The price to house a prisoner varies depending on the country, region and type of prisoner. In the United States, it costs about $13,000 US Dollars (USD) to $50,000 USD annually per prisoner in a state facility and about $25,000 USD annually per federal prisoner. In Canada, it costs about $144,000 USD to $240,000 USD a year per prisoner to house female prisoners and about $84,000 USD for male prisoners. In the United Kingdom, it costs about $62,000 USD a year per prisoner.
More facts about prisons and prisoners:
- It costs about $800,000 USD per prisoner to house an inmate at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for a year. Part of that is the cost of food — about $40 USD a day per prisoner.
- The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, followed by Rwanda and the Russian Federation. About one out of every 100 U.S. adults is in jail.
- Housing an inmate on death row in the U.S. is much more expensive than housing a regular inmate. Death row inmates cost about $95,000 USD per person per year.