Texas a has the sixth-highest number of incarcerated individuals per capita out of all U.S. states, according to new data from the Sentencing Project.
With 529 people incarcerated out of every 100,000 residents, Texas’ prison population totals 154,479, with 371,361 on probation and 109,151 on parole.
Other issues quantified in the Sentencing Project numbers include racial disparities, the number of juveniles in custody and spending on states’ corrections systems. The nonprofit group obtains its data from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and National Association of State Budget Officers.
The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any nation in the world, with 2.2 million people behind bars, according to the Sentencing Project. The number of Americans in prison or jail has increased fivefold over the last four decades, the researchers found.
Changes in public policies and laws have been driving this increase, the study says. The result has been serious overcrowding problems in prisons and added financial burdens for states, according to the data.
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Incarceration Rates by State
Rank (Highest to Lowest Imprisonment Rate) | State | Imprisonment Rate (per 100,000 Residents) | Prison Population | Probation Population | Parole Population |
1 | Louisiana | 680 | 31,584 | 38,822 | 32,196 |
2 | Oklahoma | 639 | 25,338 | 42,052 | 1,781 |
3 | Mississippi | 636 | 18,915 | 27,820 | 9,392 |
4 | Arkansas | 586 | 17,713 | 33,622 | 23,782 |
5 | Arizona | 558 | 40,951 | 77,129 | 7,537 |
6 | Texas | 529 | 154,479 | 371,361 | 109,151 |
7 | Kentucky | 516 | 23,082 | 44,480 | 16,338 |
8 | Georgia | 507 | 54,113 | 419,993 | 21,067 |
9 | Idaho | 475 | 8,571 | 33,002 | 5,102 |
10 | Florida | 444 | 96,009 | 209,714 | 4,419 |
11 | Montana | 440 | 4,723 | 9,358 | 1,276 |
12 | Ohio | 430 | 50,338 | 233,580 | 20,703 |
13 (tie) | South Dakota | 428 | 3,797 | 5,631 | 2,968 |
13 (tie) | Wyoming | 428 | 2,479 | 5,097 | 900 |
15 | Missouri | 424 | 26,038 | 42,526 | 17,623 |
16 | Virginia | 422 | 36,091 | 62,443 | 1,709 |
17 | Alabama | 419 | 20,595 | 51,961 | 9,358 |
18 | Nevada | 413 | 12,840 | 13,625 | 5,033 |
19 | Indiana | 399 | 26,969 | 111,156 | 7,073 |
20 | Tennessee | 384 | 26,349 | 60,622 | 11,132 |
21 | Delaware | 382 | 3,735 | 15,010 | 368 |
22 (tie) | Michigan | 381 | 38,053 | 153,345 | 15,722 |
22 (tie) | West Virginia | 381 | 6,800 | 6,196 | 3,690 |
24 | Wisconsin | 378 | 22,039 | 43,542 | 21,095 |
25 | Pennsylvania | 355 | 45,485 | 180,901 | 111,185 |
26 (tie) | Oregon | 353 | 14,943 | 38,936 | 24,539 |
26 (tie) | South Carolina | 353 | 18,295 | 32,697 | 4,565 |
28 | Kansas | 342 | 9,965 | 16,909 | 5,282 |
29 | Colorado | 341 | 19,785 | 81,125 | 10,237 |
30 | New Mexico | 316 | 6,634 | 12,352 | 2,708 |
31 | North Carolina | 313 | 33,042 | 82,199 | 13,802 |
32 | California | 310 | 122,417 | 233,046 | 95,148 |
33 | Maryland | 305 | 18,476 | 71,352 | 10,338 |
34 | Illinois | 302 | 38,259 | 86,538 | 28,794 |
35 | Iowa | 293 | 9,260 | 29,152 | 6,414 |
36 | Nebraska | 289 | 5,596 | 14,255 | 985 |
37 | Washington | 250 | 19,184 | 76,349 | 11,663 |
38 | Connecticut | 245 | 8,751 | 40,307 | 3,548 |
39 | Alaska | 244 | 1,782 | 2,491 | 1,563 |
40 | North Dakota | 231 | 1,767 | 6,297 | 904 |
41 | New York | 224 | 43,439 | 98,685 | 44,572 |
42 | Hawaii | 215 | 3,037 | 19,830 | 1,666 |
43 | New Jersey | 210 | 18,613 | 139,498 | 15,005 |
44 | Utah | 209 | 6,662 | 12,514 | 3,781 |
45 | New Hampshire | 197 | 2,691 | 3,914 | 2,436 |
46 | Vermont | 182 | 1,137 | 4,138 | 861 |
47 | Minnesota | 176 | 9,982 | 98,746 | 7,048 |
48 | Rhode Island | 156 | 1,656 | 21,927 | 451 |
49 | Maine | 146 | 1,967 | 6,709 | 20 |
50 | Massachusetts | 133 | 7,503 | 57,261 | 1,423 |
Source: The Sentencing Project
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