Data / Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / Arkansas

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas was 596 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 22 pts from 2022. That is the 3rd highest of 50 states in 2023.

2023, per 100,000 people596
Change on 2022+22 pts
Rank3rd of 50US states ranked
Series high5992014
Series low1151978

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Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas, 1978 to 2023

10020030040050060019781985199219992006201320231978: 115 per 100,000 people1979: 131 per 100,000 people1980: 127 per 100,000 people1981: 145 per 100,000 people1982: 171 per 100,000 people1983: 184 per 100,000 people1984: 193 per 100,000 people1985: 198 per 100,000 people1986: 202 per 100,000 people1987: 232 per 100,000 people1988: 236 per 100,000 people1989: 279 per 100,000 people1990: 309 per 100,000 people1991: 324 per 100,000 people1992: 339 per 100,000 people1993: 325 per 100,000 people1994: 354 per 100,000 people1995: 336 per 100,000 people1996: 350 per 100,000 people1997: 382 per 100,000 people1998: 402 per 100,000 people1999: 427 per 100,000 people2000: 442 per 100,000 people2001: 464 per 100,000 people2002: 481 per 100,000 people2003: 487 per 100,000 people2004: 498 per 100,000 people2005: 482 per 100,000 people2006: 487 per 100,000 people2007: 503 per 100,000 people2008: 511 per 100,000 people2009: 524 per 100,000 people2010: 553 per 100,000 people2011: 545 per 100,000 people2012: 494 per 100,000 people2013: 579 per 100,000 people2014: 599 per 100,000 people2015: 592 per 100,000 people2016: 583 per 100,000 people2017: 599 per 100,000 people2018: 590 per 100,000 people2019: 585 per 100,000 people2020: 532 per 100,000 people2021: 559 per 100,000 people2022: 574 per 100,000 people2023: 596 per 100,000 people
per 100,000 people. Source: BJS, National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Retrieved 2026-10-12, published 2026-02-20.
All 46 values
Periodper 100,000 people
2023596
2022574
2021559
2020532
2019585
2018590
2017599
2016583
2015592
2014599
2013579
2012494
2011545
2010553
2009524
2008511
2007503
2006487
2005482
2004498
2003487
2002481
2001464
2000442
1999427
1998402
1997382
1996350
1995336
1994354
1993325
1992339
1991324
1990309
1989279
1988236
1987232
1986202
1985198
1984193
1983184
1982171
1981145
1980127
1979131
1978115

Compared with United States

Place2023
Arkansas596
United States360

Rankings

Definition

Sentenced prisoners (sentence of more than 1 year) under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities on December 31, per 100,000 residents of all ages. Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, with Census Bureau resident population estimates for January 1 of the following year.

Counts only prisoners sentenced to more than 1 year, so it differs from the prison population rate used for other countries (prison_population_rate), which counts everyone held in prison, pre-trial detainees included. Prisoners are counted by the jurisdiction with legal authority over them, wherever they are held, on December 31. The national figure adds the federal system to the states. Local jails are not included, except in Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont, which run one combined prison and jail system. Felons sentenced in the District of Columbia have been the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons since 2001, so the District has values only up to 2000.

How to cite

Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Bureau of Justice Statistics. (2026). National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables) (Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables

MLA 9

National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables), Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 20 Feb. 2026, https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2026. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas.

Harvard

Bureau of Justice Statistics (2026) National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables), Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_imprisonment_rate_sentenced_prisoners_2023,
  author = {{Bureau of Justice Statistics}},
  title = {{National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables): Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas. Publisher attribution: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Bureau of Justice Statistics
TI  - National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables): Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), Arkansas, 1978 to 2023
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/02/20
PB  - Bureau of Justice Statistics
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables
L2  - https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/arkansas.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

What is the imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas?

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas was 596 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 22 pts from 2022. That is the 3rd highest of 50 states in 2023.

Where does this figure come from?

Bureau of Justice Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Retrieved by Invokely on 2026-10-12.

What was the highest imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Arkansas?

599 per 100,000 people in 2014, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Arkansas

All statistics for Arkansas | Arkansas in figures