Methodology

Since 2017, the CSG Justice Center, Correctional Leaders Association, and Arnold Ventures have worked together to collect annual survey data from all 50 state departments of corrections on their prison admissions and populations (resulting in data collections from 2018 through 2023).   

The intention of these data collections has been to help build state capacity to report on the impact of supervision violations on prison admissions and populations more accurately and to better understand how supervision revocation populations change year to year. 

Number of Admissions and People Incarcerated from Community Supervision by State 

In these surveys, states were asked to report on the number of unique admissions to prison from individuals who were serving community supervision sentences, as well as the type of violation that led to the period of incarceration. They were also asked questions about the number of individuals incarcerated on any given day for violating the terms of their community supervision, as well as the types of violations that led to their admissions.   

Data across states are not necessarily comparable because of differences in state systems, data definitions, and the data that was available from each department of corrections. However, states provided information about what data they were able or not able to provide, as well as any important context to understanding their data in the survey. These are included in the STATE DASHBOARD section of this report under State Notes.   

All data are available for download on the website as well.  

Demographic Data by State

The most recent survey (2022–2023) asked states to provide data for each of the metrics by race and ethnicity, as well as gender/sex. We recoded the groups to follow standards on race and ethnicity set by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 1997 to compute incarceration rates. These standards guide how the federal government collects and presents data on these topics. Per these standards:

• The U.S. Census collected data on Hispanic origin and race in two separate questions. 
• For race, the OMB standards identify five minimum categories:
  • White
  • Black or African American
  • American Indian or Alaska Native
  • Asian
  • Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

These data were then used to calculate relative incarceration rates to detail disparities within race/ethnicity and gender groups. See the STATE DASHBOARD for more details.

Cost of Incarceration Per State 

The annual survey also collected information on the average cost of incarceration per individual from each state. The average cost of incarceration is generally calculated as the annual total correctional budget divided by the number of people who were incarcerated. This differs from the marginal cost, which would represent the cost of housing one additional person. Note: Since the CSG Justice Center reports the average cost per individual, reliable conclusions cannot be made about how much a state would save or spend if the prison populations change.   

For more detailed information about the analysis conducted for this project, read the technical analysis report.