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 2016, at 761 per 100,000 people. Maine had the lowest, at 137 per 100,000 people. The median was 375 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 450 per 100,000 people. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Highest761Louisiana
Lowest137Maine
Median37550 states
United States450History

Map of states, 2016

Alabama: 571 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 282 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 587 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 583 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 327 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 357 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 289 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 427 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 480 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 511 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 254 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 434 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 340 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 384 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 287 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 331 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 518 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 761 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 137 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 328 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 156 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 413 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 191 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 625 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 532 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 365 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 273 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 459 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 210 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 220 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 334 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 255 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 339 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 448 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 752 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 368 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 383 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 192 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 408 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 441 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 422 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 562 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 201 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 197 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 448 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 259 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 393 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 383 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 408 per 100,000 people
  • Under 240
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  • 520 and over
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per 100,000 people, 2016. 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, 2016

Louisiana: 761 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana761Oklahoma: 752 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma752Mississippi: 625 per 100,000 peopleMississippi625Arizona: 587 per 100,000 peopleArizona587Arkansas: 583 per 100,000 peopleArkansas583Alabama: 571 per 100,000 peopleAlabama571Texas: 562 per 100,000 peopleTexas562Missouri: 532 per 100,000 peopleMissouri532Kentucky: 518 per 100,000 peopleKentucky518Georgia: 511 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia511Florida: 480 per 100,000 peopleFlorida480Nevada: 459 per 100,000 peopleNevada459Ohio: 448 per 100,000 peopleOhio448Virginia: 448 per 100,000 peopleVirginia448South Dakota: 441 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota441Idaho: 434 per 100,000 peopleIdaho434Delaware: 427 per 100,000 peopleDelaware427Tennessee: 422 per 100,000 peopleTennessee422Michigan: 413 per 100,000 peopleMichigan413South Carolina: 408 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina408Wyoming: 408 per 100,000 peopleWyoming408West Virginia: 393 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia393Indiana: 384 per 100,000 peopleIndiana384Pennsylvania: 383 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania383Wisconsin: 383 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin383Oregon: 368 per 100,000 peopleOregon368Montana: 365 per 100,000 peopleMontana365Colorado: 357 per 100,000 peopleColorado357Illinois: 340 per 100,000 peopleIllinois340North Carolina: 339 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina339New Mexico: 334 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico334Kansas: 331 per 100,000 peopleKansas331Maryland: 328 per 100,000 peopleMaryland328California: 327 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia327Connecticut: 289 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut289Iowa: 287 per 100,000 peopleIowa287Alaska: 282 per 100,000 peopleAlaska282Nebraska: 273 per 100,000 peopleNebraska273Washington: 259 per 100,000 peopleWashington259New York: 255 per 100,000 peopleNew York255Hawaii: 254 per 100,000 peopleHawaii254North Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota235New Jersey: 220 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey220New Hampshire: 210 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire210Utah: 201 per 100,000 peopleUtah201Vermont: 197 per 100,000 peopleVermont197Rhode Island: 192 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island192Minnesota: 191 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota191Massachusetts: 156 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts156Maine: 137 per 100,000 peopleMaine137Louisiana: 761 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana761Oklahoma: 752 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma752Mississippi: 625 per 100,000 peopleMississippi625Arizona: 587 per 100,000 peopleArizona587Arkansas: 583 per 100,000 peopleArkansas583Alabama: 571 per 100,000 peopleAlabama571Texas: 562 per 100,000 peopleTexas562Missouri: 532 per 100,000 peopleMissouri532Kentucky: 518 per 100,000 peopleKentucky518Georgia: 511 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia511Florida: 480 per 100,000 peopleFlorida480Nevada: 459 per 100,000 peopleNevada459Ohio: 448 per 100,000 peopleOhio448Virginia: 448 per 100,000 peopleVirginia448South Dakota: 441 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota441Idaho: 434 per 100,000 peopleIdaho434Delaware: 427 per 100,000 peopleDelaware427Tennessee: 422 per 100,000 peopleTennessee422Michigan: 413 per 100,000 peopleMichigan413South Carolina: 408 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina408Wyoming: 408 per 100,000 peopleWyoming408West Virginia: 393 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia393Indiana: 384 per 100,000 peopleIndiana384Pennsylvania: 383 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania383Wisconsin: 383 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin383Oregon: 368 per 100,000 peopleOregon368Montana: 365 per 100,000 peopleMontana365Colorado: 357 per 100,000 peopleColorado357Illinois: 340 per 100,000 peopleIllinois340North Carolina: 339 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina339New Mexico: 334 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico334Kansas: 331 per 100,000 peopleKansas331Maryland: 328 per 100,000 peopleMaryland328California: 327 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia327Connecticut: 289 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut289Iowa: 287 per 100,000 peopleIowa287Alaska: 282 per 100,000 peopleAlaska282Nebraska: 273 per 100,000 peopleNebraska273Washington: 259 per 100,000 peopleWashington259New York: 255 per 100,000 peopleNew York255Hawaii: 254 per 100,000 peopleHawaii254North Dakota: 235 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota235New Jersey: 220 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey220New Hampshire: 210 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire210Utah: 201 per 100,000 peopleUtah201Vermont: 197 per 100,000 peopleVermont197Rhode Island: 192 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island192Minnesota: 191 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota191Massachusetts: 156 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts156Maine: 137 per 100,000 peopleMaine137
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

RankStates2016
per 100,000 people		Change on 2015
1Louisiana761-16.7 pts
2Oklahoma752+34 pts
3Mississippi625+15.2 pts
4Arizona587-9.1 pts
5Arkansas583-8.7 pts
6Alabama571-41.5 pts
7Texas562-7 pts
8Missouri532+0.6 pts
9Kentucky518+28.1 pts
10Georgia511+7.4 pts
11Florida480-16.4 pts
12Nevada459+14.8 pts
13Ohio448-1.8 pts
14Virginia448-9.9 pts
15South Dakota441+28.3 pts
16Idaho434-0.7 pts
17Delaware427-14.6 pts
18Tennessee422-3.4 pts
19Michigan413-16.3 pts
20South Carolina408-5.8 pts
21Wyoming408-5.9 pts
22West Virginia393+5.3 pts
23Indiana384-28.9 pts
24Pennsylvania383-4.8 pts
25Wisconsin383+5.8 pts
26Oregon368-7 pts
27Montana365+9.8 pts
28Colorado357-8.1 pts
29Illinois340-20.1 pts
30North Carolina339-13.4 pts
31New Mexico334-2.1 pts
32Kansas331+1.3 pts
33Maryland328-11.6 pts
34California327-2.8 pts
35Connecticut289-24.5 pts
36Iowa287+4.9 pts
37Alaska282-23.6 pts
38Nebraska273-6 pts
39Washington259+7 pts
40New York255-6.3 pts
41Hawaii254-10.1 pts
42North Dakota2350 pts
43New Jersey220-9.2 pts
44New Hampshire210-7 pts
45Utah201-14 pts
46Vermont197-9.2 pts
47Rhode Island192-12.4 pts
48Minnesota191-5.5 pts
49Massachusetts156-15.1 pts
50Maine137+5.3 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 2016 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), 2016) [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), 2016. 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=2016. 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), 2016. 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=2016.

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), 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_imprisonment_2016,
  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), 2016}},
  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=2016. 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), 2016
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=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2016.
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 761 per 100,000 people in 2016, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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

Maine, with 137 per 100,000 people in 2016.

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 2016 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings