Data / Rankings / Female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / US states

US states by female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2023

Idaho had the highest female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) of 50 states in 2023, at 152 per 100,000 people. Rhode Island had the lowest, at 6 per 100,000 people. The median was 45 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 51 per 100,000 people. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Highest152Idaho
Lowest6Rhode Island
Median4550 states
United States51History

Map of states, 2023

Alabama: 54 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 20 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 79 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 98 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 20 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 47 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 21 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 17 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 51 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 63 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 28 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 152 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 24 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 68 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 45 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 52 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 96 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 67 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 23 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 20 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 7 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 34 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 21 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 95 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 67 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 133 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 40 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 55 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 20 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 10 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 49 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 13 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 63 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 64 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 107 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 42 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 32 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 6 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 125 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 65 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 75 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 28 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 12 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 43 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 22 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 70 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 44 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 90 per 100,000 people
  • Under 20
  • 20 to 29
  • 29 to 45
  • 45 to 63
  • 63 to 78
  • 78 and over
  • No data
per 100,000 people, 2023. Hatched areas have no value for this period. Source: BJS, National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2023

Idaho: 152 per 100,000 peopleIdaho152Montana: 133 per 100,000 peopleMontana133South Dakota: 125 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota125Oklahoma: 107 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma107Arkansas: 98 per 100,000 peopleArkansas98Kentucky: 96 per 100,000 peopleKentucky96Mississippi: 95 per 100,000 peopleMississippi95Wyoming: 90 per 100,000 peopleWyoming90Arizona: 79 per 100,000 peopleArizona79Texas: 75 per 100,000 peopleTexas75West Virginia: 70 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia70Indiana: 68 per 100,000 peopleIndiana68Louisiana: 67 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana67Missouri: 67 per 100,000 peopleMissouri67Tennessee: 65 per 100,000 peopleTennessee65Ohio: 64 per 100,000 peopleOhio64Georgia: 63 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia63North Dakota: 63 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota63Nevada: 55 per 100,000 peopleNevada55Alabama: 54 per 100,000 peopleAlabama54Kansas: 52 per 100,000 peopleKansas52Florida: 51 per 100,000 peopleFlorida51New Mexico: 49 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico49Colorado: 47 per 100,000 peopleColorado47Iowa: 45 per 100,000 peopleIowa45Wisconsin: 44 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin44Virginia: 43 per 100,000 peopleVirginia43North Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina42Oregon: 42 per 100,000 peopleOregon42South Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina42Nebraska: 40 per 100,000 peopleNebraska40Michigan: 34 per 100,000 peopleMichigan34Pennsylvania: 32 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania32Hawaii: 28 per 100,000 peopleHawaii28Utah: 28 per 100,000 peopleUtah28Illinois: 24 per 100,000 peopleIllinois24Maine: 23 per 100,000 peopleMaine23Washington: 22 per 100,000 peopleWashington22Connecticut: 21 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut21Minnesota: 21 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota21Alaska: 20 per 100,000 peopleAlaska20California: 20 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia20Maryland: 20 per 100,000 peopleMaryland20New Hampshire: 20 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire20Delaware: 17 per 100,000 peopleDelaware17New York: 13 per 100,000 peopleNew York13Vermont: 12 per 100,000 peopleVermont12New Jersey: 10 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey10Massachusetts: 7 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts7Rhode Island: 6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island6Idaho: 152 per 100,000 peopleIdaho152Montana: 133 per 100,000 peopleMontana133South Dakota: 125 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota125Oklahoma: 107 