HIV in Prisons, 2023 - Statistical Tables Full Report

Laura M. Maruschak
BJS Statistician

June 2025
NCJ 309975

Introduction

At yearend 2023, an estimated 12,460 (1.1%) persons in the custody of state and federal correctional facilities were known to be living with HIV in 2023. The population of state and federal prisoners living with HIV fell for 23 straight years, from a peak of 25,980 at yearend 1998 to 11,810 at yearend 2021, before increasing in 2022 and 2023 (figure 1). Between yearend 2019 and yearend 2020, the number of persons in custody living with HIV decreased from 14,180 to 12,060, which was the largest 1-year decline (down 2,120) observed since data collection began in 1991. The number declined again between yearend 2020 and yearend 2021 (down 250 persons). By yearend 2023, the number had increased by 390 between 2021 and 2022 and another 260 between 2022 and 2023. The annual changes observed in persons in custody living with HIV between 2019 and 2023 mirrored the changes observed in the overall state and federal prison population, resulting in a relatively stable percentage of persons in custody living with HIV.

Figure 1. Persons living with HIV and rate of HIV per 100,000 persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, yearend 1991–2023

Bar chart showing decline of the population of state and federal prisoners living with HIV for 23 years from its peak in 1998 to 2021. As the prison population has increased between 2021 and 2023, so has the number of persons living with HIV.

Note: See appendix table 1 for estimates.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 1991–2023.

Highlights

At yearend 2023, an estimated 12,460 persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities were known to be living with HIV, an increase of 2% from yearend 2022 (12,200).
From yearend 2022 to yearend 2023, the number of males in state and federal prison living with HIV increased from 11,500 to 11,710 (up 2%), and the number of females increased from 700 to 750 (up 7%).
Of the 50 jurisdictions reporting their HIV testing practices in 2023, 58% (29) conducted opt-out HIV testing during intake.
All 50 reporting jurisdictions offered an HIV test under one or more circumstances to persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities in 2023.
In 2023, 52% (26) of the 50 reporting jurisdictions tested for HIV at discharge only if the inmate requested a test.

About this report

Findings in this report are based on the 1991–2023 Bureau of Justice Statistics’ National Prisoners Statistics (NPS) program, which collects prisoner data from state departments of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. See Methodology for information about the data collection and study design.

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HIV among persons in state and federal prison

At yearend 2023, an estimated 12,460 persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities were known to be living with HIV, an increase of about 2% from yearend 2022 (12,200) (table 1). This increase largely reflected the increase of persons in state prison living with HIV, from 10,900 to 11,200 persons. Offsetting the increase was the small decline (down 36) from 1,298 to 1,262 persons living with HIV in federal prison.

