Data / Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / Virginia

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Virginia

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Virginia was 314 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 2 pts from 2022. That is the 23rd highest of 50 states in 2023.

2023, per 100,000 people314
Change on 2022+2 pts
Rank23rd of 50US states ranked
Series high4922007
Series low1491978

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

10020030040050019781985199219992006201320231978: 149 per 100,000 people1979: 154 per 100,000 people1980: 160 per 100,000 people1981: 166 per 100,000 people1982: 177 per 100,000 people1983: 177 per 100,000 people1984: 189 per 100,000 people1985: 205 per 100,000 people1986: 216 per 100,000 people1987: 218 per 100,000 people1988: 231 per 100,000 people1989: 266 per 100,000 people1990: 280 per 100,000 people1991: 312 per 100,000 people1992: 327 per 100,000 people1993: 348 per 100,000 people1994: 406 per 100,000 people1995: 409 per 100,000 people1996: 401 per 100,000 people1997: 403 per 100,000 people1998: 415 per 100,000 people1999: 416 per 100,000 people2000: 417 per 100,000 people2001: 440 per 100,000 people2002: 480 per 100,000 people2003: 476 per 100,000 people2004: 476 per 100,000 people2005: 467 per 100,000 people2006: 480 per 100,000 people2007: 492 per 100,000 people2008: 490 per 100,000 people2009: 483 per 100,000 people2010: 466 per 100,000 people2011: 468 per 100,000 people2012: 451 per 100,000 people2013: 446 per 100,000 people2014: 449 per 100,000 people2015: 458 per 100,000 people2016: 448 per 100,000 people2017: 438 per 100,000 people2018: 430 per 100,000 people2019: 421 per 100,000 people2020: 369 per 100,000 people2021: 350 per 100,000 people2022: 312 per 100,000 people2023: 314 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
2023314
2022312
2021350
2020369
2019421
2018430
2017438
2016448
2015458
2014449
2013446
2012451
2011468
2010466
2009483
2008490
2007492
2006480
2005467
2004476
2003476
2002480
2001440
2000417
1999416
1998415
1997403
1996401
1995409
1994406
1993348
1992327
1991312
1990280
1989266
1988231
1987218
1986216
1985205
1984189
1983177
1982177
1981166
1980160
1979154
1978149

Compared with United States

Place2023
Virginia314
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), Virginia, 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), Virginia, 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/virginia. 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), Virginia, 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/virginia.

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

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Virginia was 314 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 2 pts from 2022. That is the 23rd 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 Virginia?

492 per 100,000 people in 2007, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Virginia

All statistics for Virginia | Virginia in figures