Part II: State by State Analysis

by Dr. Natasha A. Frost, Northeastern University

National Overview

U.S. IMPRISONMENT AT A GLANCE Imprisonment Rate 1977:  129              Female Imprisonment Rate 1977:     10 Imprisonment Rate 2004:  486              Female Imprisonment Rate 2004:   64 Total Female Sentenced Prisoners 1977:  11,212 Total Female Sentenced Prisoners 2004:  96,125 Percent Increase 1977-2004:  757 % Average Annual Percent Increase 1977-2004:  8 % Percent Increase 1999-2004:    17 %

At year-end 2004, United States state and federal prisons housed 1,433,793 inmates serving sentences of more than one year. Of these inmates, 1,337,668 were male and 96,125 were female.

In 1977, United States prisons housed 11,212 female inmates: by 2004, the female prison population had increased almost nine-fold, reaching 96,125. The number of female inmates grew every year except for 2001 when the number of female inmates dropped slightly before resuming its upward trend. Between 1977 and 2004, the female imprisonment rate in the United States grew by 757% (with an average annual change of 8% per year).

Female Imprisonment Rates

Between 1977 and 2004, the United States female imprisonment rate (including the federal prison system and the prison populations of all fifty states) grew from 10 to 64 female prisoners per 100,000 female residents.

CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES

The source for all correctional facility data in this report is the 2000 Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities (Stephan and Karberg, 2003). According to the 2000 Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, the United States has 1,668 state and federal correctional facilities. Of the 1,668 correctional facilities, 1,287 house male prisoners only, 156 house female prisoners only, and 225 house both male and female prisoners.

MALE TO FEMALE IMPRISONMENT RATIO

The male to female imprisonment ratio indicates the number of male inmates for every female inmate. Although both female and male imprisonment rates have increased over the period of study, a shrinking ratio suggests that the number of female prisoners has increased at a faster pace than the number of male prisoners. In 1977, the United States imprisoned 24 male prisoners for every female prisoner – by 2004, this ratio had fallen to 14 male prisoners for every female prisoner (including all 50 states and the federal system). 

STATE-LEVEL VARIATION

As is always the case, viewing the United States as a whole masks substantial state-level variations in imprisonment practices. Some states are significantly more punitive in female imprisonment rates than others. Although imprisonment rates have grown in all states between 1977 and 2004, that growth has taken different shapes, with some experiencing rapid growth and others demonstrating a surprising stability (particularly relative to other states) long after the beginning of unprecedented growth in the use of imprisonment across the country as a whole.

TEN MOST PUNITIVE STATES

FEMALE IMPRISONMENT RATES 2004

STATE Oklahoma Mississippi Louisiana Montana Texas Idaho Arizona Missouri Wyoming Colorado

RATE 129    107 103 102 101 93 89 85 84 83

RANK 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

TEN LEAST PUNITIVE STATES

FEMALE IMPRISONMENT RATES 2004

STATE Rhode Island Massachusetts Maine New Hampshire Minnesota  Vermont  New York Pennsylvania New Jersey Maryland

RATE 11  11 18 18  21   25 28 28 33 39

RANK 50 49 48 47 46 45 44 43 42 41

Map: State Rates 2004

The color-coded map that follows visually depicts state-level variations in female imprisonment rates. 

Roll over each state to view statistics. Click on any state for state-specific female imprisonment data.

GROWTH IN FEMALE IMPRISONMENT 1977-2004

Sentenced Female Prisoners

At yearend 1977, U.S. prisons housed a total of 11,212 sentenced female prisoners. At that time, only the federal prison system housed over 1,000 women. Fully half of the states (25) had female prison populations of less than 100 and four states housed less than 10 prisoners (Montana, North Dakota, New Hampshire and Vermont).

Although no state had a prison population of over 1,000 women in 1977, by yearend 2004, twenty-seven states housed more than 1,000 female prisoners. Only two states (Rhode Island and Vermont) maintained female prison populations of under 100 women at yearend 2004 (recall that in 1977 half of the states housed less than 100 female prisoners). Moreover, two of the states that had female prison populations of under 100 in 1977 had far exceeded the 1,000 female prisoner mark by 2004. Colorado which housed only 72 female prisoners in 1977, had 1,900 female prisoners in 2004. Mississippi’s 57 female prisoners in 1977 grew to 1,602 in 2004.

Table 1 presents the actual female prison populations in each state in 2004 and in 1977. The states are sorted based on the total female prisoners in 2004 (from highest to lowest).

TABLE 1.  TOTAL FEMALE PRISONERS BY STATE, 2004 and 1977

Female Imprisonment Rates

In 1977, the median imprisonment rate across the states was 7 female prisoners for every 100,000 female residents. At that time, no state had a female imprisonment rate of over 20 sentenced female prisoners per 100,000 females in the population.

By 2004, the median imprisonment rate of 55 female prisoners for every 100,000 female residents was more than five times higher than it had been in 1977. Five states had female imprisonment rates of over 100 female prisoners per 100,000 (Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana, Montana, and Texas), and only four states maintained female imprisonment rates of under 20 per 100,000 (Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island).

