State-by-State Ranking: Highest and Lowest Prison Staff Levels in America

State-by-State Ranking: Highest and Lowest Prison Staff Levels in America

• Oklahoma has the highest ratio of prisoners to guards in the nation, with nearly 6 inmates per correctional officer
• The state employs 3,910 correctional officers to manage 22,941 prisoners, and ranks among the lowest for officer salaries, with a mean annual wage of just $43,110
• Massachusetts boasts the most well-staffed prisons, maintaining a ratio of 1.01 prisoners per guard

New research has identified the states with the lowest and highest number of correctional officers per prisoner.

story credit: https://courtroomproven.com/

Methodology

 

Las Vegas Personal Injury Lawyers at H&P Law analyzed 2023 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and 2022 data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics to assess the ratio of correctional officers to prisoners in each state. This analysis revealed which states have the least and most staff relative to their prison populations.

 

Most understaffed prisons in the US

 

 

In first place Oklahoma has the most prisoners per correctional officer, with 5.87 prisoners per correctional officer. The state has 3,910 correctional officers and 22,941 prisoners. Despite this, the state ranks in the bottom 10 nationally when it comes to the salary paid to correctional officers and jailers, offering a mean wage of $43,110 per year.

 

Alabama ranks second with 26,421 prisoners and 4,840 correctional officers. This equates to 5.46 prisoners per correctional officer. The state has a slightly higher mean annual wage than Oklahoma, offering $44,450 per year to its guards.

 

Idaho comes in at third place. Despite the low prisoner count (9,110, to be precise) the low number of correctional officers at 1,800 results in a ratio of 5.06 to one. The mean wage for correctional officers in Idaho, however, exceeds that of Oklahoma by over $8,500.

 

Georgia is fourth on the list. With 10,040 correctional officers overseeing a prison population of 48,439, the state has 4.82 prisoners per guard. The state pays its guards almost as little as Oklahoma, offering a mean wage of $43,190 per year.

 

Florida is in fifth place, with 4.48 prisoners per guard. There are 84,678 prisoners in total (the third-highest prison population in the country) while there are just 18,890 guards.

 

Mississippi is in sixth place. The state has 4,530 correctional officers and 19,802 prisoners, which equates to 4.37 prisoners per guard.

 

Although there are 3.94 correctional officers per 1,000 employees in Mississippi (the second-highest rate in the country), the state offers its guards the lowest annual mean wage in the country, at $37,000 per year.

 

At number seven, Missouri is next. There are 23,911 prisoners in the state and 5,500 correctional officers, resulting in a figure of 4.35 prisoners per guard.

 

Eighth is Michigan, whose 32,374 prisoners are kept under lock and key by 7,790 correctional officers. The result is a ratio of 4.16 prisoners for every guard in the state.

 

Alaska occupies the ninth spot. The state has 4,778 prisoners and 1,170 guards for a total of 4.08 prisoners per guard.

 

Montana narrowly makes it into tenth place, with 1,190 correctional officers and 4,691 prisoners, resulting in a ratio of 3.94 prisoners per guard. Montana’s guards are paid a mean annual wage of $48,660.

 

Most staffed prisons in the US

 

 

 

At the other end of the ranking, Massachusetts is the state with the fewest prisoners per correctional officer. With 5,950 correctional officers and 6,001 prisoners, the state has a ratio of just 1.01 prisoners for every one correctional officer.

 

Massachusetts also offers the third highest mean wage in the country to its guards, at $77,260 per year.

 

New York ranks second. Despite its more substantial prison population of 31,148, the state also has 26,080 correctional officers, which equates to 1.19 convicts per guard.

 

New York offers a mean annual wage of $74,580 to its correctional officers—the fourth highest in the country.

 

New Jersey comes in at third place with 12,657 inmates and 8,540 correctional officers, giving the state a result of 1.48 prisoners per guard.

 

The annual mean wage paid to its correctional officers is $81,900 in New Jersey, the second highest in the country behind California.

 

New Mexico is fourth on the list. The state has 4,970 convicts and 3,230 guards, which equates to 1.54 prisoners per correctional officer.

 

However, the mean annual wage paid to correctional officers in New Mexico is the sixth lowest in the country at $42,660 per year.

 

Maine is in fifth place, with its 1,675 inmates and 990 correctional officers giving the state a result of 1.69 prisoners per guard. The mean annual wage paid to guards in Maine is $48,480 per year.

 

Minnesota is in sixth place. There are 8,636 convicts and 4,980 correctional officers in the state, which results in a figure of 1.73 prisoners per guard. The state pays its correctional officers an annual mean wage of $59,990.

 

At number seven, North Dakota is next. A prison population of 1,817 with 1,020 correctional officers keeping watch over them gives the state a result of 1.78 inmates per guard.

 

An annual mean wage of $50,660 is afforded to each North Dakotan correctional officer.

 

Eighth is Nebraska, whose 5,649 convicts are guarded by 3,010 correctional officers, resulting in 1.88 prisoners per guard. Nebraska pays an annual mean wage of $58,250 to its correctional officers.

 

Washington occupies the ninth spot. Across the state, there are 13,772 inmates and 6,250 guards, which works out as 2.20 prisoners per correctional officer. Guards in Washington are paid a mean annual wage of $66,040.

 

In tenth place is West Virginia, where there are 5,873 prisoners and 2,590 correctional officers; that amounts to 2.27 convicts per guard. In West Virginia, correctional officers are paid an annual mean wage of $49,970.

 

Matthew Pfau, a partner at H&P Law, commented on the findings: “Jailers and correctional officers perform a vital role in society, so it is concerning to hear of their immense workload in some states.

“Making this data public is hopefully the first step towards relieving the pressure on the people who work in prisons across the country.”

story credit: https://courtroomproven.com/

Methodology

The latest available data on number of Correctional Officers and Jailers in each state was taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the number of prisoners in each state was taken from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The number of prisoners was divided by the number of correctional officers and jailers to calculate the rate of prisoners per correctional officer. The states were then ranked in order of the highest ratio of prisoners to officers to reveal the final rankings. Below, you can find a full list of the rankings. Note that no data is available for Rhode Island.

 

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