Jail Inmates in 2018

County and city jails in the United States held 738,400 inmates at midyear 2018 (table 1), a decline of 6% from 785,500 inmates held in 2008. The midyear population remained relatively stable from 2011 to 2018. At midyear 2018, about one-third of jail inmates (248,500) were sentenced or awaiting sentencing on a conviction, while about two-thirds (490,000) were awaiting court action on a current charge or were held for other reasons. Over the 10-year period from 2008 to 2018, the rate of incarceration in local jails dropped by 12%, from 258 inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents to 226 per 100,000 (fgure 1). During this period, the jail incarceration rate increased by 12% for whites and declined by about 30% for blacks (28%) and Hispanics (33%). Findings in this report are based on the Annual Survey of Jails (ASJ), a national survey of county, city, and regional jails. Since 1982, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has conducted the ASJ to provide nationwide statistics on the number and characteristics of local jail inmates, inmate turnover, jail capacity, and the usage of jail space.