,523
16,685
12,676
36,212
2,051

Custody population as a percent of—
Lowest capacity Highest capacity
100.1%
100.1%
159.5%
91.6
86.9
94.7
116.9
98.0
:
111.3
85.1
94.3
117.3
108.3
60.5
87.4
110.6
99.9
68.9
81.0
58.8
78.0
79.8
91.8
78.8
76.4
82.7
129.1
151.3
105.3
106.9
100.2
57.3
69.6
93.9
93.4
:
94.8
86.2
82.4
54.8

87.6%
90.0
74.8
91.1
82.6
94.6
:
81.2
85.1
82.0
82.9
108.3
56.3
87.4
100.4
78.3
68.8
73.7
58.8
78.0
62.8
90.0
78.8
76.4
82.7
77.3
121.0
75.9
70.1
55.6
49.4
68.6
82.0
93.4
:
84.6
81.2
72.5
51.3

Continued on next page
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TablE 21 (continued)
Prison facility capacity, custody population, and percent of capacity, by jurisdiction, December 31, 2021
Jurisdiction
South Carolina
South Dakotab,d
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginiag
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

Rated

/
...
13,909
128,626
/
1,579
/
/
5,910
...
2,054

Type of capacity
Operational
21,448
4,002
13,531
123,534
6,381
1,579
26,696
15,972
6,249
23,273
2,054

Design
/
...
/
128,626
6,628
1,578
/
/
5,910
16,983
2,407

Custody population
15,363
3,329
10,305
113,684
4,011
1,150
24,712
13,205
4,629
20,141
1,853

Custody population as a percent of—
Lowest capacity Highest capacity
71.6
71.6
83.2
83.2
76.2
74.1
92.0
88.4
62.9
60.5
72.9
72.8
92.6
92.6
82.7
82.7
78.3
74.1
118.6
86.5
90.2
77.0

Note: Excludes prisoners held in local jails, other states, or private facilities, unless otherwise noted. Rated capacity is the number of prisoners or beds
that a facility can hold as set by a rating official. Operational capacity is the number of prisoners that a facility can hold based on staffing and services.
Design capacity is the number of prisoners that a facility can hold as set by the architect or planner. Lowest capacity represents the minimum estimate
of capacity submitted by the jurisdiction, while highest capacity represents the maximum estimate of capacity. When a jurisdiction could provide only
a single estimate of capacity, it was used as both the lowest and highest capacity. For jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS
website. As of December 31, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
...Not available. Jurisdiction does not measure this type of capacity.
:Not calculated.
/Not reported.
aDue to differences in the dates when data were extracted, the federal custody count reported for the calculation of capacity differs slightly from the
yearend custody count reported in the National Prisoner Statistics. The count includes all federal prisoners, regardless of conviction status or sentence
length.
bState defines capacity differently from BJS. Data reflect the state’s definitions. See Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website.
cCapacity excludes nontraditional confinement, such as halfway houses and electronic monitoring.
dPrivate facilities are included in capacity and custody counts. See Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website.
eCapacity includes state-owned facilities that are staffed with employees of a private correctional company.
fOperational capacity may include some pretrial detainee beds excluded from the custody count.
gState does not include Detention and Diversion center beds, or nonsex-specific hospital beds in its capacity count.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2021.

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Non-U.S. citizens in state and federal prisons
ƒ The BOP held 24,000 non-U.S. citizens in custody
at yearend 2021, about 15% of its jurisdiction
population (table 22).
ƒ California did not report its prisoners’ citizenship
status but had 20,100 persons under its jurisdiction

on December 31, 2021 who were born outside of the
United States.
ƒ The states with the most non-U.S. citizens in prison
at yearend 2021 were Texas (6,800), Florida (4,700),
Arizona (2,400), and Georgia (2,300).

TablE 22
Citizenship status of prisoners in the custody of publicly or privately operated state or federal prisons, excluding
jails, by sex and jurisdiction, December 31, 2021
Jurisdiction
Federalb,c,d,e
State
Alabamaf
Alaskag
Arizonac,d
Arkansasf
Californiah
Coloradoe
Connecticutg
Delawarec,g
Floridac,d
Georgiac
Hawaiie,g
Idaho
Illinoise
Indiana
Iowaf
Kansasf
Kentuckye
Louisianae
Mainee
Marylandf
Massachusettsf
Michiganf
Minnesotaf
Mississippif
Missourie
Montanae
Nebraskae
Nevadaf
New Hampshiree
New Jerseye
New Mexico
New Yorkf
North Carolinae
North Dakotae
Ohio
Oklahomab,c
Oregon
Pennsylvaniad,f
Rhode Islande,g

