State rankings

Federal Prisons by State

Texas has the highest Prisons (18), followed by California (13) and Pennsylvania (10). New Hampshire has the lowest (1).

35 of 51 states

Prisons

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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All 35 ranked

Highest first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one state; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median
3
Middle half 1 – 4.5
Average
3.77
35 states
Highest
18
Texas
Lowest
1
New Hampshire

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

36 states · # = rank by Prisons
#
1Texas18914,678
2California13811,235
3Pennsylvania1058,578
4Florida848,687
5West Virginia667,814
6Illinois545,414
6Georgia523,031
6North Carolina513,988
6Kentucky556,123
10New York413,194
10Arizona423,325
10Colorado423,195
10South Carolina444,189
10Louisiana424,291
10Mississippi414,009
16Virginia323,602
16Minnesota312,462
16Oklahoma312,351
19Ohio2—1,804
19Michigan2—1,287
19New Jersey223,521
19Indiana212,374
19Alabama232,566
19Connecticut21862
19Arkansas212,822
26Washington1—644
26Tennessee111,092
26Massachusetts11785
26Missouri1—863
26Maryland111,067
26Wisconsin11987
26Oregon111,475
26Kansas111,576
26Hawaii1—305
26New Hampshire11587
—South Dakota—1343

What correlates with Prisons?

Pearson r against 2,122 other state metrics sharing at least 21 states. Ranks are read by standing: a better rank counts as higher, whether rank 1 is the best place on a list or the worst. Correlation is not causation.

Higher together

Places that have a higher Prisons tend to score higher on these (or rank better)

  1. Net Summer CapacityElectricity Cost by State
    r = +0.90 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot
  2. Prisoners, HispanicPrison Population by State
    r = +0.89 · very strong · n = 33
    Plot
  3. Net GenerationElectricity Cost by State
    r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot
  4. Total Electricity GenerationElectricity Generation by State
    r = +0.87 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot
  5. Total PrisonersPrison Population by State
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot
  6. Uninsured PopulationUninsured People by State
    r = +0.86 · very strong · n = 35
    Plot

Opposite directions

Places that have a higher Prisons tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)

  1. White Alone % RegisteredVoters by Race by State
    r = −0.56 · strong · n = 35
    Plot
  2. Richest Person AgeRichest Person by State
    r = −0.53 · strong · n = 33
    Plot
  3. White Alone or in Combination % RegisteredVoters by Race by State
    r = −0.53 · strong · n = 35
    Plot
  4. InterestTax Deed States
    r = −0.51 · strong · n = 21
    Plot
  5. FTE Convictions RankMost Corrupt StatesA rank: rank 1 is the worst
    r = −0.50 · moderate · n = 35
    Plot
  6. % of Voting Population Who Are RegisteredRegistered Voters by State
    r = −0.50 · moderate · n = 35
    Plot

Quick answers

Which state has the highest Prisons?
Texas has the highest Prisons, at 18, followed by California (13) and Pennsylvania (10).
Which state has the lowest Prisons?
New Hampshire has the lowest Prisons, at 1.
What is the median Prisons across US states?
The median is 3 across the 35 US states with data.
Where does this federal prisons by state data come from?
Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: Federal Bureau of Prisons | Federal Prison - Zoikis; List of BOP locations - The Bureau of Prisons.