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma107Arkansas: 98 per 100,000 peopleArkansas98Kentucky: 96 per 100,000 peopleKentucky96Mississippi: 95 per 100,000 peopleMississippi95Wyoming: 90 per 100,000 peopleWyoming90Arizona: 79 per 100,000 peopleArizona79Texas: 75 per 100,000 peopleTexas75West Virginia: 70 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia70Indiana: 68 per 100,000 peopleIndiana68Louisiana: 67 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana67Missouri: 67 per 100,000 peopleMissouri67Tennessee: 65 per 100,000 peopleTennessee65Ohio: 64 per 100,000 peopleOhio64Georgia: 63 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia63North Dakota: 63 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota63Nevada: 55 per 100,000 peopleNevada55Alabama: 54 per 100,000 peopleAlabama54Kansas: 52 per 100,000 peopleKansas52Florida: 51 per 100,000 peopleFlorida51New Mexico: 49 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico49Colorado: 47 per 100,000 peopleColorado47Iowa: 45 per 100,000 peopleIowa45Wisconsin: 44 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin44Virginia: 43 per 100,000 peopleVirginia43North Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina42Oregon: 42 per 100,000 peopleOregon42South Carolina: 42 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina42Nebraska: 40 per 100,000 peopleNebraska40Michigan: 34 per 100,000 peopleMichigan34Pennsylvania: 32 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania32Hawaii: 28 per 100,000 peopleHawaii28Utah: 28 per 100,000 peopleUtah28Illinois: 24 per 100,000 peopleIllinois24Maine: 23 per 100,000 peopleMaine23Washington: 22 per 100,000 peopleWashington22Connecticut: 21 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut21Minnesota: 21 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota21Alaska: 20 per 100,000 peopleAlaska20California: 20 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia20Maryland: 20 per 100,000 peopleMaryland20New Hampshire: 20 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire20Delaware: 17 per 100,000 peopleDelaware17New York: 13 per 100,000 peopleNew York13Vermont: 12 per 100,000 peopleVermont12New Jersey: 10 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey10Massachusetts: 7 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts7Rhode Island: 6 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island6
per 100,000 people. Source: BJS, National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankStates2023
per 100,000 people		Change on 2022
1Idaho152+20 pts
2Montana133+13 pts
3South Dakota125+11 pts
4Oklahoma107-1 pts
5Arkansas98+8 pts
6Kentucky96-4 pts
7Mississippi95-4 pts
8Wyoming90+3 pts
9Arizona790 pts
10Texas75+4 pts
11West Virginia70+1 pts
12Indiana68+2 pts
13Louisiana67+6 pts
13Missouri67-2 pts
15Tennessee65+4 pts
16Ohio64+3 pts
17Georgia63+5 pts
17North Dakota63+3 pts
19Nevada55+1 pts
20Alabama54+3 pts
21Kansas52+4 pts
22Florida51+3 pts
23New Mexico49+5 pts
24Colorado470 pts
25Iowa450 pts
26Wisconsin44+6 pts
27Virginia43+1 pts
28North Carolina42+4 pts
28Oregon42-1 pts
28South Carolina42+1 pts
31Nebraska40+3 pts
32Michigan34+1 pts
33Pennsylvania320 pts
34Hawaii28-2 pts
34Utah28+2 pts
36Illinois24+1 pts
37Maine23+3 pts
38Washington22+2 pts
39Connecticut21+3 pts
39Minnesota21+1 pts
41Alaska20-2 pts
41California20+1 pts
41Maryland20+3 pts
41New Hampshire20-2 pts
45Delaware17+1 pts
46New York13+1 pts
47Vermont12-3 pts
48New Jersey10+1 pts
49Massachusetts70 pts
50Rhode Island6-2 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Sentenced female prisoners (sentence of more than 1 year) under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities on December 31, per 100,000 female residents. 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.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the states are compared on one definition. 1 states with data in other periods have no value for 2023 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (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 female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables) (US states by female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 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 female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables), US states by female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2023. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 20 Feb. 2026, https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/female-imprisonment-rate/us-states. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

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

Harvard

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

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_female_2023,
  author = {{Bureau of Justice Statistics}},
  title = {{National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables): US states by female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 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/rankings/female-imprisonment-rate/us-states. Publisher attribution: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (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 female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables): US states by female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 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/rankings/female-imprisonment-rate/us-states
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/female-imprisonment-rate/us-states.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics. National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (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

Which state has the highest female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners)?

Idaho, with 152 per 100,000 people in 2023, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Which state has the lowest female imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners)?

Rhode Island, with 6 per 100,000 people in 2023.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics: imprisonment rate of sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 female U.S. residents (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 states have no value for 2023 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings