Data / Rankings / Imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) / US states

US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners)

Louisiana had the highest imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) of 50 states in 2015, at 777 per 100,000 people. Maine had the lowest, at 132 per 100,000 people. The median was 376 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 459 per 100,000 people. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Highest777Louisiana
Lowest132Maine
Median37650 states
United States459History

Map of states, 2015

Alabama: 612 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 306 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 596 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 592 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 330 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 365 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 313 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 442 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 496 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 504 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 264 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 435 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 361 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 413 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 282 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 329 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 490 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 777 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 132 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 340 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 171 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 430 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 196 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 610 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 531 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 355 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 279 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 444 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 217 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 229 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 336 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 261 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 352 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 450 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 718 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 375 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 388 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 204 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 414 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 413 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 425 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 569 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 215 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 206 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 458 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 252 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 388 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 377 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 414 per 100,000 people
  • Under 240
  • 240 to 330
  • 330 to 380
  • 380 to 430
  • 430 to 500
  • 500 and over
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per 100,000 people, 2015. Hatched areas have no value for this period. 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). Boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau cartographic boundary files.

All states, 2015

Louisiana: 777 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana777Oklahoma: 718 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma718Alabama: 612 per 100,000 peopleAlabama612Mississippi: 610 per 100,000 peopleMississippi610Arizona: 596 per 100,000 peopleArizona596Arkansas: 592 per 100,000 peopleArkansas592Texas: 569 per 100,000 peopleTexas569Missouri: 531 per 100,000 peopleMissouri531Georgia: 504 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia504Florida: 496 per 100,000 peopleFlorida496Kentucky: 490 per 100,000 peopleKentucky490Virginia: 458 per 100,000 peopleVirginia458Ohio: 450 per 100,000 peopleOhio450Nevada: 444 per 100,000 peopleNevada444Delaware: 442 per 100,000 peopleDelaware442Idaho: 435 per 100,000 peopleIdaho435Michigan: 430 per 100,000 peopleMichigan430Tennessee: 425 per 100,000 peopleTennessee425South Carolina: 414 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina414Wyoming: 414 per 100,000 peopleWyoming414South Dakota: 413 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota413Indiana: 413 per 100,000 peopleIndiana413Pennsylvania: 388 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania388West Virginia: 388 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia388Wisconsin: 377 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin377Oregon: 375 per 100,000 peopleOregon375Colorado: 365 per 100,000 peopleColorado365Illinois: 361 per 100,000 peopleIllinois361Montana: 355 per 100,000 peopleMontana355North Carolina: 352 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina352Maryland: 340 per 100,000 peopleMaryland340New Mexico: 336 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico336California: 330 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia330Kansas: 329 per 100,000 peopleKansas329Connecticut: 313 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut313Alaska: 306 per 100,000 peopleAlaska306Iowa: 282 per 100,000 peopleIowa282Nebraska: 279 per 100,000 peopleNebraska279Hawaii: 264 per 100,000 peopleHawaii264New York: 261 per 100,000 peopleNew York261Washington: 252 per 100,000 peopleWashington252North Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota235New Jersey: 229 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey229New Hampshire: 217 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire217Utah: 215 per 100,000 peopleUtah215Vermont: 206 per 100,000 peopleVermont206Rhode Island: 204 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island204Minnesota: 196 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota196Massachusetts: 171 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts171Maine: 132 per 100,000 peopleMaine132Louisiana: 777 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana777Oklahoma: 718 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma718Alabama: 612 per 100,000 peopleAlabama612Mississippi: 610 per 100,000 peopleMississippi610Arizona: 596 per 100,000 peopleArizona596Arkansas: 592 per 100,000 peopleArkansas592Texas: 569 per 100,000 peopleTexas569Missouri: 531 per 100,000 peopleMissouri531Georgia: 504 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia504Florida: 496 per 100,000 peopleFlorida496Kentucky: 490 per 100,000 peopleKentucky490Virginia: 458 per 100,000 peopleVirginia458Ohio: 450 per 100,000 peopleOhio450Nevada: 444 per 100,000 peopleNevada444Delaware: 442 per 100,000 peopleDelaware442Idaho: 435 per 100,000 peopleIdaho435Michigan: 430 per 100,000 peopleMichigan430Tennessee: 425 per 100,000 peopleTennessee425South Carolina: 414 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina414Wyoming: 414 per 100,000 peopleWyoming414South Dakota: 413 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota413Indiana: 413 per 100,000 peopleIndiana413Pennsylvania: 388 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania388West Virginia: 388 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia388Wisconsin: 377 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin377Oregon: 375 per 100,000 peopleOregon375Colorado: 365 per 100,000 peopleColorado365Illinois: 361 per 100,000 peopleIllinois361Montana: 355 per 100,000 peopleMontana355North Carolina: 352 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina352Maryland: 340 per 100,000 peopleMaryland340New Mexico: 336 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico336California: 330 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia330Kansas: 329 per 100,000 peopleKansas329Connecticut: 313 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut313Alaska: 306 per 100,000 peopleAlaska306Iowa: 282 per 100,000 peopleIowa282Nebraska: 279 per 100,000 peopleNebraska279Hawaii: 264 per 100,000 peopleHawaii264New York: 261 per 100,000 peopleNew York261Washington: 252 per 100,000 peopleWashington252North Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota235New Jersey: 229 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey229New Hampshire: 217 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire217Utah: 215 per 100,000 peopleUtah215Vermont: 206 per 100,000 peopleVermont206Rhode Island: 204 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island204Minnesota: 196 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota196Massachusetts: 171 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts171Maine: 132 per 100,000 peopleMaine132
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.

Full ranking

RankStates2015
per 100,000 people		Change on 2014
1Louisiana777-38.3 pts
2Oklahoma718+18.4 pts
3Alabama612-21.3 pts
4Mississippi610+13 pts
5Arizona596+3.2 pts
6Arkansas592-7.4 pts
7Texas569-13.6 pts
8Missouri531+5.6 pts
9Georgia504-12.5 pts
10Florida496-15.5 pts
11Kentucky490+15.3 pts
12Virginia458+8.5 pts
13Ohio450+6.1 pts
14Nevada444+11.2 pts
15Delaware442+1.8 pts
16Idaho435-53.7 pts
17Michigan430-7.4 pts
18Tennessee425-12.1 pts
19South Carolina414-14.5 pts
20Wyoming414+6.5 pts
21South Dakota413-8.2 pts
22Indiana413-29.9 pts
23Pennsylvania388-6.2 pts
24West Virginia388+15.1 pts
25Wisconsin377+5.8 pts
26Oregon375-1.2 pts
27Colorado365-17.1 pts
28Illinois361-14.3 pts
29Montana355-4.4 pts
30North Carolina352-5.9 pts
31Maryland340-6.2 pts
32New Mexico336+7.2 pts
33California330-17.9 pts
34Kansas329+0.6 pts
35Connecticut313-13.2 pts
36Alaska306+24.4 pts
37Iowa282-0.4 pts
38Nebraska279-3.4 pts
39Hawaii264+7.3 pts
40New York261-3.6 pts
41Washington252-1.6 pts
42North Dakota235+21.3 pts
43New Jersey229-12 pts
44New Hampshire217-1.8 pts
45Utah215-21.8 pts
46Vermont206-34.4 pts
47Rhode Island204+26.1 pts
48Minnesota196+2 pts
49Massachusetts171-17.5 pts
50Maine132-20.8 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

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.

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 2015 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 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) (US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015) [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), US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015. Bureau of Justice Statistics, 20 Feb. 2026, https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015. 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). US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015.

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), US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_imprisonment_2015,
  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): US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015}},
  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/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015. 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): US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners), 2015
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/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2015.
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

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

Louisiana, with 777 per 100,000 people in 2015, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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

Maine, with 132 per 100,000 people in 2015.

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 prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents, total (CSAT quick table and Prisoners in YYYY statistical tables). Retrieved 2026-10-12. 1 states have no value for 2015 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings