The fact that the United States incarcerates more of it’s citizens than any other NATO nation is no secret. This study from Attorney Andrew Flusche looks at the incarceration rates of all 50 States.
The study draws several striking conclusions:
- Louisiana is the state in the Union with the highest incarceration rate of nearly 1.0% of the population (or 1,000 of every 100,000 citizens!)
- Overall, the US incarcerates about 0.70% of its citizens. The next closest among founding NATO members is the United Kingdom, at just 0.15%
- Of the 1,358,875 total state prisoners in 2013, just 7.15% were female
The figures cited above reflect 2013 data, and rankings have changed since then. The Bureau of Justice Statistics’ 2022 data shows Mississippi leading all states at 661 incarcerated people per 100,000 residents. Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma follow closely. The national average has fallen to roughly 350 per 100,000 as overall incarceration declined after its late-2000s peak.
The US also stands out on a global scale. El Salvador now has a higher rate than any individual US state. Even so, the Prison Policy Initiative’s global comparison places nine US states among the ten most incarcerating jurisdictions in the world. On the other end, Massachusetts and Maine consistently report the lowest state rates, both under 200 per 100,000.
Female incarceration varies widely by state. The Sentencing Project’s 2022 data shows Idaho with the highest rate for women, at 132 per 100,000. Racial disparities run just as deep. In Wisconsin, Black residents are incarcerated at roughly 12 times the rate of white residents, one of the widest gaps in the country, per the same report.
The rankings, and other incarceration statistics, are displayed with the interactive map below.
This research was collected and produced by Juris Digital, an SEO agency for lawyers.