U.S. citizen prisoners
Total
Male
Female
131,861
121,848
10,013
15,747
/
31,432
14,148
79,666
14,752
9,521
4,234
74,158
44,068
2,891
7,634
21,927
22,662
8,368
8,043
18,402
25,016
1,486
9,887
5,471
31,835
7,020
8,535
22,979
4,294
5,351
9,032
1,901
11,484
5,468
27,309
28,196
1,668
42,979
20,888
/
33,999
/

14,988
/
28,394
12,981
/
13,529
8,913
4,059
69,343
41,155
2,593
6,632
21,045
20,551
7,663
7,339
16,338
23,845
1,377
9,508
5,298
30,274
6,608
7,595
20,966
3,683
4,952
8,298
1,783
11,053
4,940
26,280
26,047
1,468
39,659
18,754
/
32,208
/

759
/
3,038
1,167
/
1,223
608
175
4,815
2,913
298
1,002
882
2,111
705
704
2,064
1,171
109
379
173
1,561
412
940
2,013
611
399
734
118
431
528
1,029
2,149
200
3,320
2,134
/
1,791
/

Non-U.S. citizen prisoners
Total
Male
Female
24,031
23,142
889
825
/
2,420
258
20,062
970
263
56
4,686
2,292
95
235
998
474
196
291
158
221
18
715
492
351
325
21
158
19
249
801
63
958
112
1,391
1,235
21
451
525
/
367
/

780
/
2,344
251
/
939
252
56
4,568
2,190
90
229
975
467
189
286
^^
^^
18
703
485
^^
316
^^
153
19
^^
771
^^
942
^^
1,369
1,196
21
444
511
/
356
/

45
/
76
7
/
31
11
0
118
102
5
6
23
7
7
5
^
^
0
12
7
^
9
^
5
0
^
30
^
16
^
22
39
0
7
14
/
11
/

Non-U.S. citizens as
a percent of prison
populationa
15.3%
4.3%
:
7.1
1.8
20.1
6.1
2.7
1.2
5.9
5.4
2.3
2.9
3.5
2.1
2.3
3.5
0.9
0.8
1.1
4.8
8.3
1.1
4.5
0.2
0.7
0.4
4.4
8.0
3.0
7.7
2.2
4.6
4.3
1.2
1.0
2.5
:
1.0
:

Continued on next page
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TablE 22 (continued)
Citizenship status of prisoners in the custody of publicly or privately operated state or federal prisons, excluding
jails, by sex and jurisdiction, December 31, 2021
Jurisdiction
South Carolina
South Dakotaf
Tennessee
Texasf
Utahb,d,f
Vermonte,g
Virginia
Washingtonf
West Virginiaf
Wisconsinc,f
Wyoming

Total
14,950
3,131
17,391
106,878
3,787
1,216
22,628
11,034
4,614
17,338
2,054

U.S. citizen prisoners
Male
Female
13,983
967
2,718
413
15,822
1,569
98,858
8,020
3,435
352
1,146
70
21,086
1,542
10,342
692
4,053
561
16,149
1,189
1,788
266

Non-U.S. citizen prisoners
Total
Male
Female
350
340
10
67
^^
^
507
493
14
6,806
6,653
153
207
202
5
9
9
0
1,516
1,461
55
662
648
14
15
15
0
434
423
11
39
^^
^

Non-U.S. citizens as
a percent of prison
populationa
2.3
2.1
2.8
6.0
5.2
0.7
6.2
5.0
0.3
2.2
1.9

Note: Interpret these statistics with caution. Unless otherwise noted, citizenship status is based on prisoners' self-report upon admission to prison. The
counts of U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens represent persons held in the physical custody of state or federal correctional authorities and in private
prisons, excluding prisoners held in local jails or the custody of other jurisdictions but including prisoners in states with an integrated prison and jail
system. Some jurisdictions use prisoners' reported country of birth to determine current citizenship. For jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction
notes on the BJS website. BJS changed the way it measured citizenship in the National Prisoner Statistics program to include all non-U.S. citizens as of
the 2016 reference year. See Methodology. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
:Not calculated.
/Not reported.
^Four or fewer persons.
^^Suppressed to protect confidentiality.
aPercentage based on custody or jurisdiction population, which may include persons with unknown citizenship.
bState did not rely on self-report citizenship data from prisoners.
cCitizenship data were based on law enforcement documents or court documents that accompanied prisoners upon admission.
dCitizenship data were subject to verification by an external data source (e.g., comparison to official records from U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement or other relevant government agencies).
eCounts of non-U.S. citizens represent all persons under the jurisdiction of correctional authorities in the BOP or state.
fCounts of non-U.S. citizens exclude those held in private facilities.
gPrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total jail and prison populations.
hCitizenship data for the yearend 2021 custody population were obtained by combining all non-U.S. countries of birth from the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Tableau dashboard (https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/cdcr.or/viz/OffenderDataPoints/
SummaryInCustodyandParole).
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

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ƒ The U.S. Army had custody of 66% of all sentenced
military personnel on December 31, 2021, of
which 481 were U.S. Army personnel and 133 were
members of the other U.S. military forces.