Table 1. Persons living with HIV in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, yearend 2019–2023
		Number living with HIV					Percent of prison population living with HIV^a
Jurisdiction		2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
	U.S. total^b,c	14,180	12,060	11,810	12,200	12,460	1.2%	1.2%	1.1%	1.1%	1.1%
Federal^d		1,477	1,144	1,216	1,298	1,262	1.0%	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%	0.9%
State^b,c		12,700	10,920	10,600	10,900	11,200	1.2%	1.2%	1.2%	1.2%	1.2%
	Alabama	195	179	185	217	284	0.9	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.3
	Alaska^e	20	20	20	20	20	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
	Arizona	217	265	191	185	294	0.6	0.9	0.7	0.8	1.2
	Arkansas	138	117	127	135	158	0.9	0.8	0.9	0.9	1.0
	California	953	720	780	755	752	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8	0.8
	Colorado	141	93	97	114	116	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
	Connecticut^e	114	70	103	107	110	1.0	0.8	1.1	1.1	1.1
	Delaware^e	59	40	38	49	34	1.2	0.9	0.8	1.1	0.7
	Florida	2,271	1,930	1,863	1,980	1,903	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.6
	Georgia	767	632	574	634	656	1.8	1.7	1.6	1.7	1.7
	Hawaii^e	19	18	16	15	18	0.5	0.6	0.5	0.5	0.6
	Idaho	23	31	37	39	25	0.3	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.3
	Illinois	346	205	195	324	209	0.9	0.7	0.7	1.1	0.7
	Indiana	229	205	213	144	166	1.0	1.0	1.1	0.8	0.9
	Iowa	34	38	30	40	48	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.6
	Kansas	38	7	45	48	41	0.4	0.1	0.5	0.6	0.4
	Kentucky	75	58	53	65	68	0.7	0.6	0.6	0.7	0.7
	Louisiana	431	431	337	332	313	2.9	3.1	2.5	2.6	2.3
	Maine	11	8	10	6	10	0.5	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.5
	Maryland	280	211	271	212	235	1.5	1.4	1.8	1.4	1.5
	Massachusetts	110	92	85	72	74	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.2	1.3
	Michigan	354	208	212	198	220	0.9	0.6	0.7	0.6	0.7
	Minnesota	58	43	36	45	47	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.6	0.6
	Mississippi	234	205	210	213	204	2.3	2.6	2.5	2.1	1.9
	Missouri	213	190	202	188	195	0.8	0.8	0.9	0.8	0.8
	Montana	11	10	9	3	8	0.6	0.6	0.5	0.2	0.4
	Nebraska	18	30	33	32	20	0.3	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.3
	Nevada	113	118	138	106	108	0.9	1.1	1.4	1.1	1.1
	New Hampshire	20	10	10	4	9	0.7	0.6	0.5	0.2	0.5
	New Jersey	92	65	67	65	132	0.6	0.6	0.6	0.6	1.3
	New Mexico	28	29	22	26	23	0.4	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.4
	New York	679	495	415	432	427	1.6	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3
	North Carolina	353	416	400	438	434	1.0	1.4	1.4	1.5	1.4
	North Dakota	8	7	11	9	10	0.5	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.7
	Ohio	420	380	366	402	403	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
	Oklahoma	89	94	124	136	141	0.5	0.5	0.7	0.8	0.7
	Oregon	70	60	53	59	59	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.5	0.5
	Pennsylvania	529	569	512	412	416	1.2	1.5	1.4	1.1	1.1
	Rhode Island^e	32	18	15	19	16	1.2	0.9	0.7	0.9	0.7
	South Carolina	256	229	223	239	243	1.4	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5
	South Dakota	13	13	11	71	16	0.4	0.4	0.3	2.1	0.5
	Tennessee	205	202	180	177	174	1.8	1.9	1.7	1.5	1.4
	Texas	1,904	1,608	1,583	1,664	1,857	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.5
	Utah	45	55	38	29	25	0.9	1.4	0.9	0.7	0.5
	Vermont^e	10	7	5	4	4	0.5	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.3
	Virginia	276	276	256	252	274	1.0	1.2	1.2	1.1	1.2
	Washington	68	64	55	45	53	0.4	0.4	0.4	0.3	0.4
	West Virginia	30	21	23	23	33	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.4	0.6
	Wisconsin	104	105	109	101	101	0.4	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
	Wyoming	9	14	4	13	8	0.5	0.8	0.2	0.7	0.5

Note: Estimated data for states that did not report data are in red. See Methodology. For the total number of persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, 2019–2023, see appendix table 4.
^aYearend custody counts were used to calculate rates for all jurisdictions except New Mexico and Colorado. Custody counts exclude prisoners held in private facilities and local jails. See Methodology. See appendix table 4 for denominators used to calculate percentages.
^bIncludes estimates of prisoners living with HIV in states that did not report data. See Methodology.
^cEstimates were rounded to the nearest 10 after unrounded counts were summed.
^dAs of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for felony offenses from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; therefore, specific counts for the District of Columbia are not included in this table.
^ePrisons and jails form one integrated system. Data include total prison and jail populations.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2019–2023.

From yearend 2022 to yearend 2023, the number of males in state and federal prison living with HIV increased from 11,500 to 11,710 (up 2%), and the number of females increased from 700 to 750 (up 7%) (table 2). Since 1993, the first year for which data are available by sex, the number of males living with HIV decreased by 41% (8,150 fewer at yearend 2023), and the number of females decreased by 62% (1,210 fewer at yearend 2023).

