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State Prison Expenditures, 1996
Publication year:
1999
| Cataloged on:
Oct. 31, 2006
ANNOTATION: The total operating costs for state prisons in 1996 was$24.5 billion. Average yearly cost per inmate was $20,100, with a high in Minnesota of $37,800 and a low in Alabama of $8,000. Between 1985 and 1996, per resident spending for prisons rose an average 7.3% per year compared to yearly increases for education of 3.6%. Daily expenditures per inmate for five core expense areas (accounting for 12% of operating costs) were the following: inmate medical and dental care, $6.54; inmate programs, $3.28; food service, $2.96; utilities, $1.81; and transportation and travel, $0.52. High overall inmate-to-staff ratios were associated with lower average costs per inmate. States having facilities with larger capacities tended to report lower average costs than states with smaller facilities.