Persons held under U.S. military jurisdiction
ƒ At yearend 2021, a total of 1,131 prisoners were
held under military jurisdiction, 4% fewer than at
yearend 2020 (table 23).

ƒ U.S. Navy personnel accounted for 11% of all
sentenced prisoners under military jurisdiction at
yearend 2021, and the branch had custody of 26% of
the overall sentenced military personnel.

ƒ Eighty-two percent of persons under military
jurisdiction on December 31, 2021 were sentenced
to more than 1 year of imprisonment.

TablE 23
Prisoners under military jurisdiction, by branch of service, 2020 and 2021
Total populationa
Jurisdiction
All prisoners
Branch of service
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Space Force
In custody of—
U.S. Air Force
U.S. Army
U.S. Marine Corps
U.S. Navy

2020
1,180

2021
1,131

227
557
233
156
7
0

214
534
240
135
^^
^

21
672
157
330

15
649
162
305

Percent change,
2020–2021
-4.2%

Sentenced populationb
2020
951

2021
927

Percent change,
2020–2021
-2.5%

-5.7%
-4.1
3.0
-13.5
:
:

201
495
139
110
6
0

192
481
146
106
^
^^

-4.5%
-2.8
5.0
-3.6
:
:

-28.6%
-3.4
3.2
-7.6

5
632
74
240

^
614
^^
240

:
-2.8%
9.5
0.0

Note: Counts are for December 31 of each year.
:Not calculated.
^Four or fewer persons.
^^Suppressed to protect confidentiality.
aIncludes all prisoners under military jurisdiction, regardless of conviction status or sentence length.
bIncludes prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year under military jurisdiction.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of
Defense, 2020 and 2021.

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Offense characteristics of persons held under
U.S. military jurisdiction
ƒ Of all prisoners under military jurisdiction at
yearend 2021, about 72% were sentenced for a sexual
offense: 41% for a violent sexual offense and 31% for
a nonviolent sexual offense (table 24).
ƒ The U.S. Marine Corps had the lowest percentage of
personnel serving time for a violent sexual offense

at yearend 2021 (30%), while the U.S. Army had the
highest (47%).
ƒ At yearend 2021, more than 80 military personnel
were serving sentences under military correctional
authority for murder or nonnegligent manslaughter.
ƒ Drug offenses accounted for 5% of all sentences
of personnel under military jurisdiction at
yearend 2021.

TablE 24
Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of military correctional authorities with any sentence length, by branch
of service and most serious offense, December 31, 2021
Most serious offense
Total
Violent offenses
Nonviolent offenses
Total
Sexual
Violent
Nonviolentb
Other violent
Murderc
Negligent manslaughter
Robbery
Aggravated/simple assault
Other
Property
Burglary
Larceny/theft
Motor vehicle theft
Fraud
Other
Drugd
Public order
Military
Other/unspecified
Number of prisoners

Totala
100%
57.8%
42.2%
100%
72.4%
41.2
31.2
16.6%
8.1
1.2
0.1
5.4
1.8
2.4%
0.3
0.6
0.0
0.2
1.3
4.9%
1.1%
2.1%
0.6%

U.S. Air Force
100%
57.7%
42.3%
100%
73.6%
37.3
36.3
20.4%
8.5
1.5
0.0
8.0
2.5
1.0%
0.0
1.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
1.5%
2.0%
1.0%
0.5%

U.S. Army
100%
64.1%
35.9%
100%
75.0%
46.9
28.1
17.2%
10.1
0.2
0.2
4.6
2.1
2.3%
0.4
0.4
0.0
0.2
1.3
3.4%
0.6%
1.3%
0.2%

U.S. Marine Corps
100%
44.3%
55.7%
100%
63.5%
30.5
32.9
13.8%
5.4
2.4
0.0
4.8
1.2
4.2%
0.6
1.2
0.0
0.6
1.8
13.2%
1.2%
3.6%
0.6%

U.S. Navy
100%
51.7%
48.3%
100%
71.7%
39.2
32.5
12.5%
3.3
3.3
0.0
5.8
0.0
2.5%
0.0
0.0
0.0
0.0
2.5
5.0%
0.8%
5.0%
2.5%

1,019

201

524

167

120

Note: Percentages and counts are based on prisoners sentenced to any length of time under military correctional authority. Excludes pretrial
detainees. U.S. Coast Guard offense distribution is not shown due to a small number of cases. Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.
aIncludes prisoners who served in the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Space Force.
bIncludes sexual harassment, indecent exposure, prostitution, stalking, and other nonviolent sexual offenses.
cIncludes nonnegligent manslaughter.
dIncludes possession, use, trafficking, and other drug offenses.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, U.S. Department of
Defense, 2021.

