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

US states by imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners)

Mississippi had the highest imprisonment rate (sentenced prisoners) of 50 states in 2022, at 661 per 100,000 people. Massachusetts had the lowest, at 94 per 100,000 people. The median was 294 per 100,000 people and the figure for the United States was 355 per 100,000 people. Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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Highest661Mississippi
Lowest94Massachusetts
Median29450 states
United States355History

Map of states, 2022

Alabama: 390 per 100,000 peopleAlaska: 205 per 100,000 peopleArizona: 446 per 100,000 peopleArkansas: 574 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia: 250 per 100,000 peopleColorado: 288 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut: 171 per 100,000 peopleDelaware: 272 per 100,000 peopleFlorida: 377 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia: 436 per 100,000 peopleHawaii: 174 per 100,000 peopleIdaho: 461 per 100,000 peopleIllinois: 236 per 100,000 peopleIndiana: 349 per 100,000 peopleIowa: 264 per 100,000 peopleKansas: 292 per 100,000 peopleKentucky: 437 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana: 596 per 100,000 peopleMaine: 107 per 100,000 peopleMaryland: 252 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts: 94 per 100,000 peopleMichigan: 323 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota: 151 per 100,000 peopleMississippi: 661 per 100,000 peopleMissouri: 381 per 100,000 peopleMontana: 416 per 100,000 peopleNebraska: 283 per 100,000 peopleNevada: 323 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire: 149 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey: 136 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico: 231 per 100,000 peopleNew York: 159 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina: 268 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota: 230 per 100,000 peopleOhio: 385 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma: 563 per 100,000 peopleOregon: 295 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania: 292 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island: 124 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina: 302 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota: 371 per 100,000 peopleTennessee: 335 per 100,000 peopleTexas: 453 per 100,000 peopleUtah: 177 per 100,000 peopleVermont: 126 per 100,000 peopleVirginia: 312 per 100,000 peopleWashington: 174 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia: 331 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin: 311 per 100,000 peopleWyoming: 370 per 100,000 people
  • Under 170
  • 170 to 250
  • 250 to 290
  • 290 to 340
  • 340 to 430
  • 430 and over
  • No data
per 100,000 people, 2022. 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, 2022