Table 2. Persons living with HIV in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by sex, yearend 1993–2023
Year	Male					Female
Year	Total Number	Federal Number	State Number	Rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners^a	State and federal prison population^b	Total Number	Federal Number	State Number	Rate per 100,000 state and federal prisoners^a	State and federal prison population^b
1993	19,860	870	18,990	2,314	858,093	1,960	90	1,870	3,818	51,287
1994	20,960	870	20,090	2,246	933,135	2,090	90	2,000	3,681	56,856
1995	22,170	750	21,420	2,185	1,014,425	2,350	80	2,270	3,666	63,986
1996	21,940	860	21,080	2,074	1,057,749	2,370	90	2,280	3,379	70,006
1997	22,030	930	21,100	1,996	1,104,027	2,400	100	2,300	3,256	73,586
1998	23,250	970	22,280	2,028	1,146,317	2,730	100	2,630	3,496	78,041
1999	23,380	1,049	22,330	2,056	1,137,099	2,560	107	2,460	3,308	77,479
2000	22,910	1,193	21,720	1,994	1,149,052	2,600	109	2,490	3,300	78,805
2001	21,890	1,400	20,490	1,877	1,166,350	2,330	120	2,210	2,934	79,519
2002	21,830	1,431	20,400	1,823	1,197,279	2,280	116	2,170	2,705	84,402
2003	21,650	1,509	20,140	1,777	1,218,550	2,270	122	2,150	2,576	88,193
2004	21,060	1,568	19,490	1,698	1,240,092	2,100	112	1,990	2,289	91,841
2005	20,830	1,491	19,340	1,667	1,249,940	2,080	101	1,980	2,241	92,905
2006	20,520	1,425	19,100	1,603	1,279,973	2,200	105	2,100	2,254	97,640
2007	19,920	1,576	18,340	1,540	1,293,286	2,090	103	1,980	2,114	98,674
2008	19,850	1,460	18,390	1,530	1,297,790	1,930	78	1,850	1,957	98,616
2009	19,180	1,495	17,680	1,474	1,300,853	1,870	95	1,780	1,925	97,286
2010	18,510	1,498	17,010	1,424	1,299,313	1,780	80	1,700	1,838	97,060
2011	18,180	1,528	16,650	1,419	1,281,324	1,570	82	1,490	1,642	95,543
2012	17,670	1,518	16,150	1,412	1,251,858	1,500	83	1,420	1,616	92,938
2013	17,590	1,529	16,060	1,404	1,253,235	1,410	79	1,330	1,456	96,588
2014	16,410	1,483	14,930	1,320	1,243,692	1,310	81	1,230	1,343	97,377
2015	15,940	1,461	14,470	1,305	1,220,803	1,220	75	1,150	1,287	95,093
2016	14,740	1,431	13,310	1,227	1,201,416	1,010	61	950	1,068	94,612
2017	14,130	1,442	12,690	1,194	1,183,592	960	66	890	1,001	95,667
2018	13,940	1,478	12,460	1,198	1,163,201	980	76	900	1,028	95,247
2019	13,300	1,415	11,890	1,169	1,137,748	880	62	820	953	92,074
2020	11,400	1,105	10,290	1,176	969,050	660	39	620	958	69,223
2021	11,200	1,171	10,030	1,165	961,639	610	45	570	872	70,042
2022	11,500	1,254	10,240	1,163	989,096	700	44	660	948	73,876
2023	11,710	1,223	10,490	1,156	1,012,586	750	39	710	972	77,228

Note: Between one and eight states did not report the number of persons living with HIV, by sex, in each year of the 31-year period from 1993 to 2023. The Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) did not report data from 1993 to 1998. Data were imputed through various methods for jurisdictions not reporting data; therefore, numbers presented are estimates. Numbers in red are estimates for the FBOP in years for which data were not reported. For state and U.S. totals, counts were rounded to the nearest 10 after unrounded estimates and reported counts were summed. See Methodology.
^aBased on unrounded estimates of the number of prisoners who were known to be HIV-positive or had confirmed AIDS.
^bYearend custody counts were used to calculate rates for all jurisdictions except New Mexico and Colorado. Custody counts exclude prisoners held in private facilities and local jails. See Methodology.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 1993–2023.