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Persons held in the custody of U.S. territories
ƒ U.S. territories held an estimated 8,400 persons in
custody at yearend 2021 (table 25).
TablE 25
Prisoners under the jurisdiction or in the custody of correctional authorities in U.S. territories and commonwealths,
by prison facility capacity, December 31, 2021
U.S. territory/
U.S. commonwealth
Total
American Samoab
Guamc
Northern Mariana Islands
Puerto Ricod
U.S. Virgin Islandse

Jurisdiction population
Sentenced to
Total
more than 1 yeara
15,672
493
301
79
500
304
153
110
14,347
/
371
/

Total custody
population
8,361
301
539
153
7,176
192

Rated
:
/
843
559
11,909
/

Type of capacity
Operational
:
/
/
356
10,290
/

Design
:
/
768
559
14,632
/

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of U.S. territorial or commonwealth correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the
prisoner is held. Custody refers to the physical location where the prisoner is held. Rated capacity is the number of prisoners or beds a facility can
hold as set by a rating official. Operational capacity is the number of prisoners a facility can hold based on staffing and services. Design capacity is the
number of prisoners a facility can hold as set by the architect or planner.
:Not calculated.
/Not reported.
aExcludes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
bAmerican Samoa has not submitted National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) data since 2011. Jurisdiction and custody data were located in an article
describing COVID-19 conditions at the Territorial Correctional Facility in April 2022 (https://www.samoanews.com/local-news/task-force-briefs-fonoplan-stop-covid-spread-tcf).
cGuam did not submit NPS data in 2021. Jurisdiction, custody, and capacity counts are from December 31, 2020.
dPuerto Rico did not submit capacity data in 2021. Capacity counts are from 2019.
eThe U.S. Virgin Islands has not submitted NPS data since 2013. Data are from the March 27, 2019 testimony of Virgin Islands Bureau of Corrections
Director-designee Wynnie Testamark to the Virgin Islands Committee on Homeland Security, Justice, and Public Safety (https://www.legvi.org) and
represent the number of prisoners in the custody and under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Virgin Islands at the end of March 2019.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2021.

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Methodology
The National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program started
in 1926. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) sponsors
the survey, and Abt Associates, Inc. currently serves
as the data collection agent. BJS depends on voluntary
participation by state departments of corrections
(DOCs) and the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) for
NPS data.
The NPS distinguishes between prisoners in custody
and prisoners under jurisdiction. To have custody of
a prisoner, a state or the BOP must hold the person
in one of its facilities. To have jurisdiction over a
prisoner, the state or the BOP must have legal authority
over that person, regardless of where the prisoner is
incarcerated or supervised. Some states were unable
to provide counts that distinguished between custody
and jurisdiction.
The jurisdiction notes to the Prisoners series are
available separately on the BJS website for the Prisoners
in 2018 and later reports. These notes detail which
states did not distinguish between jurisdiction and
custody, as well as those that used alternative counting
rules or had policy changes during the year that
affected the prisoner population counts.
The NPS jurisdiction counts include persons held in
prisons, penitentiaries, correctional facilities, halfway
houses, boot camps, farms, training or treatment
centers, and hospitals. Counts also include prisoners
who were temporarily absent (less than 30 days), in
court, or on work release; housed in privately operated
facilities, local jails, or other state or federal facilities;
or serving concurrent sentences for more than one
correctional authority.
The NPS custody counts include all prisoners held
within a respondent’s facility, including prisoners
housed for other correctional authorities. The custody
counts exclude prisoners held in local jails and
other jurisdictions. With a few exceptions, the NPS
custody counts exclude prisoners held in privately
operated facilities.
Respondents to NPS surveys are permitted to update
prior counts of prisoners held in custody and under
jurisdiction. Some statistics on jurisdiction and
sentenced prison populations for prior years have
been updated in this report. All tables showing data
based on jurisdiction counts, including tables of
imprisonment rates, were based on the updated and
most recently available data that respondents provided.
Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

