Reference page
Key figures on incarceration, release, and community supervision, with a source and date for every number.
Last updated October 27, 2026
Reentry is not one event. It can involve leaving prison or jail, meeting supervision requirements, finding a place to live, returning to work, and rebuilding ordinary relationships. This page gathers national figures that give writers, service providers, employers, and community members a clear starting point.
Each statistic keeps its original time period and definition. Prison, jail, probation, parole, release, arrest, and conviction are different measures. They should not be used as if they mean the same thing.
5.6 million
The Bureau of Justice Statistics counted 5,624,900 adults in prison, jail, probation, or parole at yearend 2023. The total combines people held in custody with people supervised in the community.
Source: Correctional Populations in the United States, 2023Published September 2025, reporting 2023 data
3.77 million
More than two-thirds of adults under correctional supervision were in the community, on probation or parole, rather than held in prison or jail.
Source: Correctional Populations in the United States, 2023Published September 2025, reporting 2023 data
1.25 million
The state and federal prison population was 1,254,200 at the end of 2023. This figure does not include people held in local jails.
Source: Prisoners in 2023: Statistical TablesPublished September 2025, reporting 2023 data
453,200
States and the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported 453,200 releases of sentenced prisoners in 2023. About 70% of those releases were conditional on community supervision or other requirements.
Source: Prisoners in 2023: Statistical TablesPublished September 2025, reporting 2023 data
7.6 million
Local jails recorded 7.6 million admissions during that 12-month period. At midyear 2023, local jails held 664,200 people in custody.
Source: Jail Inmates in 2023: Statistical TablesPublished April 2025, reporting 2023 data
66%
In a Bureau of Justice Statistics study of people released from state prisons in 24 states in 2008, about 66% were arrested within three years and 82% within 10 years. An arrest is not the same as a conviction, and this study describes that cohort and those states, not every person leaving prison today.
Source: Recidivism of Prisoners Released in 24 States in 2008: A 10-Year Follow-UpPublished September 2021, following 2008 releases through 2018
Use a figure with its date, source, and definition. Do not turn a national estimate into a claim about one person, one neighborhood, or one program. The recidivism figure, for example, is an arrest measure from a specific release cohort. It does not tell us what any individual will do.
For a practical next step, visit the Foundation’s resources for people who hire, house, or help or start with help for yourself.
The figures above come from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics. This page uses the most recent published national tables available for the stated reporting years. The recidivism study is included because it has a longer follow-up period, and its narrower geography and cohort are stated beside the figure.
The OPA RASA Foundation. “U.S. Reentry Statistics: Prison, Jail, and Community Supervision.” Updated October 27, 2026. https://oparasa.org/reentry-statistics