TABLE 2.  FEMALE IMPRISONMENT RATES BY STATE, 2004 and 1977

 FEMALE PRISONERS 1999-2004

Over the five year period between 1999-2004, the number of sentenced female prisoners in the United States increased from 82,402 (in 1999) to 96,125 (in 2004) – a growth of 17% in just five years. Nine states experienced decreases in the female prison population with New York and New Jersey experiencing the largest declines in female prisoners over the period (New York’s female prison population fell from 3,620 female prisoners in 1999 to 2,789 in 2004, a decrease of 23% and New Jersey’s female prison population fell from 1,862 female prisoners in 1999 to 1,470 in 2004 – a decrease of 21%). The remaining 41 states and the federal prison system saw increases in their female prison populations. The tables below list the ten states with the largest increase in actual female prisoners and the ten states with the largest % change in the female prison population between yearend 1999 and yearend 2004. The prison population data are yearend data, so the growth actually represents growth from the end of 1999 through the end of 2004. 

LARGEST INCREASES IN FEMALE PRISONERS AND LARGEST GROWTH (% CHANGE), 1999-2004

 

SMALLEST INCREASES IN FEMALE PRISONERS AND SMALLEST GROWTH (% CHANGE), 1999-2004

DECREASES IN FEMALE PRISONERS AND NEGATIVE GROWTH (% CHANGE), 1999-2004

The hyperlinks below will take you to each state's imprisonment analysis.

Unless otherwise noted, all averages across the states are medians. Averages across states include only state data (e.g. these averages exclude the federal prison system and Washington D.C.'s prisoners (where applicable)). The United States average includes all prisoners (regardless of their classification as a state or federal prisoner). Federal refers distinctly to prisoners housed in the federal prison system.

Only prison data for inmates sentenced to more than one year were included. The exclusion of data covering those not sentenced (or those sentenced to less than one year) allows for the inclusion of the six states that have mixed prison and jail populations. The six states with mixed prison/jail populations include: Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Rates were calculated per 100,000 population. Gender specific rates used gender specific population data. Although states appear to have identical imprisonment rates, their rates are actually slightly different (rates were rounded to the nearest whole number for ease of presentation). States were ranked based on the actual values.

All imprisonment data were drawn from Bureau of Justice Statistics datasets and spreadsheets that rely on National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) and National Corrections Reporting Program (NCRP) data. For a description of the NPS and NCRP methodologies and state by state explanatory notes see: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p03.pdf

The primary dataset used in compiling this report was:

Doris James and Paige Harrison (2005). Sentenced female prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. National Prisoner Statistics Data Series (NPS1). (File: corpop37; date of version: 12/06/2005). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Other imprisonment data were derived from additional BJS reports cited below. Some of the gender specific data for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 were compiled for the author by Paige M. Harrison of the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The author would like to thank Paige Harrison for providing the gender specific data tables.

Imprisonment data are yearend data (e.g. the female prison population in 2004 represents the female prison population on the very last day of 2004). Growth in female imprisonment from 1999 through 2004 therefore actually represents growth from 12/31/1999 through 12/31/2004 (e.g. over the first five years of the 21^st century). 

DATA SOURCES

Correctional Facilities

James J. Stephan and Jennifer C. Karberg (2003). Census of State and Federal Correctional Facilities, 2000. (NCJ 198272) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/csfcf00.pdf

1977-2004 Imprisonment Data

 Doris James and Paige Harrison (2005). Sentenced female prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. National Prisoner Statistics Data Series (NPS1). (File: corpop37; date of version: 12/06/2005). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

1999-2002 Imprisonment Data

The gender specific data for 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 were compiled for the author by Paige M. Harrison of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck (2004). Prisoners in 2003. (NCJ 205335) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p03.pdf 

Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck (2003). Prisoners in 2002. (NCJ 200248) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p02.pdf 

Paige M. Harrison and Allen J. Beck (2002). Prisoners in 2001. (NCJ 195189) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p01.pdf

Allen J. Beck and Paige M. Harrison (2001). Prisoners in 2000. (NCJ 188207) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online:

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p00.pdf

Allen J. Beck (2000). Prisoners in 1999. (NCJ 183476) U.S. Department of Justice: Bureau of Justice Statistics. Full report available online: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/p99.pdf

1977-1998 Imprisonment Data

Paige Harrison (2000). Sentenced female prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. National Prisoner Statistics Data Series (NPS1). (File: corpop37; date of version, 06/28/00). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Paige Harrison (2000). Sentenced male prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. National Prisoner Statistics Data Series (NPS1) – (File: corpop36; date of version, 06/28/00). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

George Hill and Paige Harrison (2000) Sentenced prisoners under State or Federal jurisdiction. National Prisoner Statistics Data Series (NPS1) – (File: corpop01; date of version, 10/26/00). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Population Estimates

1977-1999

U.S. Census Bureau (March 2003). United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division; Census Data for Public Health Research, CDC WONDER On-line Database, March 2003.

2000-2004

U.S. Census Bureau (2005) Table 2: Annual Estimates of the Population by Sex and Age. April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2004 (SC-EST2004-02-54). Source: Population Division, U.S. Census Bureau. (Release Date: March 2005). 

Go to Acknowledgements