At the end of last year, there were 1,230,100 persons in state or federal prisons, an increase of 2% or 25,100 from 2021, reports the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
“This rise erased the 1% decline reported in 2021 and marked the first increase in the combined state and federal prison population in almost a decade, said BJS Acting Director Kevin Scott.
Last year, state and federal prisons admitted 469,200 persons to prison, 20,800 more than they released and 48,200 more than they admitted the year before.
The imprisonment rate at yearend 2022 (355 sentenced prisoners per 100,000 U.S. residents was down 26% from yearend 2012 (480 per 100,000) but up 1% from yearend 2021 (350 per 100,000).
The number of women in state or federal prison increased almost 5% from yearend 2021 (83,700) to yearend 2022 (87,800).
As of year-end 2022, an estimated 32% of sentenced state and federal prisoners were black; 31% were white; 23% were Hispanic; 2% were American Indian or Alaska Native; and 1% were Asian, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.
Nine states and the BOP increased their total prison populations by over 1,000 persons from 2021 to 2022.
Ninety-six percent of persons in U.S. prisons in 2022 were sentenced to more than 1 year under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities (1,185,600).