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In 2020, the imprisonment rate was 358 per 100,000 U.S. residents, the lowest since 1992. From 2010 to 2020, the sentenced imprisonment rate for U.S. residents fell 37% among blacks; 32% among Hispanics; 32% among Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacific Islanders; 26% among whites; and 25% among American Indians and Alaska Natives.
About 20% of all jail inmates were held for federal, state, or tribal government authorities at midyear 2020, an increase from 16% at midyear 2019 (table 8). Jail inmates held for state prison authorities declined 12,300 (down 16%) from 2015 to 2019, but remained stable from 2019 to 2020 (table 8).
In 2020, the number of persons held in state or federal prisons in the United States declined 15%, from 1,430,200 at yearend 2019 to 1,215,800 at yearend 2020. Only Alaska showed an increase (2%) in its prison population, while other jurisdictions showed declines of 7% to 31%.
In 2020, the imprisonment rate was 358 per 100,000 U.S. residents, the lowest since 1992. From 2010 to 2020, the sentenced imprisonment rate for U.S. residents fell 37% among blacks; 32% among Hispanics; 32% among Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Other Pacifc Islanders; 26% among whites; and 25% among American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Imprisonment rates of U.S. residents, based on sentenced prisoners under the jurisdiction of state or federal correctional authorities, per 100,000 U.S. residents, by race or ethnicity, 2010–2020.
The number of people incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails in the United States dropped from around 2.1 million in 2019 to 1.8 million by mid-2020—a 14 percent decrease. This decline held through the fall. This represents a 21 percent decline from a peak of 2.3 million people in prison and jail in 2008.
People in Jail and Prison in 2020. January 2021. The United States saw an unprece-dented drop in total incarceration between 2019 and 2020. 2019 to 1.8 million by late 2020. This represents a 21 percent decline from a peak of 2.3 million . uring the first hal.