Data / Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / Washington

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Washington

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Washington was 181 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 7 pts from 2022. That is the 41st highest of 50 states in 2023.

2023, per 100,000 people181
Change on 2022+7 pts
Rank41st of 50US states ranked
Series high2772005
Series low1061980

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

10015020025030019781985199219992006201320231978: 115 per 100,000 people1979: 108 per 100,000 people1980: 106 per 100,000 people1981: 126 per 100,000 people1982: 146 per 100,000 people1983: 155 per 100,000 people1984: 157 per 100,000 people1985: 157 per 100,000 people1986: 148 per 100,000 people1987: 135 per 100,000 people1988: 125 per 100,000 people1989: 146 per 100,000 people1990: 163 per 100,000 people1991: 182 per 100,000 people1992: 193 per 100,000 people1993: 197 per 100,000 people1994: 202 per 100,000 people1995: 212 per 100,000 people1996: 225 per 100,000 people1997: 233 per 100,000 people1998: 245 per 100,000 people1999: 249 per 100,000 people2000: 248 per 100,000 people2001: 251 per 100,000 people2002: 263 per 100,000 people2003: 262 per 100,000 people2004: 267 per 100,000 people2005: 277 per 100,000 people2006: 274 per 100,000 people2007: 275 per 100,000 people2008: 273 per 100,000 people2009: 273 per 100,000 people2010: 270 per 100,000 people2011: 260 per 100,000 people2012: 249 per 100,000 people2013: 256 per 100,000 people2014: 254 per 100,000 people2015: 252 per 100,000 people2016: 259 per 100,000 people2017: 261 per 100,000 people2018: 256 per 100,000 people2019: 250 per 100,000 people2020: 203 per 100,000 people2021: 175 per 100,000 people2022: 174 per 100,000 people2023: 181 per 100,000 people10015020025030019781994201020231978: 115 per 100,000 people1979: 108 per 100,000 people1980: 106 per 100,000 people1981: 126 per 100,000 people1982: 146 per 100,000 people1983: 155 per 100,000 people1984: 157 per 100,000 people1985: 157 per 100,000 people1986: 148 per 100,000 people1987: 135 per 100,000 people1988: 125 per 100,000 people1989: 146 per 100,000 people1990: 163 per 100,000 people1991: 182 per 100,000 people1992: 193 per 100,000 people1993: 197 per 100,000 people1994: 202 per 100,000 people1995: 212 per 100,000 people1996: 225 per 100,000 people1997: 233 per 100,000 people1998: 245 per 100,000 people1999: 249 per 100,000 people2000: 248 per 100,000 people2001: 251 per 100,000 people2002: 263 per 100,000 people2003: 262 per 100,000 people2004: 267 per 100,000 people2005: 277 per 100,000 people2006: 274 per 100,000 people2007: 275 per 100,000 people2008: 273 per 100,000 people2009: 273 per 100,000 people2010: 270 per 100,000 people2011: 260 per 100,000 people2012: 249 per 100,000 people2013: 256 per 100,000 people2014: 254 per 100,000 people2015: 252 per 100,000 people2016: 259 per 100,000 people2017: 261 per 100,000 people2018: 256 per 100,000 people2019: 250 per 100,000 people2020: 203 per 100,000 people2021: 175 per 100,000 people2022: 174 per 100,000 people2023: 181 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
2023181
2022174
2021175
2020203
2019250
2018256
2017261
2016259
2015252
2014254
2013256
2012249
2011260
2010270
2009273
2008273
2007275
2006274
2005277
2004267
2003262
2002263
2001251
2000248
1999249
1998245
1997233
1996225
1995212
1994202
1993197
1992193
1991182
1990163
1989146
1988125
1987135
1986148
1985157
1984157
1983155
1982146
1981126
1980106
1979108
1978115

Compared with United States

Place2023
Washington181
United States360

Washington compared with nearby places

Alabama: 394 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 202 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 448 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 596 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 246 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 290 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 183 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 275 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 382 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 449 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 165 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 490 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 238 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 351 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 274 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 305 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 423 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 617 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 119 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 261 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 96 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 328 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 152 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 652 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 385 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 438 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 295 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 327 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 151 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 125 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 259 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 167 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 275 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 240 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 394 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 545 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 291 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 300 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 122 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 299 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 405 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 341 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 477 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 186 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 124 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 314 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 181 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 328 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 346 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 378 per 100,000 people
  • Under 170
  • 170 to 260
  • 260 to 300
  • 300 to 350
  • 350 to 440
  • 440 and over
  • No data
Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2023, per 100,000 people. Washington is outlined. Same source and period for every area shown. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

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.

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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), Washington, 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), Washington, 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/washington. 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), Washington, 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/washington.

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

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) in Washington was 181 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics. That is up 7 pts from 2022. That is the 41st 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 Washington?

277 per 100,000 people in 2005, the highest value since 1978 in this series.

Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) elsewhere in United States

Related statistics for Washington

All statistics for Washington | Washington in figures