Jails - Largest Jail Jurisdictions

In Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003, Harrison and Karberg reported that in 2003 the country's fifty largest jail jurisdictions held about one-third (31.2%) of all jail inmates, accounting for a total jail population of 215,729. Twenty states had jails that made the top fifty based on average daily population. Some states had more than one among the largest fifty jails: California (twelve), Florida (eight), Texas (seven), Georgia (three), Ohio (two), Pennsylvania (two), and Tennessee (two). Los Angeles County and New York City together accounted for 33,700 inmates, or 5% of the national total. The top five jail jurisdictions by number of prisoners were Los Angeles County; New York City; Cook County, Illinois; Maricopa County, Arizona; and Harris County, Texas.

According to Prison and Jail Inmates at Midyear 2003, seventeen of the fifty largest jurisdictions had a drop in jail population. Those with the largest decreases were Contra Costa County, California (down 15.7%); Travis County, Texas (down 15.5%); and Milwaukee County, Wisconsin (down 12.9%). Conversely, eleven jail jurisdictions of the fifty largest experienced double-digit growth. The largest increase was seen in Fresno County, California (up 43.1%). Other jail jurisdictions with large increases included Fulton County, Georgia (up 22.7%); Hillsborough County, Florida (up 19.1%); and De Kalb County, Georgia (up 14.9%).