US Counties With the Highest Prison Population Rates

2,593 US counties ranked by prison population rate, from highest to lowest. First are Schoolcraft County, MI (10,686), McPherson County, NE (3,435) and Carroll County, KY (3,338). The middle one of the 2,593 has 593.

What this measures

People in state prison who were sentenced in this county, wherever they are held now, per 100,000 residents aged 15 to 64. The middle county is 593. It is the reverse of the jail rate: it follows the county's own residents wherever they are sent, instead of counting whoever is inside its walls. Source: .

For most measures, a national ranking mostly sorts places by income and by how urban they are. Each county’s own page compares it with the 50 counties most like it instead, which is often the fairer view.

The 100 highest counties

More on prison population rate

• US Counties With the Lowest Prison Population Rates
• Prison population rate by US county: map by year and what it goes with

A ranking describes places, not the people in them, and a high or low place does not by itself say why. All US rankings.