HIV testing during intake process

Of the 50 jurisdictions reporting their HIV testing practices in 2023, 58% (29) conducted opt-out HIV testing during intake (map 1). With this practice, all those admitted to prison were offered and given the test unless they declined it. Twenty-six percent (13) of jurisdictions reported mandatory testing of persons admitted, and 6% (3) offered all prison admissions an HIV test that they had to opt in to receive.

Map 1. HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems during the intake process, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023

Map showing the jurisdictions which conducted opt-out HIV testing during intake.

Note: As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for felony offenses from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; therefore, specific testing practices for the District of Columbia are not included. Other HIV testing practices at intake reported by jurisdictions included not testing those who previously tested positive for HIV; testing upon request based on clinical indication; and reporting both opt-in testing and testing upon assessment. See appendix table 2.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2023.

HIV testing while in custody

All 50 reporting jurisdictions offered an HIV test under one or more circumstances to persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities in 2023 (table 3). HIV testing on the prisoner’s request—the most common testing practice for persons in custody—was reported by 92% (46) of jurisdictions. Eighty-eight percent (44) of jurisdictions in 2023 conducted HIV testing upon clinical indication, and 86% (43) provided the test after involvement in an incident. Thirty-six percent (18) of jurisdictions offered HIV tests during routine medical exams of persons in custody.

Table 3. HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems while in custody, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023
Jurisdiction		Offered during routine medical exam	For high-risk groups	On prisoner request	On clinical indication	On court order	After involvement in an incident	Other
Federal			▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
State
	Alabama			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Alaska	/	/	/	/	/	/	/
	Arizona			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Arkansas		▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	California	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪
	Colorado	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Connecticut	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Delaware	▪		▪		▪	▪
	Florida	▪
	Georgia			▪	▪		▪
	Hawaii	▪		▪	▪	▪
	Idaho			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Illinois			▪	▪		▪
	Indiana	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Iowa				▪		▪
	Kansas			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Kentucky		▪	▪	▪		▪
	Louisiana			▪	▪		▪
	Maine			▪	▪
	Maryland	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Massachusetts	▪		▪	▪		▪
	Michigan	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Minnesota				▪	▪	▪
	Mississippi		▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Missouri	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪
	Montana			▪	▪		▪	▪
	Nebraska			▪		▪	▪
	Nevada			▪	▪		▪
	New Hampshire	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	New Jersey		▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	New Mexico			▪	▪
	New York	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	North Carolina							▪
	North Dakota		▪	▪			▪
	Ohio			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Oklahoma		▪	▪	▪		▪
	Oregon	▪	▪	▪	▪		▪
	Pennsylvania	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪
	Rhode Island	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	South Carolina			▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	South Dakota		▪	▪	▪	▪	▪
	Tennessee		▪	▪	▪		▪
	Texas	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪
	Utah			▪	▪		▪
	Vermont			▪	▪	▪	▪
	Virginia			▪	▪		▪
	Washington			▪	▪		▪
	West Virginia			▪
	Wisconsin	▪		▪	▪	▪	▪
	Wyoming			▪	▪		▪
Number of jurisdictions		18	17	46	44	29	43	7
Percent of reporting jurisdictions		36%	34%	92%	88%	58%	86%	14%

Note: Alaska did not report data on testing practices while prisoners were in custody. As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for felony offenses from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; therefore, specific testing practices for the District of Columbia are not included in this table. Other HIV testing practices while in custody included testing before, during, and after prisoner participation in a medication-assisted treatment program; after suspected exposure to bloodbourne pathogens; at regular intervals; during intrasystem transfers; and upon sentencing.
/Not reported.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2023.

HIV testing during discharge planning

In 2023, 52% (26) of the 50 reporting jurisdictions tested for HIV at discharge only if the inmate requested a test (map 2). Fourteen percent (7) of jurisdictions offered HIV testing to all persons being discharged. Another 14% (7) of jurisdictions reported other discharge testing practices to include but not limited to mandatory testing and testing within a period before release.

Map 2. HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems during discharge planning, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023

Map showing the jurisdictions tested for HIV at discharge only if the inmate requested a test.

