Prevalence of Imprisonment in the U.S. Population, 1974-2001

by Thomas P. Bonczar

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Figure 2
Younger age groups experience rising rates of imprisonment
Percent ever incarcerated
Age 1974 1986 1991 2001
15 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
16 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0
17 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2
18 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.5
19 0.3 0.5 0.7 0.8
20 0.5 0.7 1.0 1.1
21 0.6 0.9 1.1 1.5
22 0.7 1.0 1.4 1.8
23 0.8 1.2 1.5 2.2
24 0.9 1.3 1.7 2.4
25 0.9 1.4 1.8 2.7
26 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.9
27 1.1 1.6 2.1 3.1
28 1.1 1.6 2.2 3.3
29 1.2 1.7 2.2 3.4
30 1.2 1.7 2.3 3.5
31 1.2 1.8 2.3 3.6
32 1.3 1.8 2.3 3.7
33 1.3 1.8 2.3 3.8
34 1.3 1.8 2.3 3.8
35 1.3 1.8 2.3 3.9
36 1.4 1.8 2.3 3.9
37 1.4 1.7 2.3 3.9
38 1.4 1.7 2.3 3.8
39 1.4 1.7 2.2 3.8
40 1.4 1.7 2.2 3.7
41 1.5 1.7 2.1 3.6
42 1.5 1.7 2.1 3.6
43 1.5 1.7 2.0 3.5
44 1.5 1.7 2.0 3.4
45 1.5 1.7 1.9 3.4
46 1.5 1.7 1.9 3.3
47 1.5 1.7 1.9 3.2
48 1.5 1.7 1.9 3.1
49 1.5 1.7 1.9 3.0
50 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.8
51 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.7
52 1.5 1.7 1.8 2.6
53 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.5
54 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.4
55 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.3
56 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.3
57 1.5 1.6 1.8 2.2
58 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.2
59 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.1
60 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.1
61 1.5 1.6 1.7 2.0
62 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0
63 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0
64 1.5 1.6 1.6 2.0
65 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.9
66 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.9
67 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.8
68 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.8
69 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.8
70 1.5 1.6 1.6 1.7
71 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7
72 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7
73 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7
74 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6
75 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.6
----------------------------------------------------------------------

More males than females and more blacks and Hispanics than whites had ever served time in prison

Nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) as women (581,000) had ever been incarcerated in a State or Federal prison at yearend 2001. As a percentage of all persons ever confined in prison, women increased from 7.8% in 1974 to 10.3% in 2001.

At yearend 2001 nearly as many blacks (2,166,000) as whites (2,203,000) had ever served time in prison; Hispanics numbered about half of either group (997,000). Together, blacks (39%) and Hispanics (18%) constituted a majority of those who had ever served time in prison in 2001. Whites accounted for 39% of all those ever incarcerated in 2001, down from 51% in 1974.

Over the 27-year period, the share of those who are black and Hispanic among persons ever incarcerated increased. The number of Hispanics rose nearly 10-fold (up from 102,000 in 1974) and the number of blacks more than tripled (up from 646,000), while the number of whites more than doubled (up from 922,000). As a result, blacks rose from 36% to 39% of all persons ever incarcerated, while Hispanics rose from 6% to 18%.

Nearly 17% of adult black males had ever served time in prison

In 2001 an estimated 16.6% of adult black males were current or former State or Federal prisoners -- a rate that was twice that of Hispanic males (7.7%), and 6 times that of white males (2.6%) (table 5).

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Table 5. Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State or
Federal prison, by gender, race, and Hispanic origin, 1974-2001
Percent of adult population ever incarcerated in a State
or Federal prison
1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001
Gender
Male 2.3% 2.4% 2.8% 3.4% 4.3% 4.9%
Female 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Race/Hispanic origin
White* 0.8% 0.8% 0.9% 1.1% 1.3% 1.4%
Male 1.4 1.5 1.7 1.9 2.3 2.6
Female 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.3
Black* 4.5% 4.6% 5.2% 6.2% 7.9% 8.9%
Male 8.7 8.9 9.9 12.0 15.0 16.6
Female 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.3 1.7
Hispanic 1.3% 1.4% 2.0% 2.7% 3.8% 4.3%
Male 2.3 2.6 3.6 4.9 6.7 7.7
Female 0.2 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.6 0.7
Note: Percents were based on intercensal resident population estimates
from the U.S. Census Bureau. See Methodology for data sources.
*Excludes persons of Hispanic origin.
U.S. adult resident population
1974 1979 1986 1991 1997 2001
Gender
Male 69,217,000 76,388,000 83,973,550 90,362,099 95,948,130 101,492,258
Female 76,133,000 84,072,000 91,913,080 97,620,652 103,173,604 108,715,643
Race/Hispanic origin
White* 120,878,496 132,166,671 140,455,378 145,134,029 149,184,485 153,174,207
Male 57,704,209 63,114,508 67,150,845 69,718,665 71,989,995 74,217,435
Female 63,173,779 69,055,203 73,304,533 75,415,364 77,194,490 78,956,773
Black* 14,406,407 16,544,671 18,682,074 20,687,638 22,627,733 24,466,606
Male 6,593,640 7,543,858 8,517,413 9,465,170 10,401,742 11,287,707
Female 7,813,782 8,999,844 10,164,661 11,222,468 12,225,991 13,178,900
Hispanic 7,998,062 8,854,010 11,956,854 15,677,988 19,181,910 22,949,502
Male 3,923,600 4,353,052 6,003,930 8,022,134 9,674,049 11,452,968
Female 4,074,628 4,500,532 5,952,924 7,655,854 9,507,861 11,496,534
Note: Because of estimation and other rounding procedures, some detail
may not add to totals and may not match precisely totals in other tables.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Female rates, though significantly lower, reveal similar racial and ethnic disparities. Adult black females were nearly 2 1/2 times more likely than adult Hispanic females and 5 1/2 times more likely than adult white females to have ever served time in State or Federal prison.