Data / Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / Tennessee

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Tennessee

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Tennessee was 341 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 6 pts from 2022. That is the 19th highest of 50 states in 2023.

2023, per 100,000 people341
Change on 2022+6 pts
Rank19th of 50US states ranked
Series high4432011
Series low1311978

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

10020030040050019781985199219992006201320231978: 131 per 100,000 people1979: 146 per 100,000 people1980: 153 per 100,000 people1981: 171 per 100,000 people1982: 169 per 100,000 people1983: 176 per 100,000 people1984: 156 per 100,000 people1985: 151 per 100,000 people1986: 160 per 100,000 people1987: 160 per 100,000 people1988: 160 per 100,000 people1989: 219 per 100,000 people1990: 212 per 100,000 people1991: 231 per 100,000 people1992: 235 per 100,000 people1993: 250 per 100,000 people1994: 275 per 100,000 people1995: 285 per 100,000 people1996: 288 per 100,000 people1997: 303 per 100,000 people1998: 385 per 100,000 people1999: 399 per 100,000 people2000: 389 per 100,000 people2001: 411 per 100,000 people2002: 431 per 100,000 people2003: 434 per 100,000 people2004: 437 per 100,000 people2005: 440 per 100,000 people2006: 423 per 100,000 people2007: 426 per 100,000 people2008: 436 per 100,000 people2009: 428 per 100,000 people2010: 432 per 100,000 people2011: 443 per 100,000 people2012: 438 per 100,000 people2013: 437 per 100,000 people2014: 437 per 100,000 people2015: 425 per 100,000 people2016: 422 per 100,000 people2017: 430 per 100,000 people2018: 387 per 100,000 people2019: 384 per 100,000 people2020: 327 per 100,000 people2021: 314 per 100,000 people2022: 335 per 100,000 people2023: 341 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
2023341
2022335
2021314
2020327
2019384
2018387
2017430
2016422
2015425
2014437
2013437
2012438
2011443
2010432
2009428
2008436
2007426
2006423
2005440
2004437
2003434
2002431
2001411
2000389
1999399
1998385
1997303
1996288
1995285
1994275
1993250
1992235
1991231
1990212
1989219
1988160
1987160
1986160
1985151
1984156
1983176
1982169
1981171
1980153
1979146
1978131

Compared with United States

Place2023
Tennessee341
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), Tennessee, 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), Tennessee, 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/tennessee. 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), Tennessee, 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/tennessee.

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), Tennessee, 1978 to 2023 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/tennessee (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), Tennessee, 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/tennessee. 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), Tennessee, 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/tennessee
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/en/imprisonment-rate/tennessee.
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 Tennessee?

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Tennessee was 341 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 6 pts from 2022. That is the 19th 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 Tennessee?

443 per 100,000 people in 2011, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Tennessee

All statistics for Tennessee | Tennessee in figures