Admissions in this report include new court
commitments; returned prisoners for parole,
probation, or other conditional release violations;
returned prisoners from appeal or bond; and other
admissions. They exclude transfers from other
jurisdictions, returned prisoners who were absent
without leave (AWOL), and returned escapees, because
these persons have not officially left the jurisdiction.
The NPS collects data on the following types of
releases: unconditional releases (e.g., expirations of
sentence and commutations), conditional releases
(e.g., probations, supervised mandatory releases, and
discretionary paroles), deaths, AWOLs, escapes from
confinement, transfers to other jurisdictions, releases
to appeal or bond, and other releases. For reporting
purposes, BJS release counts exclude AWOLs, escapes,
and transfers to other jurisdictions, because these
persons have not officially left the jurisdiction.
The NPS has historically included counts of prisoners
in the combined jail and prison systems of Alaska,
Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and
Vermont. The District of Columbia has not operated
a prison system since yearend 2001. Felons sentenced
under the District of Columbia criminal code are
housed in federal facilities. Jail inmates in the District
of Columbia are included in BJS’s Annual Survey
of Jails. Some previously published prisoner counts
include jail inmates in the District of Columbia for
2001, the last year of collection. Additional information
about the NPS is available on the BJS website, including
the data collection instrument.
Nonreporting states
All states and the BOP responded to the 2021 NPS-1B
collection by May 1, 2022.
Vermont has been unable to report counts of
admissions and releases to the NPS-1B form since
2014. To impute admissions and releases, BJS used
the Vermont DOC’s 2021 Release Report (https://
doc.vermont.gov/sites/correct/files/documents/
ReleaseReport_12-31-21.pdf) to establish the total
releases of sentenced offenders. BJS used that number,
along with the change in the sentenced jurisdiction
population from yearend 2020 to yearend 2021, to
determine the total number of admissions. Types of
admission and release were not imputed, and the sex
distribution of admissions and releases was assumed to
be the same as Vermont DOC’s last complete NPS-1B
response in 2014.

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Updates to prison population measurement
In its 2021 submission, the Idaho DOC noted that
previous submissions of data may have erroneously
classified persons with life sentences as unsentenced
prisoners due to their lack of a full-term release date
in the Idaho DOC tracking system. Data from 2021
should not be compared to any previous year.
Estimating yearend counts of the prison
population by sex, race or Hispanic origin, and age
National-level estimates of the number of persons by
race and Hispanic origin under the jurisdiction of
state prisons on December 31, 2021 were based on an
adjustment of NPS counts to comply with the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB) definitions of race
and ethnicity. OMB defines ethnicity (Hispanic) as
a separate category, and race categories are defined
exclusive of ethnicity. OMB adopted guidelines for
collecting these data in 1997.
Not all NPS providers’ information systems categorize
race and ethnicity in this way. In addition, these data
are administrative in nature and may not reflect a
prisoner’s self-identification of race and ethnicity. BJS
adjusted reported NPS race and Hispanic origin data
separately for state and federal prisoners. For state
prisoners, BJS calculated the ratio of the distribution
of state prisoners by race and Hispanic origin in
BJS’s self-reported prisoner surveys, which use OMB
categories for race and ethnicity, to the distribution
of prisoners by race and Hispanic origin in NPS data
for the year closest to the fielding of the survey. BJS
then multiplied this ratio by the distribution of state
prisoners’ race and Hispanic origin using the current
year’s NPS. The percentage of persons self-reporting
to the NPS as non-Hispanic and as two or more races
was assumed to be equal to that of the self-reported
prisoner survey. The final percentage distribution
of race and Hispanic origin was multiplied by the
total of sentenced state prisoners to obtain counts for
each category.
The same adjustment methodology was used for the
distribution of race and Hispanic origin among federal
prisoners, as BJS used data from in-person surveys
of federal prisoners. BJS summed state and federal
estimates for race and Hispanic origin to produce the
total counts published in table 3 and for detailed counts
of prisoners by sex, age, and offense.

