Statistics

Recent Statistics

Kentucky incarcerates more per capita than the national average. and ranks as one of the states with the highest rates of incarceration.
Kentucky has 12 State prisons, 2 private prisons, 5 Federal prisons, and one ICE detention center. Some people refer to KY as "the nation's jailer."
As of 11/2024
- DOC Institutions: 10,539 detainees
- Jails: 6869 detainees
- Juvenile: 165 detainees
- On Parole & Probation: * 48,360 detainees
- Halfway Houses: 226 detainees
- In Civil confinement: * detainees
County jails as of 12/2024:
- Federal detainees: 2055
- Nonstate detainees: 11,737
- County detainees: 9682
- State detainees: 7030
Federal prisons: 3,500 beds

Costs

Jails in Kentucky charge up to $5.70 for a 15-minute phone call, reaping profits for companies, while prisons charge $2.10 for a 15-minute call.
Kentucky prisons and Access Corrections don’t report data on fees to transfer money to an incarcerated loved one.
People in Kentucky prisons with less than $5 in their commissary and media accounts combined receive postage and writing supplies but must pay for basic hygiene products
According to research done by the ACLU (2022-06-15 captive labor research report) prisoners are paid $0.48 to $1.58 per day. Inmates on special assignment might receive up to $2.42 per day.
Inmates who work in UNICOR jobs, which is the industry that employs prisoners in Federal prisons, average $.92 per hour. They are required to use half of those earnings to pay fines such as court costs and child support.
In Kentucky, there are 12 state prisons, 2 private prisons, 5 Federal prisons, and one ICE detention center. Kentucky-operated facilities had a staff of 4,400 employees and a budget of $620,458,700.

Historical Statistics

At the first census in 1790, enslaved people made up 16.2% of the state’s population, and until 1830, the number of enslaved people grew faster than did the white population. By 1860, enslaved people made up 19.5% of the state's population.
In 1850, census reports showed that of the 761,413 white families, 38,385 (28%) held slaves. KY came in third in the nation in terms of the number of white slave owning families, behind only Virginia and Georgia.
The brother of emancipationist Cassius Clay enslaved 132 people as per the 1860 census.
In 1860, the largest enslavement practices were in the Bluegrass region. Woodford County census records show 52% of its population were enslaved people. Jefferson County’s 10,015 enslaved people made up only 12% of the population, but was the highest count in the state.

Sources

Harrison, Lowell H. The antislavery movement in Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky, 1978.