1926-Present
Produces annual national- and state-level data on the number of prisoners in state and federal prison facilities. Aggregate data are collected on race and sex of prison inmates, inmates held in private facilities and local jails, system capacity, noncitizens, and persons age 17 or younger. Findings are released in the Prisoners series and the Corrections Statistical Analysis Tool (CSAT) - Prisoners. Data are from the 50 state departments of correction, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and until 2001, from the District of Columbia (after 2001, felons sentenced under the District of Columbia criminal code were housed in federal facilities).
Collection forms for December 31 are sent annually to central respondents in each of the 50 state departments of correction, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and 5 commonwealth territories. June 30 forms were sent to the central respondents through 2010, when the midyear collection was suspended pending redesign by BJS. Forms were sent to the District of Columbia until 2001, when its prison system ceased operations. As of December 31, 2001, sentenced felons from the District of Columbia are the responsibility of the federal Bureau of Prisons. Respondents are permitted to update the previous years' data when submitting the current year. Data are submitted online at a secure site.
Population Reports Midyear Counts (NPS-1a)
Advance Year-end Counts (NPS-1b -old)
Summary of Sentenced Population Movement (NPS 1b-new)
Prison Population Report (NPS-1BT)
NPS-Coronavirus Supplement (NPS-CPan)
Federal Prisoner Statistics Collected under the First Step Act, 2022
Impact of COVID-19 on State and Federal Prisons, March 2020–February 2021
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2020 – Statistical Tables
Suicide in Local Jails and State and Federal Prisons, 2000–2019 – Statistical Tables
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2019 – Statistical Tables
Federal Prisoner Statistics Collected under the First Step Act, 2020
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2017-2018
Data Collected Under the First Step Act, 2019
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2016
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2015
Aging of the State Prison Population, 1993-2013
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2014
Veterans in Prison and Jail, 2011-2012
Use of Restrictive Housing in U.S. Prisons and Jails, 2011-12
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2013
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2012
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2011
Correctional Populations in the United States, 2010
Prison Inmates at Midyear 2009 - Statistical Tables
Reported number of non-U.S. citizens held in state or federal prisons, by gender, region, and jurisdiction, June 30, 2007-2008
Reported number of inmates under age 18 held in state prisons, by gender, region, and jurisdiction, June 30, 2007-2008
Prison Inmates at Midyear 2008 - Statistical Tables
Estimated percent of sentenced prisoners under state jurisdiction, by offense, gender, race, and hispanic origin, yearend 2005
Prison Inmates at Midyear 2007
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2006
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2005
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003
Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2002
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2001
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2000
Medical Problems of Inmates, 1997
Correctional Populations in the United States, 1997
New Court Commitments Admitted to State or Federal Jurisdiction
Conditional Release Violators Returned to State or Federal Jurisdiction
Deaths among Prisoners
Prisoners Released Unconditionally
Persons Incarcerated
Prisoners Released
Incarceration Rates for Prisoners
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1999
Prisoners Released Conditionally
Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 1997
Correctional Populations in the United States, 1988
Correctional Populations in the United States, 1987
Correctional Populations in the United States, 1986
Correctional Populations in the United States, 1985
The following categories were added or altered over time: admission and release categories; race and ethnicity categories (1999, 2005); inmates held in local jails due to crowding (1978); inmates held in private facilities, local jails, and in another state (1999); persons age 17 or younger held (1998); non-U.S. citizens held (1998); and HIV information (1999).
The Prisoner Population Reports Midyear Counts (NPS-1A) survey was suspended pending redesign.
In 2021, BJS conducted a supplementary data collection as part of the NPS to measure the effects of the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic on state and federal prisoners, correctional staff, and facility operations (NPS-Coronavirus Supplement).