18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65 or
older
Gender
Male 14,417,325 8,939,186 22,389,203 19,117,478 12,022,028 14,607,040
Female 13,795,256 19,089,714 22,555,935 19,879,361 13,119,592 20,275,786
Race/Hispanic origin
White* 18,303,498 24,885,780 31,782,158 29,517,823 19,800,209 28,884,741
Male 9,375,574 12,489,397 15,944,122 14,647,562 9,615,049 12,145,733
Female 8,927,925 12,396,383 15,838,036 14,870,261 10,185,160 16,739,009
Black* 4,076,908 5,196,820 5,624,914 4,297,967 2,409,671 2,860,327
Male 2,008,858 2,472,112 2,666,839 1,963,452 1,043,119 1,133,328
Female 2,068,051 2,724,708 2,958,076 2,334,515 1,366,552 1,726,999
Hispanic 4,394,592 5,737,009 5,334091 3,448,416 1,936,521 2,098,875
Male 2,299,849 2,940,171 2,734938 1,696,233 896,361 885,418
Female 2,094,743 2,796,838 2,599153 1,752,183 1,040,160 1,213,457
Note: Because of estimation and other rounding procedures, some
detail may not add to totals and may not match precisely totals
in other tables.
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There was a similar pattern among women, though the percents were lower
than for men. An estimated 0.9% of women ages 35 to 44 had ever been in
prison, compared to 0.2% for women ages 18 to 24 and age 65 or older.
When rates were estimated separately by race and Hispanic origin, the
variations among age groups remained unchanged. In every gender and
racial/ethnic group in 2001, the percent of ever having been
incarcerated was lowest among the youngest group (those ages 18 to
24)and the oldest age group (age 65 or older).
Among persons ages 35 to 44, more than 22.0% of black males had ever
been incarcerated in prison, over twice as high as Hispanic males
(10.0%), and over 6 times higher than white males (3.5%). In this same
age group, black women (2.8%) were over twice as likely as Hispanic
women (1.1%), and nearly 6 times as likely as white women (0.5%) to
have been in prison.
+Impact of rising first incarceration rate varies by birth cohort+
Persons born prior to 1940 were nearly unaffected by the rising first
incarceration rates of the 1980's and 1990's. At younger ages (up to
the age of 40), the prevalence rates at 5-year age intervals were the
same for persons born in 1935 as in 1910 (table 8). The rising rates of
first incarceration increased the prevalence of incarceration among
those born in 1935 as they reached age 45. Similarly, the prevalence
rates rose for those born in 1930 as they reached age 50.
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+Table 8. Percent of adults ever incarcerated in a State or Federal
prison, by year of birth and age+