Nevada's Incarceration Rate Falls Below National Average with Fully State-Run Prisons

The U.S. prison population stands at approximately 1.25 million, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Nearly all of these individuals (96%) were sentenced to more than one year. The majority (88%) are held directly in state and federal facilities, with the remainder in private prisons or local jails under jurisdictional authority.

The prison population reached a decade low of about 1.2 million in 2021, largely due to COVID-19-related releases and reduced admissions. The all-time high of roughly 1.6 million prisoners peaked in 2009. Today’s total is 22% below the 2009 number.

Nevada's incarceration rate is 327 per 100,000 residents, which is 9.2% below the national average of 360 per 100,000, ranking the state 22nd among all states. Over the past decade, the state's incarceration rate has dropped by nearly 25%, in line with declines in 44 other states.

Southern states generally have the highest incarceration rates. Mississippi tops the nation at 652 per 100,000 residents. Northeastern states, by contrast, tend to have the lowest rates—for example, Massachusetts at 96 per 100,000.

Unlike many other jurisdictions, Nevada houses 100% of its prisoners in state-run facilities, with no use of private prisons or local jails for this purpose.

The Nevada Department of Corrections operates the state's prison system on a biennial budget of approximately $490 million in general fund appropriations. This supports roughly 10,500–11,000 inmates, equating to an average annual cost of about $45,000 per inmate. The system continues to face significant financial pressures from staffing shortages, driving annual overtime costs and contributing to shortfalls like the $53 million hole reported in recent years, prompting program cuts and legislative adjustments.