Mississippi: 661 per 100,000 peopleMississippi661Louisiana: 596 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana596Arkansas: 574 per 100,000 peopleArkansas574Oklahoma: 563 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma563Idaho: 461 per 100,000 peopleIdaho461Texas: 453 per 100,000 peopleTexas453Arizona: 446 per 100,000 peopleArizona446Kentucky: 437 per 100,000 peopleKentucky437Georgia: 436 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia436Montana: 416 per 100,000 peopleMontana416Alabama: 390 per 100,000 peopleAlabama390Ohio: 385 per 100,000 peopleOhio385Missouri: 381 per 100,000 peopleMissouri381Florida: 377 per 100,000 peopleFlorida377South Dakota: 371 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota371Wyoming: 370 per 100,000 peopleWyoming370Indiana: 349 per 100,000 peopleIndiana349Tennessee: 335 per 100,000 peopleTennessee335West Virginia: 331 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia331Michigan: 323 per 100,000 peopleMichigan323Nevada: 323 per 100,000 peopleNevada323Virginia: 312 per 100,000 peopleVirginia312Wisconsin: 311 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin311South Carolina: 302 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina302Oregon: 295 per 100,000 peopleOregon295Kansas: 292 per 100,000 peopleKansas292Pennsylvania: 292 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania292Colorado: 288 per 100,000 peopleColorado288Nebraska: 283 per 100,000 peopleNebraska283Delaware: 272 per 100,000 peopleDelaware272North Carolina: 268 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina268Iowa: 264 per 100,000 peopleIowa264Maryland: 252 per 100,000 peopleMaryland252California: 250 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia250Illinois: 236 per 100,000 peopleIllinois236New Mexico: 231 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico231North Dakota: 230 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota230Alaska: 205 per 100,000 peopleAlaska205Utah: 177 per 100,000 peopleUtah177Hawaii: 174 per 100,000 peopleHawaii174Washington: 174 per 100,000 peopleWashington174Connecticut: 171 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut171New York: 159 per 100,000 peopleNew York159Minnesota: 151 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota151New Hampshire: 149 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire149New Jersey: 136 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey136Vermont: 126 per 100,000 peopleVermont126Rhode Island: 124 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island124Maine: 107 per 100,000 peopleMaine107Massachusetts: 94 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts94Mississippi: 661 per 100,000 peopleMississippi661Louisiana: 596 per 100,000 peopleLouisiana596Arkansas: 574 per 100,000 peopleArkansas574Oklahoma: 563 per 100,000 peopleOklahoma563Idaho: 461 per 100,000 peopleIdaho461Texas: 453 per 100,000 peopleTexas453Arizona: 446 per 100,000 peopleArizona446Kentucky: 437 per 100,000 peopleKentucky437Georgia: 436 per 100,000 peopleGeorgia436Montana: 416 per 100,000 peopleMontana416Alabama: 390 per 100,000 peopleAlabama390Ohio: 385 per 100,000 peopleOhio385Missouri: 381 per 100,000 peopleMissouri381Florida: 377 per 100,000 peopleFlorida377South Dakota: 371 per 100,000 peopleSouth Dakota371Wyoming: 370 per 100,000 peopleWyoming370Indiana: 349 per 100,000 peopleIndiana349Tennessee: 335 per 100,000 peopleTennessee335West Virginia: 331 per 100,000 peopleWest Virginia331Michigan: 323 per 100,000 peopleMichigan323Nevada: 323 per 100,000 peopleNevada323Virginia: 312 per 100,000 peopleVirginia312Wisconsin: 311 per 100,000 peopleWisconsin311South Carolina: 302 per 100,000 peopleSouth Carolina302Oregon: 295 per 100,000 peopleOregon295Kansas: 292 per 100,000 peopleKansas292Pennsylvania: 292 per 100,000 peoplePennsylvania292Colorado: 288 per 100,000 peopleColorado288Nebraska: 283 per 100,000 peopleNebraska283Delaware: 272 per 100,000 peopleDelaware272North Carolina: 268 per 100,000 peopleNorth Carolina268Iowa: 264 per 100,000 peopleIowa264Maryland: 252 per 100,000 peopleMaryland252California: 250 per 100,000 peopleCalifornia250Illinois: 236 per 100,000 peopleIllinois236New Mexico: 231 per 100,000 peopleNew Mexico231North Dakota: 230 per 100,000 peopleNorth Dakota230Alaska: 205 per 100,000 peopleAlaska205Utah: 177 per 100,000 peopleUtah177Hawaii: 174 per 100,000 peopleHawaii174Washington: 174 per 100,000 peopleWashington174Connecticut: 171 per 100,000 peopleConnecticut171New York: 159 per 100,000 peopleNew York159Minnesota: 151 per 100,000 peopleMinnesota151New Hampshire: 149 per 100,000 peopleNew Hampshire149New Jersey: 136 per 100,000 peopleNew Jersey136Vermont: 126 per 100,000 peopleVermont126Rhode Island: 124 per 100,000 peopleRhode Island124Maine: 107 per 100,000 peopleMaine107Massachusetts: 94 per 100,000 peopleMassachusetts94
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

RankStates2022
per 100,000 people		Change on 2021
1Mississippi661+85 pts
2Louisiana596+30 pts
3Arkansas574+15 pts
4Oklahoma563+8 pts
5Idaho461+10 pts
6Texas453+11 pts
7Arizona446-8 pts
8Kentucky437+25 pts
9Georgia436+9 pts
10Montana416+29 pts
11Alabama390+7 pts
12Ohio385+2 pts
13Missouri381+7 pts
14Florida377+12 pts
15South Dakota371+1 pts
16Wyoming370+4 pts
17Indiana349-13 pts
18Tennessee335+21 pts
19West Virginia331+3 pts
20Michigan323+2 pts
20Nevada3230 pts
22Virginia312-38 pts
23Wisconsin311-4 pts
24South Carolina302+5 pts
25Oregon295-16 pts
26Kansas292+6 pts
26Pennsylvania292+6 pts
28Colorado288+17 pts
29Nebraska283+3 pts
30Delaware272-4 pts
31North Carolina268+1 pts
32Iowa264-3 pts
33Maryland252+7 pts
34California250-9 pts
35Illinois236+7 pts
36New Mexico231-9 pts
37North Dakota230+16 pts
38Alaska205-8 pts
39Utah177+1 pts
40Hawaii174-6 pts
40Washington174-1 pts
42Connecticut171+16 pts
43New York159+6 pts
44Minnesota151+11 pts
45New Hampshire149-4 pts
46New Jersey136+1 pts
47Vermont126-8 pts
48Rhode Island124+6 pts
49Maine1070 pts
50Massachusetts94-2 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 2022 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), 2022) [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), 2022. 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=2022. 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), 2022. 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=2022.

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), 2022 [Dataset]. Available at: https://bjs.ojp.gov/library/publications/prisoners-2023-statistical-tables, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{bureau_us_states_by_imprisonment_2022,
  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), 2022}},
  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=2022. 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), 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/imprisonment-rate/us-states?period=2022.
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)?

Mississippi, with 661 per 100,000 people in 2022, according to Bureau of Justice Statistics.

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

Massachusetts, with 94 per 100,000 people in 2022.

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 2022 and are not ranked.

US states: more rankings