The United States locks up more of its own people than any other nation on Earth, yet as you'll see from the shocking numbers inside, from racial disparities to the $182 billion price tag, this sprawling corrections industry often fails to deliver justice or safety.
Key Takeaways
- In 2021, the United States had a total incarcerated population of 1,767,200 individuals in prisons and jails
- Black Americans are incarcerated at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans as of 2020, with a rate of 1,186 per 100,000 versus 244 per 100,000
- The U.S. female incarceration rate reached 65 per 100,000 in 2022, up from previous decades
- U.S. spent $182 billion on corrections, policing, courts in 2022
- State corrections spending averaged $64 billion annually from 2015-2020
- Federal Bureau of Prisons budget was $8.1 billion in FY2023
- CoreCivic revenue from prisons: $1.8 billion in 2022
- GEO Group operated 99 facilities housing 80,000 beds in 2022
- Private prisons held 8% of state prisoners and 28% federal in 2021
- Recidivism rate for state prisoners: 83% rearrested within 9 years per 2018 BJS study
- 68% of released drug offenders rearrested within 3 years 2020
- Employment post-release: only 55% employed 1 year after in 2018
- Prison staff turnover rate 40% annually in 2022
- 42% of facilities reported understaffing in 2021 BJS survey
- Average correctional officer salary $48,300 in 2022 BLS data
The United States spends heavily on corrections while facing ongoing issues of high incarceration and recidivism.
Financial Costs and Budgets
- U.S. spent $182 billion on corrections, policing, courts in 2022
- State corrections spending averaged $64 billion annually from 2015-2020
- Federal Bureau of Prisons budget was $8.1 billion in FY2023
- Average annual cost per inmate in state prisons: $45,771 in 2020
- California spent $15.4 billion on corrections in 2022
- Private prisons received $4.8 billion in contracts in 2021
- Local jail spending totaled $30 billion nationwide in 2017
- Per diem cost for federal inmates: $120.59 in 2022
- States spent 6% more on prisons per capita from 2010-2020
- New York corrections budget: $3.7 billion in FY2023
- Healthcare costs for inmates consumed 20% of prison budgets in 2021
- Total U.S. probation/parole supervision costs: $5.9 billion in 2019
- Florida DOC budget: $3.5 billion for 2022-2023
- Elderly inmate care costs 3x more, averaging $70,000 per year
- Juvenile corrections spending: $7.6 billion in 2019
- Texas spent $3.3 billion on prisons in 2021
- Federal pretrial detention costs $2.1 billion annually
- Prison construction costs averaged $200 million per facility in 2020s
- Community corrections programs cost $3,975 per person vs. $36,299 for prison
- Illinois corrections budget hit $2.4 billion in 2022
- Overtime pay in prisons consumed 10% of budgets in 2021
- Michigan spent $1.2 billion on MDOC in FY2023
- Bail industry revenue: $2.4 billion from 2018-2021
- Recidivism reduction saves $4.5 million per 100 participants annually
- Pennsylvania DOC budget: $2.9 billion for 2022-23
- Utility costs in prisons rose 15% from 2019-2022
- Private prison cost per inmate: $35,000 vs. public $40,000 in some states 2021
Financial Costs and Budgets Interpretation
America is spending so much on the architecture of punishment that we might have been able to buy every inmate a college education and still had enough left over for a really nice cheese board.
Incarceration Rates and Population
- In 2021, the United States had a total incarcerated population of 1,767,200 individuals in prisons and jails
- Black Americans are incarcerated at nearly 5 times the rate of white Americans as of 2020, with a rate of 1,186 per 100,000 versus 244 per 100,000
- The U.S. female incarceration rate reached 65 per 100,000 in 2022, up from previous decades
- By year-end 2020, 31 states had lower prison populations than in 2019 due to COVID-19 releases, totaling a 10% national decline
- Approximately 47,000 people were incarcerated in federal prisons for drug offenses in 2021, representing 46% of federal inmates
- The incarceration rate for violent crimes accounted for 45% of state prisoners in 2019
- In 2022, over 600,000 people were admitted to local jails
- Youth aged 17 or younger make up 2.1% of the jail population in 2021
- The U.S. has 639 prisoners per 100,000 residents, the highest globally in 2023
- State prison populations declined 24% from 2009 to 2021
- In 2020, 70% of state prisoners were men aged 25-44
- Hispanic incarceration rate was 685 per 100,000 in 2020
- Federal prison population was 151,638 in 2022
- 19% of U.S. prisoners are held in local jails pre-trial in 2021
- Prison population in California dropped 26% from 2011 to 2021
- Nationally, 1 in 5 prisoners are serving life sentences as of 2020
- Juvenile detention population fell 75% from 2000 to 2021
- 8% of state prisoners are foreign-born in 2019
- Incarceration rate for property crimes was 140 per 100,000 in 2020
- Total U.S. correctional control population was 5.2 million in 2021
- Women represent 8.7% of federal prisoners in 2022
- Pretrial jail population averaged 470,200 daily in 2019
- 55% of state prisoners have no high school diploma in 2021
- Incarceration for drug offenses dropped 44% from 2000 to 2020
- Texas prison population was 126,000 in 2022
- 14% of prisoners are over 55 years old in 2021
- Federal inmates for immigration offenses: 45,000 in 2021
- Local jail population declined 25% from 2019 to 2021
- 1 in 3 Black men face lifetime prison risk
- State prisons held 1,021,300 inmates end of 2022
- The national jail incarceration rate was 188 per 100,000 in 2021
Incarceration Rates and Population Interpretation
While the U.S. prison population shows recent signs of decline, the enduring and grotesque racial disparity—where Black Americans are incarcerated at five times the rate of white Americans—reveals a system still deeply rooted in historical injustice rather than equal justice.
