America's crime record
Jails and prisons
People in jail
658,700
people held, 2024 · Down 0.8% from 2023
Rate 193.7, about 1 in 520 residents
Timeline
People held in local jails on one day at midyear.
Source and method
Census of Jails years count every jail; other years are a survey.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails · One day each year · 1983 to 2024
- 1983–2019The BJS Census of Jails and the BJS Jail Inmates statistical tables take turns: one is run in the years the other is not, and CrimeDB uses each in its own years. BJS runs the Annual Survey of Jails in the years between censuses and not in a census year (1983, 1988, 1993, 1999, 2005, 2013, 2019). In census years the count is the Census of Jails, which the Jail Inmates tables of that year reprint; the jail series takes the census in its years and the survey in the rest (rule bjs-jail-newest-final). From 2024 the census is annual, and its first figures came out as the Jail Inmates 2024 release.
- 2015BJS counted at year-end (December 31) and over the calendar year in 2015 and 2016, at midyear (June 30) and over the year ending June 30 before and after
- 2017BJS returns to midyear (June 30) counts and years ending June 30
Breakdown
People held by sex, 2024
| Male | 86%563,500 | 563,500 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 14%95,200 | 95,200 |
All 658,700 people held in 2024.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails
Every figure as a table
People in jail, people held, by year
| Year | Count | Rate | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 658,700 | 194 | |
| 2023 | 664,200 | 197 | |
| 2022 | 663,100 | 199 | |
| 2021 | 636,300 | 192 | |
| 2020 | 549,100 | 166 | |
| 2019 | 734,470 | 222 | |
| 2018 | 738,400 | 225 | |
| 2017 | 745,200 | 228 | |
| 2016 | 740,700 | 228 | |
| 2015 | 727,400 | 226 | |
| 2014 | 744,592 | 233 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2013 | 731,570 | 231 | |
| 2012 | 744,524 | 237 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2011 | 735,601 | 236 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2010 | 748,728 | 242 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2009 | 767,434 | 250 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2008 | 785,533 | 258 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2007 | 780,174 | 259 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2006 | 765,819 | 257 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2005 | 747,530 | 253 | |
| 2004 | 713,990 | 244 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2003 | 691,301 | 238 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2002 | 665,475 | 231 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 2001 | 631,240 | 222 | |
| 2000 | 621,149 | 220 | |
| 1999 | 605,943 | 222 | |
| 1998 | 592,462 | 219 | |
| 1997 | 567,079 | 212 | |
| 1996 | 518,492 | 195 | |
| 1995 | 507,044 | 193 | |
| 1994 | 490,442 | 188 | |
| 1993 | 459,804 | 178 | Source flag: tables disagree |
| 1992 | 444,584 | 174 | |
| 1991 | 426,479 | 169 | |
| 1990 | 405,320 | 162 | |
| 1988 | 343,569 | 141 | |
| 1983 | 223,551 | 96 |
Rate: Per 100,000 U.S. residents on July 1 of the year, from the Census Bureau's estimates (1980: the April census count).
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails · One day each year
People in jail: people held per 100,000 people in each group, by race, by year
| Year | White+MENA | Black | Hispanic | Asian | AIAN | NHPI | Share with race not given |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 155 | 594 | 142 | 20 | 397 | 116 | <1% |
| 2023 | 161 | 579 | 144 | 22 | 455 | 163 | <1% |
| 2022 | 164 | 573 | 145 | 23 | 410 | 166 | <1% |
| 2021 | 160 | 543 | 144 | 19 | 334 | 108 | <1% |
| 2020 | 135 | 474 | 131 | 19 | 292 | 93 | <1% |
| 2019 | 186 | 611 | 174 | 24 | 447 | 122 | <1% |
| 2018 | 188 | 602 | 181 | 25 | 423 | 162 | <1% |
| 2017 | 188 | 625 | 183 | 26 | 384 | 166 | <1% |
| 2016 | 181 | 640 | 195 | 29 | 393 | 119 | <1% |
| 2015 | 179 | 647 | 184 | 30 | 393 | 157 | <1% |
| 2014 | 179 | 681 | 195 | 31 | 442 | 108 | <1% |
| 2013 | 175 | 653 | 211 | 29 | 418 | 112 | <1% |
| 2012 | 173 | 712 | 212 | 30 | 409 | 132 | <1% |
| 2011 | 167 | 722 | 219 | 31 | 414 | 97 | <1% |
| 2010 | 168 | 745 | 233 | 30 | 437 | 140 | <1% |
The Rate view's race lines, from 2010. Each group's line is its people held per 100,000 people in the group. Six groups, each race leaving out Hispanic people. Jails report the people they hold from their own records.
– means no rate: a group the source does not count apart that year, or no people to divide by. People whose race is not known are in no group's rate, so each rate is a floor.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails; Census Bureau population estimates
People held by sex, 2024
| Sex | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Male | 563,500 | 86% |
| Female | 95,200 | 14% |
All 658,700 people held in 2024.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails
People held by race, 2024
| Race | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| White+MENA | 297,900 | 45% |
| Black | 247,600 | 38% |
| Hispanic | 97,400 | 15% |
| AIAN | 9,300 | 1% |
| Asian | 4,400 | 1% |
| NHPI | 800 | <1% |
| Race unknown | 1,200 | <1% |
Hispanic is of any race; the other groups are not Hispanic. White+MENA includes Middle Eastern and North African people.
All 658,700 people held in 2024. Six groups, each race leaving out Hispanic people. Jails report the people they hold from their own records.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails
People held by whether convicted, 2024
| Convicted or not | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Unconvicted | 450,700 | 68% |
| Convicted | 208,000 | 32% |
All 658,700 people held in 2024.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails
People held by offense level, 2024
| Offense level | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Felony | 500,100 | 76% |
| Misdemeanor | 121,900 | 19% |
| Other | 36,700 | 6% |
All 658,700 people held in 2024.
BJS Annual Survey of Jails and Census of Jails