State rankings
Recidivism Rates by State
Delaware has the highest 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) in 2024 (55.9%), followed by Alaska (54.3%) and Arkansas (46.1%). Virginia has the lowest (17.6%).
Crime & SafetyPolitics & Government50 states · 5 metricsUpdated Aug 17, 2026Original page
13 sources
- State Recidivism Comparison 2022 - Virginia Department of Corrections
- News. Policy. Trends. - North Carolina
- Offender Recidivism - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
- Statistical Trends - Georgia Department of Corrections
- Recidivism Update 2018 - State of Hawaii
- Community reentry program for prisoners reduces recidivism - CalMatters.org
- Why Recidivism Rates are Dropping - Georgia Center for Opportunity
- Oregon Recidivism Analysis - Nov 2022 - Oregon Criminal Justice Commission
- Second chances: New Tennessee law aims to keep released prisoners from returning - ABC News
- Biennial Reentry and Reintegration Services Report - Texas Department of Criminal Justice
- State Recidivism Comparison 2024 - Virginia Department of Corrections
- State Recidivism Comparison 2023 - Virginia Department of Corrections
- 50 States, 1 Goal: Recidivism Rate Trends Over the Past Decade - CSG
34 of 51 states
3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC), 2024
Green is better, red is worse (lower is better). Click a place to highlight it.
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All 34 ranked
Best 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
31.9%
Middle half 25.8% – 35.6%
Average
32.0%
34 states
Lowest (best)
17.6%
Virginia
Highest (worst)
55.9%
Delaware
Over time · 2018–2024
The top 5 in 2024, against the median.
- Median of all states
- Virginia
- Minnesota
- New York
- South Dakota
- South Carolina
Data
Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.
45 states · # = rank by 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC)
| # | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Virginia | 17.6% | Virginia (VA) waits at least four years to compute the three-year re-incarceration rate to assure all court orders are accounted for. |
| 2 |  Minnesota | 19.0% | — |
| 3 |  New York | 19.1% | — |
| 4 |  South Dakota | 20.2% | — |
| 5 |  South Carolina | 20.7% | — |
| 6 |  Florida | 21.2% | — |
| 7 |  Washington | 22.1% | — |
| 8 |  Michigan | 22.7% | — |
| 9 |  Massachusetts | 25.7% | — |
| 10 |  Nevada | 26.2% | — |
| 11 |  Colorado | 28.0% | — |
| 12 |  Arizona | 28.2% | — |
| 13 |  New Jersey | 28.6% | — |
| 14 |  Missouri | 29.2% | — |
| 14 |  Alabama | 29.2% | — |
| 14 |  Montana | 29.2% | — |
| 17 |  Wisconsin | 31.7% | — |
| 18 |  Louisiana | 32.1% | — |
| 19 |  Ohio | 32.7% | — |
| 20 |  Kansas | 33.5% | — |
| 21 |  Mississippi | 34.2% | — |
| 22 |  Pennsylvania | 34.4% | — |
| 23 |  Indiana | 34.8% | — |
| 23 |  Kentucky | 34.8% | — |
| 25 |  West Virginia | 35.0% | — |
| 26 |  Iowa | 35.8% | — |
| 27 |  Illinois | 36.7% | — |
| 28 |  Idaho | 39.8% | — |
| 29 |  New Hampshire | 41.3% | — |
| 30 |  Connecticut | 44.0% | — |
| 31 |  Vermont | 45.4% | — |
| 32 |  Arkansas | 46.1% | Recidivism rate includes probation impositions. |
| 33 |  Alaska | 54.3% | — |
| 34 |  Delaware | 55.9% | Delaware operates as a unified correctional system, but instead of only using the broader unified-system measure, it also reports a separate recidivism measure based specifically on people who return to prison. |
| — |  California | — | Recidivism rate excludes parole violations. |
| — |  Texas | — | Recidivism rate does not include state jail rates. |
| — |  Georgia | — | Only reports reconviction recidivism figures. |
| — |  North Carolina | — | Only produces two-year follow-up recidivism rates. |
| — |  Tennessee | — | Recidivism rate includes people who are arrested and placed in jail who were not convicted of a crime, as well as people convicted of committing a new crime. |
| — |  Maryland | — | Recidivism rate includes convictions to new probation sentences (probation impositions). |
| — |  Oregon | — | Recidivism rate is based on a six-month release cohort and includes releases from prison and felons released from jails. |
| — |  Utah | — | Recidivism rate only includes releases to parole. |
| — |  New Mexico | — | Counts new charges and technical violations separately. |
| — |  Hawaii | — | Only reports re-arrest recidivism figures. |
| — |  Rhode Island | — | Recidivism rate includes awaiting-trial detainees. |
What correlates with 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) (2024)?
Pearson r against 2,105 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 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) tend to score higher on these (or rank better)
Opposite directions
Places that have a higher 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) tend to score lower on these (or rank worse)
Quick answers
- Which state has the highest 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC)?
- Delaware has the highest 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) in 2024, at 55.9%, followed by Alaska (54.3%) and Arkansas (46.1%).
- Which state has the lowest 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC)?
- Virginia has the lowest 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) in 2024, at 17.6%.
- What is the median 3-Year Re-Incarceration (VADOC) across US states?
- The median is 31.9% across the 34 US states with data in 2024.
- Where does this recidivism rates by state data come from?
- Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: State Recidivism Comparison 2022 - Virginia Department of Corrections; News. Policy. Trends. - North Carolina; Offender Recidivism - California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Statistical Trends - Georgia Department of Corrections.