Note: As of December 31, 2001, persons sentenced for felony offenses from the District of Columbia were the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Prisons; therefore, specific testing practices for the District of Columbia are not included. Other HIV testing practices at discharge reported by jurisdictions included mandatory testing upon release or if granted parole; testing at discharge (unless known to be HIV positive); testing within 90 to 120 days of scheduled release; and testing upon request based on clinical indication. See appendix table 3.
Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, National Prisoner Statistics, 2023.

Download data tables

Table 1. Persons living with HIV in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, yearend 2019–2023	Download csv (4K)
Table 2. Persons living with HIV in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by sex, yearend 1993–2023	Download csv (4K)
Table 3. HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems while in custody, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023	Download csv (2K)
Appendix table 1. Estimates for figure 1: Persons living with HIV and rate of HIV per 100,000 persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, yearend 1991–2023	Download csv (14K)
Appendix table 2. Table for map 1: HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems during the intake process, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023	Download csv (11K)
Appendix table 3. Table for map 2: HIV testing practices of state and federal prison systems during discharge planning, by jurisdiction, yearend 2023	Download csv (12K)
Appendix table 4. Number of persons in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, by jurisdiction, 2019–2023	Download csv (12K)

Methodology

Started in 1926, the National Prisoner Statistics (NPS) program collects annual data on prisoners at yearend. The series collects data from the 50 state departments of corrections and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The NPS includes yearend counts of prisoners (by jurisdiction, sex, race, and Hispanic origin), admissions, and releases during the year. In 1991, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) began using the NPS to collect data on the number of persons living with HIV or confirmed AIDS while in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, and on HIV testing practices during the intake process, while in custody, and during discharge planning.

Imputation for nonreporting jurisdictions

Since BJS began collecting HIV data through the NPS, one to four jurisdictions per year have not reported the number of persons living with HIV in the custody of state and federal correctional authorities, and between one and nine jurisdictions have not reported the number of persons living with HIV by sex. To produce national and state totals of the number of persons living with HIV in prison, BJS imputed data for nonreporting jurisdictions. Nonreporting jurisdictions fell into two categories: those missing data for consecutive years either at the beginning (1991) or up to and including the end (2023) of the data collection period, and those missing data between years in which data were reported. See HIV in Prisons, 2021 – Statistical Tables for more details on imputation.

To produce national, federal, and state totals of the number of persons living with HIV in prison by sex, BJS imputed data for nonreporting jurisdictions. Estimates were calculated by applying the distribution of HIV cases by sex, for the most recent year of reported data to the reported or estimated total number of persons living with HIV.

Rate of HIV among persons in prison

To calculate the estimated rate of HIV per 100,000 state and federal prisoners, the estimated yearend count of persons in prison who had HIV was divided by the yearend custody population for each year and multiplied by 100,000. To have custody, a state or federal prison must physically hold that person in one of its facilities. Custody counts exclude persons held in private facilities or local jails. Yearend jurisdiction counts from 1991 to 1998 and yearend custody plus private facility counts from 1999 to 2023 were included in the denominator used to calculate New Mexico’s HIV rate because the state has been unable to separate the number of persons in its custody from the number under its jurisdiction or held in private facilities who were living with HIV. Yearend jurisdiction counts from 2016 to 2023 were included in the denominator used to calculate Colorado’s HIV rate because the state was unable to separate the number of persons in its custody from the number under its jurisdiction who were living with HIV.

How to cite this report

Bureau of Justice Statistics, "HIV in Prisons, 2023 – Statistical Tables," June 2025:
https://bjs.ojp.gov/web-report/hiv-prisons-2023-statistical-tables

The Bureau of Justice Statistics of the U.S. Department of Justice is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring crime, criminal victimization, criminal offenders, victims of crime, correlates of crime, and the operation of criminal and civil justice systems at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels. BJS collects, analyzes, and disseminates reliable statistics on crime and justice systems in the United States, supports improvements to state and local criminal justice information systems, and participates with national and international organizations to develop and recommend national standards for justice statistics.

This report was written by Laura M. Maruschak. Derek Mueller, PhD, and Stephanie Mueller verified the report.

Maureen Stuart edited the report. Vesela Kostadinova produced this report.

June 2025, NCJ 309975

Date Created: January 15, 2025