Private Prison Industry
- CoreCivic revenue from prisons: $1.8 billion in 2022
- GEO Group operated 99 facilities housing 80,000 beds in 2022
- Private prisons held 8% of state prisoners and 28% federal in 2021
- CoreCivic stock traded at $10.50/share amid contracts in 2023
- GEO Group received $500 million federal contract renewal in 2022
- Private facilities cost 15% less per inmate in some analyses 2020
- 121 private prisons operated in 27 states in 2022
- Management & Training Corporation (MTC) runs 23 facilities
- Private prison contracts often guarantee 90-100% occupancy
- GEO's ICE detention revenue: $1.2 billion in 2021
- CoreCivic paid $250 million dividends to shareholders 2019-2021
- LaSalle Corrections operates 14 facilities in 6 states
- Private prisons recidivism rate 13% higher per DOJ 2016 study
- GEO Group lobbied $1.7 million on prison issues 2022
- Emerald Correctional Management small operator with 5 facilities
- Private prison market cap: $4 billion for top firms in 2023
- MTC sued for $10 million over facility conditions 2021
- 50% of private prisons in South and Southwest U.S.
- CoreCivic rebranded from CCA in 2016, now 65 facilities
- GEO acquired 7 facilities from ICE in 2020 for $300 million
- Private firms house 81% of federal immigration detainees 2022
- 3-year recidivism rate 67% in private vs 63% public prisons per Florida data 2019
- Private prison employment: 30,000 staff nationwide 2022
- Nationwide 3.8% of total prisoners in private facilities 2021
- Biden admin phased out 2,800 private federal beds by 2022
Private Prison Industry Interpretation
While corporate revenues and occupancy guarantees swell, the human cost is found in the stark math where prisoners become a more lucrative asset when they are more likely to return.
Recidivism and Reentry
- Recidivism rate for state prisoners: 83% rearrested within 9 years per 2018 BJS study
- 68% of released drug offenders rearrested within 3 years 2020
- Employment post-release: only 55% employed 1 year after in 2018
- Parole violators account for 26% of state prison admissions 2021
- Vocational training reduces recidivism by 43% per RAND meta-analysis 2014
- 44% of parolees rearrested within first year 2019
- Cognitive behavioral therapy cuts recidivism 20-30% per WSIPP 2022
- Homelessness post-release: 10-20% of ex-inmates in first year 2021
- 5-year recidivism for property offenders: 70% in 2020
- Reentry programs serve 100,000 annually but need triples
- Mental illness in recidivists: 64% have history per 2019 study
- Ban-the-box policies reduce recidivism 5-10% in some states 2022
- Substance abuse treatment lowers rearrest by 9% per BJS 2021
- 1.2 million on probation, 27% fail terms yearly 2021
- Education in prison reduces recidivism 43% per CDCR 2020
- Female recidivism 10% lower than males at 59% 5-year rate
- Risk assessment tools reduce returns 15% per Pew 2023
- Halfway houses recidivism: 25% within 6 months 2021
- Medicaid enrollment pre-release cuts recidivism 17%
- Veterans recidivism 20% lower with targeted programs 2022
- 870,000 released annually, 50% unemployed at 6 months 2020
- Faith-based programs reduce recidivism 26% per meta-analysis
- Age at release over 40: recidivism drops to 35% 5-year
- Family contact reduces recidivism 24% per studies 2019
- Drug courts lower recidivism to 38% vs 50% traditional 2022
Recidivism and Reentry Interpretation
The corrections system often seems to focus on perfecting the revolving door, despite overwhelming evidence that a focus on employment, treatment, and human dignity—not just supervision and punishment—could actually stop it from spinning.
Staffing, Conditions, and Operations
- Prison staff turnover rate 40% annually in 2022
- 42% of facilities reported understaffing in 2021 BJS survey
- Average correctional officer salary $48,300 in 2022 BLS data
- Assaults on staff: 20,000 incidents yearly in state prisons 2020
- 70% of inmates report solitary confinement exposure 2021
- Prison suicide rate 49 per 100,000 vs general 14 in 2020
- Overcrowding in 20% of state prisons above capacity 2022
- Mental health staff: 1 per 100 inmates average 2021
- COVID-19 deaths in prisons: 3,100 by 2022 CDC data
- Medical care quality rated poor by 40% of inmates 2019
- Female staff 33% of correctional officers in 2022
- Overtime hours average 20/week per officer 2021
- Gang affiliation among inmates: 30% in state prisons 2020
- Restrictive housing population: 61,000 daily average 2021
- Educational programs available to 35% of inmates 2022
- Staff training hours average 40/week first year 2021
- Inmate-on-inmate assaults: 28,000 yearly 2020
- Ventilation issues in 25% of facilities per 2022 audit
- 15% of prisons lack full-time medical director 2021
- Officer injury rate 35 per 100 workers 2022
- Substance use disorder untreated in 65% of inmates 2020
- Video visitation used in 80% of facilities post-COVID 2022
- Infrastructure age average 50 years in many prisons 2023
- PREA violations reported 25,000 annually 2021
- Work programs employ 6% of inmates full-time 2020
- Emergency response time average 5 minutes in 70% facilities 2022
Staffing, Conditions, and Operations Interpretation
If you’re wondering why the corrections system feels like a frantic, creaking machine held together by overtime and good intentions, just consider that we’re paying prison staff less than a manager at In-N-Out Burger to work in aging facilities where nearly half their colleagues quit every year, while trying to manage overcrowded, under-treated populations where violence and despair are routine—it’s a humanitarian and operational crisis disguised as a budget line.
Sources & References
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