Prior to the Prisoners in 2016 report, BJS used the
race and Hispanic origin data from the 2004 Survey
of Inmates in State Correctional Facilities (SISCF) to
calculate the ratio for the adjusted state distribution,
while the federal data were not adjusted. Starting in
2016, BJS conducted the Survey of Prison Inmates
(SPI), which permitted adjustments with more recent
data from both state and federal prisoners. To obtain
10-year estimates of race and Hispanic origin for
both state and federal prisoners, BJS calculated ratio
adjustments for each year twice, once using the 2004
SISCF and once using the 2016 SPI. BJS then weighted
the ratios to reflect the number of years between the
survey and estimate year. The ratios calculated using
SISCF data received higher weights for years closer to
2004, while those calculated using SPI data had higher
weights for years closer to 2016. BJS then used the
average of these weighted ratios.
For federal estimates, the SPI-adjusted NPS data were
multiplied by the ratio of the age category count within
the sex and race or Hispanic origin combination in
the Federal Justice Statistics Program (FJSP) to the
FJSP total count within the sex and race or Hispanic
origin combination (e.g., FJSP white males ages 18
to 19 divided by FJSP white males). The resulting
product yielded FJSP-adjusted NPS counts for each
sex and race or Hispanic origin combination by age
group (e.g., white male prisoners ages 18 to 19 in the
federal prison system). The NPS used a similar sex
and race or Hispanic origin ratio adjustment for age
distributions in state prisons, based on individual-level
data from the National Corrections Reporting Program
(NCRP). State and federal estimates were added
together to obtain national estimates for yearend
prison populations.
BJS provides the unadjusted jurisdiction-level counts
of prisoners by race and Hispanic origin. Historical
adjusted counts of prisoners by race are archived
through the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data.4
Estimating imprisonment rates by sex, race or
Hispanic origin, and age
BJS calculated age-specific imprisonment rates for each
sex, adjusted race and Hispanic origin group, and age
group by dividing the estimated number of sentenced
prisoners within each age group under jurisdiction
on December 31, 2021 by the estimated number of
U.S. residents in each age group on January 1, 2022.
4See https://www.icpsr.umich.edu/web/NACJD/studies/36281.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

45

■

BJS multiplied the result by 100,000 and rounded
to the nearest whole number. Totals by sex include
all prisoners and U.S. residents, regardless of race or
Hispanic origin.
Non-U.S. citizens in prison
The BOP and some DOCs reported the number of
non-U.S. citizens under their jurisdiction or in their
custody on December 31, 2021 to the NPS. While
the intention is for jurisdictions to report based on a
prisoner’s current citizenship status, some jurisdictions
may have instead reported country of birth to the NPS.
Starting in 2017, states and the BOP were asked to
include the citizenship status of prisoners held in
private facilities. In 2017, the BOP provided counts
of non-U.S. citizens based on the country of current
citizenship. In previous years, BOP counts were based
on the country of birth, which led to a slightly higher
count of non-U.S. citizens.
Non-U.S. citizens held in local jails under the
jurisdiction of state correctional authorities were
excluded from totals, unless otherwise noted.
Estimating offense distribution in the state
and federal prison populations by sex, race or
Hispanic origin, and age
BJS employed a ratio-adjustment method to weight the
individual-level offense data from the NCRP to the state
prison control totals for sex and the estimated race or
Hispanic origin from the NPS, which yielded a national
offense distribution for state prisoners. Prisoners
missing offense data in the NCRP were excluded
from the analysis prior to the weighting. Because data
submission for the NCRP typically lags behind that
of the NPS, state estimates of offense distributions are
published for the previous calendar year.
Federal estimates presented in tables 19 and 20 are
obtained from the FJSP, and counts are based on
prisoners who were convicted and sentenced to 1 year
or more, and who were under federal jurisdiction on
September 30, 2021. Data are limited to prisoners
sentenced on U.S. district court commitments or
District of Columbia Superior Court commitments
and to prisoners returned to federal custody following
violations of probation (both federal and District of
Columbia), parole, supervised release, or mandatory

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

release. Estimates in tables 19 and 20 differ from
previously published federal offense distributions
presented in the FJSP web tool or Federal Justice
Statistics bulletins and statistical tables on the BJS
website because the FJSP publications exclude District
of Columbia prisoners.5 Because the FJSP is a custody
collection, the total count of prisoners in tables 19
and 20 differs from the jurisdiction count of prisoners
reported to the NPS. The distributions of race and
Hispanic origin for tables 19 and 20 have not been
adjusted to self-reported distributions because the
adjustment to the total population made in earlier
tables is based on prisoners sentenced to more than
1 year.
Prison capacities
State and federal correctional authorities provide
three measures of their facilities’ capacity: design,
operational, and rated capacity. Prison population
estimates as a percentage of capacity are based on a
state or federal custody population. In general, state
capacity and custody counts exclude prisoners held in
private facilities. However, five states include prisoners
held in private or local facilities as part of the capacity
of their prison systems: Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, South
Dakota, and Virginia.
Military correctional data
BJS obtains an annual aggregate count of service
personnel held under military jurisdiction, as well
as limited demographic and offense data from the
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel
and Readiness. The U.S. Department of Defense
disaggregates these data by the military branch in
which prisoners served, by the branch having physical
custody of the prisoner, and by whether the prisoner
was an officer or was enlisted.
U.S. territories
Data on prisoners under the jurisdiction of U.S. territorial
correctional authorities are collected separately from
state and federal NPS data, and U.S. totals in this report
exclude territorial counts. Four territories (American
Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin
Islands) did not provide 2021 NPS data. Data from
prior years and alternate sources are shown in table 25.
5For the FJSP web tool, see https://www.bjs.gov/fjsrc.

