Interactive Map Shows How Much Prisons Cost in America

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By Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai2014-05-06 03:52:13 UTC

More than 2.3 million Americans are behind bars in local, state and federal prisons — a staggering number that makes the United States the country with the world's highest incarceration rate.

Maintaining such large prison populations has a high cost that falls on taxpayers. The Vera Institute of Justice, a nonprofit organization, published a study in 2012 that revealed exactly how much state prisons cost in 40 American states (10 declined to participate). Now, a group of designers have created an interactive map that lays out the study's findings.

See also: What It's Like to Get Online After 25 Years in Prison

The map shows the total cost of the prison system in each state, how much of the state's total budget it takes up, the annual cost per inmate and the total prison population. The map also includes the location of state-run prisons across the country.

Overall, the prison system in the United States costs American taxpayers nearly $39 billion. California, New York and Texas are the three states that pay the most to maintain their prisons, spending $7.9 billion, $3.5 billion and $3.3 billion, respectively, according to the study entitled "The Price of Prisons: What Incarceration Costs Taxpayers."

Many expenses that go toward the prison system are not included in the state correctional budget, which ends up making state spending in prisons look lower than it actually is, according to the study. "Other state agencies pay many costs, including employee health insurance, pension contributions and inmate hospital care," it said.

Check out the map, below, which was created by Texas attorney David Breston and a team of designers from Safer America.

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Topics: interactive map, jail, prison, U.S., US & World