"In 2016, an estimated 65% of all jail inmates were awaiting court action on a current charge. The remaining 35% were sentenced offenders or convicted offenders awaiting sentencing. Seventy percent of inmates were held in jail for felony charges."

"On December 31, 2016, an estimated 2,162,400 persons were either under the jurisdiction of state or federal prisons or in the custody of local jails—10,400 fewer persons than in 2015. By year-end 2016, the number of persons incarcerated in state or federal prisons or local jails fell to the lowest level observed since 2004 (2,136,600) (not shown).

"Since 2005, more than 60% of all jail inmates were awaiting court action on a current charge. About 4 in 10 inmates were sentenced offenders or convicted offenders awaiting sentencing. The growth in the overall jail inmate population since 2000 was due to the increase in the unconvicted population. Regardless of conviction status, about 68% of jail inmates in 2015 were held for a felony offense, and the remaining 32% were held for either misdemeanor (27%) or other offenses (5%) (not shown)."

US jails held, as confined inmates, 621,149 people in 2000; 767,434 people in 2009; 748,728 people in 2010; 735,601 people in 2011; 744,524 people in 2012; 731,208 people in 2013; 744,592 people in 2014; 727,400 people in 2015; and 740,700 people in 2016.
The above are mid-year counts of inmates confined by local jails on the last weekday of June for each year. Counts were estimated from the Annual Survey of Jails.

"Non-Hispanic blacks (599 per 100,000 black U.S. residents) had the highest jail incarceration rate at year-end 2016, followed by American Indian or Alaska Natives (359 per 100,000 AIAN residents). Non-Hispanic whites (171 per 100,000 white residents) and Hispanics (185 per 100,000 Hispanic residents) were incarcerated at a similar rate at year-end 2016. Among non-Hispanics in 2016, blacks were incarcerated in jail at a rate 3.5 times that of whites, down from 5.6 times the rate in 2000.

In 2015, there were 2,168,400 people behind bars in the US. This includes state and federal prisons as well as local and county jails. Of these, 195,800 people were federal prisoners, and 1,244,400 were state prisoners, and local jails held a total of 728,200 people. The adult incarceration rate in 2015 was 670 people per 100,000 US residents of all ages, or 870 people per 100,000 US residents aged 18 or older.

Click here for the complete data table for 2000 and 2006-2015.