How Many Federal Prisons Are There?

How Many Federal Prisons Are There

How many federal prisons are there?

In this article, you’ll learn about:

  • how many federal prisons there are
  • federal prison statistics
  • how many people are in prison and federal prison
  • a list of the federal prisons in each state
  • the number of federal prisons by state
  • federal prison vs state prison
  • how many federal prisons there are by security level

Let’s dig in. 

Table of Contents

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How Many Federal Prisons Are There?

There are 122 federal prisons in the United States.

The US federal prison system is responsible for the care, custody, and control of more than 183,000 inmates.

The average time served in the US federal prison system is 80 months.

Let’s look at other statistics for how many federal prisons there are.

Federal Prison Statistics

  • The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system.
  • The US federal prison population has more than doubled since 2000, increasing from 96,000 to over 215,000.
  • Approximately 54 percent of individuals in federal prison are incarcerated for drug offenses.
  • The majority of prisoners are incarcerated in facilities located in rural areas.
  • The US has the largest prison population in the world.
  • The federal prison system accounts for 13% of all US prisoners.
  • The US federal prison system has a budget of nearly $8 billion per year.
  • The BOP houses approximately 80,000 inmates in minimum, low, and medium security facilities.
  • The federal prison system provides inmates with recreational, educational, and vocational programs.
  • Federal prison inmates are supervised by more than 11,000 correctional officers.
  • ~60% of inmates in federal prisons are non-US citizens.
  • More than 60% of federal inmates are held in privately owned or operated facilities.
  • The recidivism rate for federal offenders is 27.4%.
  • The average daily cost to house a federal inmate is $90.
  • The average sentence length for drug possession in federal prison is 6.2 years.
  • The average sentence length for a violent crime in federal prison is 13.6 years.
  • Approximately 32% of the federal prison population is incarcerated for a violent offense.

Read More: How Many People Are In Jail For Weed

How Many People Are In Prison In The United States?

There are almost 2 million prisoners in the US held in:

  • 1,566 state prisons
  • 122 federal prisons
  • 3,116 local jails
  • 1,323 juvenile correctional facilities
  • 181 immigration detention facilities
  • 80 Indian country jails

How Many Federal Prisoners Are There?

There are ~183,000 federal prisoners in the US. 

Read More: Can Felons Vote

List Of Federal Prisons By State

Here is a list of federal prisons in each state. 

StateFederal Prisons
AlabamaAliceville FCI, Montgomery FPC, Talladega FCI
ArizonaPhoenix FCI, Phoenix RRM, Safford FCI, Tucson FCC
ArkansasForrest City FCC
CaliforniaAtwater USP, Dublin FCI, Herlong FCI, Lompoc FCC, Long Beach RRM, Los Angeles MDC, Mendota FCI, Sacramento RRM, San Diego MCC, Terminal Island FCI, Victorville FCC
ColoradoEnglewood FCI, Florence FCC
ConnecticutDanbury FCI
District of ColumbiaCentral Office HQ
FloridaColeman FCC, Marianna FCI, Miami FCI, Miami FDC, Miami RRM, Orlando RRM, Pensacola FPC, Tallahassee FCI
GeorgiaAtlanta RRM, Atlanta USP, Edgefield FCI, Jesup FCI
HawaiiHonolulu FDC
IllinoisChicago MCC, Chicago RRM, Greenville FCI, Marion USP, Pekin FCI, Thomson USP
IndianaTerre Haute FCC
KansasLeavenworth USP
KentuckyAshland FCI, Big Sandy USP, Lexington FMC, Manchester FCI, McCreary USP
LouisianaBastrop FCI, Oakdale FCC, Pollock FCC
MarylandBaltimore RRM, Cumberland FCI
MassachusettsDevens FMC
MichiganDetroit RRM, Milan FCI
MinnesotaDuluth FPC, Rochester FMC, Sandstone FCI, Waseca FCI
MississippiYazoo City FCC
MissouriKansas City RRM, Springfield MCFP, St Louis RRM
New HampshireBerlin FCI
New JerseyFairton FCI, Fort Dix FCI
New YorkBrooklyn MDC, New York MCC, New York RRM, Otisville FCI, Ray Brook FCI
North CarolinaBennettsville FCI, Butner FCC
OhioCincinnati RRM, Elkton FCI
OklahomaEl Reno FCI, Oklahoma City FTC
OregonSheridan FCI
PennsylvaniaAllenwood FCC, Canaan USP, Lewisburg USP, Loretto FCI, McKean FCI, Philadelphia FDC, Philadelphia RRM, Pittsburgh RRM, Schuylkill FCI
Puerto RicoGuaynabo MDC
Regional OfficesGlynco, Grand Prairie, Mid-Atlantic RO, MSTC, North Central RO, Northeast RO, South Central RO, Southeast RO, Western RO
South CarolinaBennettsville FCI, Estill FCI, Williamsburg FCI
South DakotaYankton FPC
TennesseeMemphis FCI, Nashville RRM
TexasBastrop FCI, Bryan FPC, Dallas RRM, Houston FDC, La Tuna FCI, Seagoville FCI, Texarkana FCI, Three Rivers FCI
VirginiaBeckley FCI, Gilmer FCI, Lee USP, Petersburg FCC
WashingtonSeaTac FDC, Seattle RRM
West VirginiaAlderson FPC, Hazelton FCC, McDowell FCI, Morgantown FCI
WisconsinOxford FCI

