City and county jails in the US held 663,100 people at on June 28, 2022. ("Rates are based on the number of inmates held on the last weekday in June.") Note: the jail population figure is only a one-day snapshot. There were a total of 7,300,000 admissions to jails in the US throughout the 12-month period ending June 30, 2022.
Demographics of the jail population on that date are as follows:
570,200 male, 92,900 female.
Juveniles: 1,700 held as adults, 200 held as juveniles.
Racial demographics were as follows:
White: 317,100
Black: 234,900
Hispanic: 93,700
American Indian/Alaska native: 9,500
Asian/native Hawaiian/other Pacific islander: 4,800
Two or more races: 2,000
Only 197,000 people confined to a local jail had been convicted of any crimes and had either already been sentenced or were awaiting sentencing. The remaining 466,100 people confined to local jails were unconvicted and awaiting court action on a current charge or held in jai for other reasons.
" Local jails held 92,900 females at midyear 2022, accounting for 14% of the jail inmate population. From 2021 to 2022, the number of females in jail increased 9%, while the number of males increased 3% (table 2).
" From 2012 to 2022, the number of persons age 17 or younger in jail decreased from 5,400 to 1,900, averaging a 10% decline per year (table 2).
" The total number of adults in jail increased 4%, from 634,400 in 2021 to 661,100 in 2022. The growth was concentrated among older adults, with approximately an 8% increase for those ages 35–64 and an 18% increase for those age 65 or older; the numbers of persons ages 18–24 and 25–34 did not change from 2021 to 2022 (table 2).
" The number of persons in jail who were black increased 6% (up 13,700 inmates) from 2021 to 2022, accounting for more than 50% of the jail population increase (up 26,800 inmates) during this period. In comparison, whites accounted for 26% of the increase in inmate population (table 2).
" The racial and ethnic composition of the jail population remained stable from 2021 to 2022. At midyear 2022, about 48% of all persons held in jail were white, 35% were black, and 14% were Hispanic. American Indian or Alaska Native persons, Asian persons, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander persons, and persons of two or more races together accounted for 3% of the total jail population (table 3)."
Zhen Zeng, PhD. Jail Inmates In 2022 - Statistical Tables. Washington, DC: US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics. December 2023. NCJ307086.