46

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Appe

Jurisdiction
Federalb,c
State
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idahod
Illinois
Indiana
Iowae
Kansas
Kentuckye
Louisiana
Maine
Marylandf
Massachusettsg
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montanae
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexicoh
New York
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Pennsylvaniaf
Rhode Islandd,f
South Carolinai
South Dakotai
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginiac
Washington
West Virginia

American
Native
Two or
Indian/
Hawaiian/Other more
Did not
Total Whitea Blacka Hispanic Alaska Nativea Asiana Pacific Islandera racesa Othera Unknown report
157,314 47,460 57,225 46,813
3,644
2,170
~
~
~
~
2
25,032
4,639
33,914
17,022
101,441
15,865
9,889
4,810
80,417
47,010
4,102
8,907
28,475
24,716
8,562
8,521
18,560
26,074
1,577
15,134
6,148
32,186
8,003
17,332
23,422
4,313
5,600
10,202
2,127
12,506
5,154
30,338
28,995
1,689
45,029
22,391
13,198
37,194
2,238
15,759
3,353
21,995
133,772
5,907
1,287
30,357
13,674
5,847

11,470
1,895
12,960
9,547
20,137
6,520
2,778
1,551
31,599
17,159
915
6,419
8,849
14,292
5,492
4,781
14,102
8,863
1,261
3,414
2,561
13,746
3,732
6,419
14,606
3,000
2,829
3,730
1,752
2,771
1,385
7,056
11,776
982
22,368
11,109
9,566
16,427
887
5,894
1,730
12,047
45,229
3,487
1,104
12,863
7,555
4,956

13,353
465
5,087
6,771
28,710
2,769
4,208
2,952
38,266
27,715
185
258
15,204
7,547
2,173
2,335
3,879
17,097
175
10,730
1,792
16,278
2,834
10,649
7,843
116
1,551
3,100
152
7,662
380
14,930
14,620
181
19,305
6,087
1,236
17,125
643
9,285
262
9,295
43,485
450
124
16,326
2,419
797

0
125
13,131
563
45,999
4,722
2,824
299
10,174
1,945
98
1,288
3,671
992
605
1,118
296
66
~
713
1,567
632
471
181
494
133
824
2,764
125
1,941
3,194
7,290
1,725
99
1,156
1,871
1,757
3,333
614
427
134
560
44,284
1,219
0
988
2,286
43

3
1,855
1,880
49
1,161
542
34
1
88
22
21
329
42
50
195
201
18
21
43
76
36
287
756
35
97
1,049
287
233
11
13
455
289
576
418
83
2,099
411
37
21
25
1,189
36
63
333
25
32
682
5

4
158
157
48
1,162
184
43
6
18
157
699
43
104
55
~
75
~
25
7
49
102
94
197
39
61
~
44
206
6
97
12
190
94
6
72
88
183
114
30
22
26
57
522
58
8
124
590
4

0
95
~
19
321
10
0
0
7
0
1,800
/
/
9
~
0
~
0
1
16
0
7
/
0
0
~
4
113
1
0
22
/
~
3
/
31
36
~
/
0
2
/
0
136
2
0
/
1

0
0
~
0
~
~
0
0
/
0
145
/
55
153
~
0
220
0
29
/
~
1,104
/
0
/
~
/
0
~
/
0
/
~
0
/
~
/
0
/
/
~
/
0
0
0
0
/
41

202
0
612
23
3,951
1,025
0
0
262
~
0
107
/
/
96
5
30
2
~
114
~
0
/
0
/
15
58
0
45
0
0
435
~
0
446
50
0
0
39
104
10
/
189
0
9
0
56
0

~
46
28
2
0
11
2
1
3
12
239
268
45
38
1
6
15
~
61
22
90
38
13
9
36
0
3
56
35
22
49
148
204
~
/
18
9
158
4
2
0
/
0
224
15
24
86
0

0
0
59
0
0
82
0
0
0
0
0
195
505
1,580
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
285
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1,599
1,038
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

Continued on next page
Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

47

■

aPPEnDIx TablE 1 (continued)
Prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction and race or Hispanic
origin, December 31, 2021
Jurisdiction
Wisconsin
Wyoming

American
Native
Two or
Indian/
Hawaiian/Other more
Did not
Total Whitea Blacka Hispanic Alaska Nativea Asiana Pacific Islandera racesa Othera Unknown report
20,202 8,947 8,200
1,918
886
244
0
0
/
7
0
2,123 1,593
101
248
159
9
5
0
3
5
0