Number Of Prisons By State

Here is the number of federal prisons by state. 

Not all states have federal prisons.

StateNumber of Federal Prisons
Alabama3
Arizona5
Arkansas2
California10
Colorado3
Connecticut1
Florida7
Georgia2
Hawaii1
Illinois5
Indiana2
Kansas1
Kentucky3
Louisiana3
Maryland1
Massachusetts1
Michigan2
Minnesota3
Mississippi3
Missouri1
New Jersey2
New York3
North Carolina2
Ohio1
Oklahoma2
Oregon1
Pennsylvania5
South Carolina2
South Dakota1
Tennessee1
Texas9
Virginia3
Washington1
West Virginia3
Wisconsin1

What Is A Federal Prison?

A federal prison is a place where people who have committed federal crimes are kept. 

Federal crimes are offenses that break U.S. national laws. 

Examples include bank robbery, drug trafficking, and certain types of murder

The Federal Bureau of Prisons, a part of the U.S. Department of Justice, runs these prisons. 

It’s different from a state prison, which houses people who have broken state laws. 

Federal prisons aim to keep society safe, punish those who break federal laws, and help prisoners prepare to rejoin society after their sentence.

Read More: How Many Innocent People Have Been Executed

Federal vs State Prison

Federal and state prisons are two separate systems in the United States.

Federal prisons hold people who break federal laws. 

These include crimes like bank robbery, drug trafficking, or certain types of murder.

State prisons hold people who break state laws. 

These are often crimes like theft, assault, or most types of murder.

Federal prisons are run by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which is part of the Department of Justice.

State prisons are run by the individual states.

The rules and regulations can vary between federal and state prisons. 

This is because each system has its own administrative structure.

Both systems aim to punish crimes, keep the public safe, and rehabilitate the incarcerated when possible.

Understanding these differences can help us better address challenges in our prison systems.

Read More: Murder Rate In The US

How Many Federal Prisons Are There By Security Levels

Here’s a breakdown by security level based on the percentage of sentenced prisoners under federal jurisdiction:

  • Minimum Security Federal Prisons: 14.8%
  • Low-Security Federal Prisons: 35.5%
  • Medium Security Federal Prisons: 33.5%
  • High-Security Federal Prisons: 12.5%
  • Unclassified: 3.8%

As for administrative facilities, they are institutions with special missions, such as:

  • the detention of pretrial offenders
  • the treatment of inmates with serious or chronic medical problems
  • the containment of extremely dangerous, violent, or escape-prone inmates 

Administrative facilities include:

  • metropolitan correctional centers (MCCs)
  • metropolitan detention centers (MDCs)
  • federal detention centers (FDCs)
  • federal medical centers (FMCs)
  • the Federal Transfer Center (FTC)
  • the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (MCFP)

All of these are capable of holding inmates in all security categories.

From the list available, it appears there are 18 administrative facilities, including:

  • Federal Detention Centers in Honolulu, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, and SeaTac
  • Federal Medical Centers in Butner, Carswell, Devens, Fort Worth, and Lexington
  • The Federal Transfer Center in Oklahoma City
  • The Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield
  • Metropolitan Correctional Centers in Chicago, New York (temporarily closed), and San Diego
  • Metropolitan Detention Centers in Brooklyn, Guaynabo, and Los Angeles

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