Between 1974 and 2001 the number of former prisoners living in the United States more than doubled, from 1,603,000 to 4,299,000. Relative to the adult population, the number of former prisoners totaled 2,045 per 100,000 adult U.S. residents in 2001, up from 1,102 per 100,000 in 1974. At yearend 2001, 1 in every 49 adults in the United States was a former prisoner.
Two-thirds of the increase in number ever incarcerated due to rise in first incarceration rates
Nearly two-thirds of the 3.8 million increase in the number of adults ever incarcerated in prison between 1974 and 2001 occurred as a result of an increase in the rates of first incarceration. In 1974 the number of persons admitted to prison for the first time totaled 44 per 100,000 adult residents. By 2001 the rate had nearly tripled, reaching 129 first admissions per 100,000 adults.
Over 40% of the total increase in first incarceration rates occurred between 1986 and 1991. First incarceration rates increased from 73 per 100,000 in 1986 to 111 in 1991.
About a third of the 3.8 million increase in the number ever incarcerated occurred as a result of growth in the U.S. resident population. Based on estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of residents 18 and older increased from 145 million in 1974 to 210 million in 2001. Had the rates of first incarceration remained stable at 1974 levels, the number of adults who had ever gone to prison would have increased by an estimated 1.3 million.
In every year, the rates of first incarceration varied by age (figure 1). In 2001 sharply higher first incarceration rates were found for each older birth cohort up to a peak of 350 per 100,000 at age 20. These rates then dropped steadily with each older age category.
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Figure 1
First incarceration rates rose sharply among persons under age 45
Number first incarcerated per 100,000 U.S. residents.*
Age at first
incarceration 1974 1986 1991 2001
12 0 0 0 0
13 0 0 1 0
14 1 0 6 0
15 6 8 27 12
16 25 29 67 58
17 66 81 139 152
18 107 143 219 254
19 142 203 295 325
20 140 217 307 350
21 143 209 306 344
22 133 188 274 329
23 132 172 285 304
24 113 164 261 285
25 92 153 254 280
26 81 142 227 274
27 79 128 224 282
28 79 116 210 262
29 68 116 189 268
30 55 112 179 244
31 45 107 164 243
32 40 93 148 217
33 38 87 123 206
34 36 82 120 196
35 38 78 125 198
36 36 74 126 195
37 34 68 114 177
38 28 64 103 153
39 23 56 92 129
40 21 50 83 123
41 18 43 75 116
42 18 38 63 122
43 16 42 56 114
44 15 41 48 98
45 13 41 46 77
46 12 34 44 65
47 12 33 45 58
48 11 35 46 53
49 10 28 44 43
50 10 26 35 42
51 8 15 27 42
52 9 16 25 41
53 7 12 27 36
54 7 16 30 28
55 8 15 33 25
56 7 14 28 21
57 6 10 25 18
58 4 9 19 17
59 4 9 19 16
60 2 7 15 15
61 2 5 10 16
62 3 5 12 19
63 3 7 12 15
64 4 7 11 11
65 3 5 5 4
66 2 2 4 2
67 2 2 3 3
68 3 5 3 4
69 2 4 5 5
70 2 3 7 5
71 2 2 7 6
72 2 2 4 4
73 1 2 3 1
74 0 0 2 0
75 0 0 4 0
76 0 0 2 3
77 0 0 2 3
78 0 0 2 3
79 0 0 5 0
80 0 0 5 0
*The number first incarcerated at each age divided by the number at
risk to first incarceration, times 100,000.
Note: 3-year averages were used to smooth age-specific rates.
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Between 1974 and 2001 the rate of first incarceration rose in nearly every age-specific category. The largest increases occurred among younger age cohorts -- those that already had high first incarceration rates. The peak incarceration rate increased by over 200 persons per 100,000 (from 143 at age 21 in 1974, to 350 at age 20 in 2001). Rates increased even among persons age 45 or older.
In 2001, 3 out of 10 adults ever incarcerated were age 35 to 44