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. For
jurisdiction-level information, see Jurisdiction notes on the BJS website. Counts are based on prisoners with any sentence status and were provided by
state and federal departments of corrections’ administrative record systems and may not reflect prisoners’ self-identification of race or Hispanic origin.
State, federal, and national totals by race or Hispanic origin differ from other tables in this report due to adjustments that BJS made in other tables to
correct for differences between administrative records and prisoner self-reported data on race or Hispanic origin. As of December 31, 2001, persons
sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
~Not applicable. Jurisdiction does not track this race or ethnicity.
/Not reported.
aExcludes persons of Hispanic origin (e.g., “white” refers to non-Hispanic white persons and “black” refers to non-Hispanic black persons).
bThe BOP does not separate persons of Hispanic origin from the individual race categories when reporting to the National Prisoner Statistics. To do so,
BJS used data from the 2021 Federal Justice Statistics Program (preliminary).
cAsians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders were combined into a single category and reported in the Asian category.
dState does not collect data on Native Hawaiians, Other Pacific Islanders, or persons of two or more races.
eAsians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders were combined into a single category and reported in the Other race category.
fPersons of Hispanic origin may be undercounted due to data collection methods.
gState reported prisoners in 2021 in the Unknown race category who in past years may have been reported as Other.
hState reported counts of prisoners by race that exceeded its jurisdiction population. Data in this table are those reported by the state.
iState does not collect data on two or more races but includes these persons in the Other race category.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, Federal Justice Statistics Program, 2021 (preliminary); and National Prisoner Statistics, 2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

48

■

AppenDIx TablE 2
Counts for figure 1: Sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, 1996–2021
Year
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008

Sentenced prisoners
1,137,722
1,194,334
1,256,474
1,304,081
1,334,174
1,345,217
1,380,516
1,408,361
1,433,728
1,462,866
1,504,598
1,532,851
1,547,742

Year
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Sentenced prisoners
1,553,574
1,552,669
1,538,847
1,512,430
1,520,403
1,507,781
1,476,847
1,459,948
1,439,877
1,413,370
1,379,786
1,185,733
1,163,665

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held. Counts
are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with a sentence of more than 1 year. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for
a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Counts for 2019 and earlier may have been revised from
previous reports.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 1996–2021.

aPPEnDIx TablE 3
Percentages for figure 2: Percent of prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities who
were female, 1978–2021
Year
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999

Percent female
4.1%
4.1
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.4
4.5
4.6
4.9
5.0
5.2
5.7
5.7
5.8
5.7
6.0
6.1
6.1
6.3
6.4
6.5
6.6

Year
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Percent female
6.7
6.6
6.8
6.9
7.0
7.0
7.2
7.2
7.1
7.0
7.0
7.0
6.9
7.1
7.2
7.3
7.4
7.5
7.6
7.5
6.9
6.9

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner is held.
Percentages are for December 31 of each year and are based on prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for a
felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 1978–2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

49

■

Appe

Year
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021

Total
5.1%
6.6
6.2
6.1
6.1
6.2
7.0
7.2
7.8
8.1
8.0
7.9
8.2
8.7
8.5
8.4
8.3
8.5
8.1
8.1
8.1
8.2
8.0

Federal
2.8%
10.7
8.1
9.0
9.4
10.4
14.4
14.4
15.7
16.5
16.4
16.1
17.8
18.6
19.1
19.0
17.8
18.1
15.1
15.4
15.7
18.3
13.7

State
5.3%
6.1
5.9
5.8
5.7
5.6
6.0
6.2
6.6
6.8
6.8
6.7
6.7
7.2
6.8
6.8
6.9
7.1
7.2
7.1
7.1
6.8
7.2

Note: Jurisdiction refers to the legal authority of state or federal
correctional officials over a prisoner, regardless of where the prisoner
is held. Percentages are for December 31 of each year and based on
prisoners with any sentence status. As of December 31, 2001, persons
sentenced for a felony in the District of Columbia were the responsibility
of the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics,
1999–2021.

Prisoners in 2021 – Statistical Tables | December 2022

50

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The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the
principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal
victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime,
and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state,
tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable
statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports
improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and
participates with national and international organizations to develop and
recommend national standards for justice statistics. Alexis R. Piquero, PhD,
is the director.
This report was written by E. Ann Carson. Stephanie Mueller and Danielle
Kaeble verified the report.
Eric Hendrixson edited the report. Carrie Epps-Carey produced the report.
December 2022, NCJ 305125

i II111IIIIIHllli11111
NCJ 30512 5

Office of Justice Programs
Building Solutions • Supporting Communities • Advancing Justice
www.ojp.gov